BY IAN THORPE
For local elementary school athletes, track and field season recently concluded with the Nanaimo District Elementary School Track and Field Championships. The annual event held at Rotary Bowl stadium featured qualifiers from approximately 25 local schools.
In the tyke (born 2009-10) division, Mountain View runner Karlin Korkowski was first in the 100-metre dash. Runner-up was Tegan McKierahan from Coal Tyee, who was also second in the 200m. Taking first in that distance was Quarterway’s Iyla Christie. Third place in both races went to Amelia Lord from Park Avenue. Ladysmith’s Rylee Wing was first in the 600m and 1,200m distances. Second and third in the 600m were Kelly Choi from Brechin and Mountain View’s Amaya Carli. In the 1200m, Quaterway runner Ruby Allison was second, with Skyla Lewis from North Oyster third.
Tyke girls’ field events saw Korkowski win the long jump and place second in softball throw. Second and third places in long jump went to Tessa Bell from Quarterway and Willa Shaw from Gabriola. Quarterway’s Ella Creed won the softball competition, with Ladysmith’s Braelyn Bodaly third.
Competition on the track for peewee (born 2007-08) girls resulted in 100m and 200m titles for Lucy Russell from Gabriola. McGirr’s Larissa Bohnet was second in 100m and Savanna Maude from Bayview third. Hammond Bay athlete Brea Gillette had a strong meet, placing second in 200m and winning both the 600m and 1200m distances. Elle Olsen from Departure Bay was third in 200m. Second and third in 600m were North Oyster’s Kali Pilling and Quarterway’s Mateja Olson. École Océane competitor Avery Bernard placed second in 1200m and Forest Park’s Subin Yun was third.
Top peewee girls in long jump were Gabriola’s Lucy Russell, Sam Kossey from Cilaire and Emily Lapointe of Mountain View. École Océane representatives Cassidy White and Emie Picard were first and second in triple jump, with Olson third. In throwing events, Abby Lynn Sutcliffe from Chase River won the shot put, ahead of Ariel Quirion from Georgia Avenue and Kaydence Lang from Randerson Ridge. Lang was also third in discus, White claimed first and Rhyan Barfoot from Chase River second. Tops in softball throw were Mercedez Johnson from Ladysmith, Sam Kossey of Cilaire and Rock City’s Avery Lucuik.
With bantam (born 2005-06) girls, action on the track featured Ayaka Lee from Rock City winning the 100m race, outsprinting Dayna Nickolet from Quarterway and McGirr’s Avery Harrison. Quarterway’s Haley Martin was a triple winner, capturing the 200m, 600m and 1200m events. In all three races, Avery Henderson from Hammond Bay was the runner-up. Nickolet was third in 200m, while McGirr’s Katelyn Myint took third in both 600m and 1200m.
In field events, Angelina Joughin from Rock City was first in long jump and second in triple jump. Best triple jumper was Martin. Lee claimed second in long jump. Third place for long jump went to Emma Cleaver from Quarterway, with Hammond Bay’s Lydia Paris third in triple jump. Keasha Barr of Forest Park won the shot put event, with Zeina Al-Jawazneth from McGirr second and Cinnabar’s Katelyn Putz third. Putz also earned second in discus, with Quarterway teammates Cleaver and Scarlette Anderson first and third respectively.
In the tyke (born 2009-10) boys’ division, Charlie Knight from Coal Tyee won the 100-metre dash, with Cilaire’s Archer Irving the runner-up. Jake Madill of Cilaire won the 200m and was also third in 100m. Second and third in 200m went to Mountain View teammates Carson Gunderson and Jayse Bissenden. Frank J. Ney runner Bodin Olsen was first in 600m. Mathyas Aguilera from Quarterway took second in 600m as well as third in 1,200m. Third in 600m was McGirr’s Matthew Kirk, while Hammond Bay’s Jordan Puckering and Nico Perez from Uplands Park were first and second in the 1,200m event.
With field events for tyke boys, top three long jumpers were Irving, Knight and Trey Zollinger representing Randerson Ridge. Ryland Peters from Seaview won the softball throw, with Jayse Bissenden of Mountain View second and Rhys Wilcox from Randerson Ridge third.
Turning to peewee (born 2007-08) boys’ track results, Cilaire’s Joe Madill was fastest in 100m, ahead of Declan Guillard of Fairview and Lucas Laver from Ladysmith Intermediate. Top finishers in 200m were Harrison Munro from Coal Tyee, Cohen Gaboury of Park Avenue and Hammond Bay’s Gabriel de la Espriella. In the longer distances, Jackson Rauh from Quarterway was first in 600m. Zach Strattner from Frank J. Ney was the runner-up and Park Avenue’s Ethan Lytle was third. The 1,200m title went to Niall O’Hara from Chase River. Quarterway’s Graedon Ratanshi was second and Troy Lam from Mountain View third.
Strattner was the top peewee boys’ long jumper, out-leaping Hammond Bay’s Honza Ho and Enam Pobee of Fairview. First in triple jump was Ashton Wolfe representing Hammond Bay, followed by Kasper Kuhn from Quarterway and Jordan Sohal of Frank J. Ney. Hammond Bay’s Seb Jackson won the shot put event. Manny Lhal of Randerson Ridge was second and Eli Rinald of Quarterway third. Top three in discus were Owen Mitchell of Rock City, Liam Tuit from Pauline Haarer and Hammond Bay’s Shion Cleave.
Track events for the bantam (2005-06) boys featured Aidan Davis from Pleasant Valley winning the 100m. In second place was McGirr athlete James Francis, who was also first in the 200m event. Cilaire’s Marco Schwager was third in 100m. Justin Heneault from École Océane was second in 200m and third in 600m, with Colton Finstad from Forest Park third in 200m. In both the 600m and 1,200m races, Mountain View’s Kynan Shurniak was first with Tanner Harrison from Quarterway second. Third in 1,200m went to Alexander Barter from Bayview.
In field events, the first-place long jumper was Justin Heneault from École Océane, followed by Aiden Davies of Pleasant Valley and Rock City’s Ben Opheim. Shurniak was first in triple jump, a Cinnabar competitor was second and North Oyster’s Keizo Tollefson third. Throwing events had Schwager winning the shot put. Davies was second and Daniel Sung from Randerson Ridge third. The discus event was won by Ladysmith’s Keane Taylor, with Rowan Spearing from Hammond Bay second and Hunter Laboucan of Randerson Ridge third.
Total points accumulated during the district meet resulted in Cilaire placing first among small schools, followed by École Océane, Seaview and Chase River. For larger schools, Quarterway claimed the title ahead of Hammond Bay, Mountain View and McGirr.
Congratulations of all participants, as well as to meet co-ordinator Alana Lavery and her large team of volunteer helpers.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.
