Senior girls from across the Semiahmoo Peninsula shone at Fraser Valley Track and Field Championships last week at Coquitlam’s Percy Perry Stadium, where the region’s top athletes vied for spots at next week’s provincials.
Earl Marriott Secondary’s Jorden Hall was among the most decorated athletes in Coquitlam, winning three medals – silver in the senior girls 100-m dash and bronze in the 200-m and long jump. Georgia Ginther also made the podium, winning gold in the senior girls 3,000-m and bronze in the 1,500-m steeplechase, while Cassidy Sader was third in 100-m hurdles, two spots ahead of Elgin Park’s Tess Bulka, who placed fifth.
Marriott’s senior relay teams also fared well, winning silver in the 4×100-m and bronze in the 4×400-m.
The Semiahmoo Totems’ senior girls also spent plenty of time atop the podium, lead by Jessica Williams, who won the senior girls 400-m in a time of 56.47 seconds. Alexa Porpaczy – currently Canada’s No. 1-ranked under-18 high-jumper – won gold as well, in the senior girls high jump, while Totems’ teammates Gabrielle Hack and Yuexin Liu placed first and second, respectively, in the senior girls triple jump. Earl Marriott’s Danika Cowie won bronze in the same event.
Danielle Steer was the lone senior girls medal-winner from Elgin Park, placing third in the 800-m race, while Sullivan Heights Secondary’s Dolly Gabri dominated the throwing events, winning first in shotput and discus, and placing second in hammer throw. In shotput, her best mark was just shy of three metres past the second-place thrower, while her discus best out-distanced the field by nearly 12 metres.
Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, South Surrey’s senior boys also put forth strong showings at Fraser Valleys. Earl Marriott athletes picked up five medals in total: Sajjan Sarai was first in the 800-m, while Dawson Ribiero won silver in the 1,500-m; Sarai was fourth in the 1,500.
In the senior boys 3,000-m race, Ribiero and teammate Jaxon Mackie won silver and bronze, respectively, while Shay Lalor also brought home a bronze medal, in javelin.
Semiahmoo’s Connor Sinclair won a silver medal in shotput, while a pair of Southridge School seniors found success in the jumping pits – Elijan De Hoog was first in the triple jump and third in both the high jump and long jump, and Landon Gill won the long jump.
BC Track and Field Championships are Thursday through Saturday (June 1-3) at Langley’s McLeod Park.
