For the second straight year, Robyn Buckingham has found the podium in the heptathlon.
The Walnut Grove Grade 11 student finished with 4,506 points to place second in the heptathlon at the B.C. high school track and field provincial championships, the second straight year she has placed second.
“I would have loved to get gold, but it was a good start to the season in heptathlon,” Buckingham said.
“But this is just the starting point (for the heptathlon season).”
She improved by 306 points after scoring 4,200 points at the 2013 provincial championships.
Buckingham was first in the high jump (1.62m) and javelin (41.54m), fourth in the long jump (5.07m), 800m (2:24.14) and shot put (8.96m), fifth in the 200m (27.70) and seventh in the 100m hurdles (17.08).
The gold medal went to New Westminster’s Nina Schultz, who finished with 4,655 points.
The women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon were held on May 23 and 24 at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium with the rest of the provincial championships are being held at Langley’s McLeod Athletic Park, beginning May 29 and running through May 31.
She will be competing in five more events at the provincial championships: the high jump, long jump, javelin and both the 4×100 and 4×400 relay events.
Last year, she won a pair of bronze medals in the long jump and in the 4×400 relay.
But the heptathlon is where her heart is.
“I do love all the events instead of just doing one,” explained the 16-year-old.
“You get to experience everything.”
Buckingham also represented Canada at the world youth championships in Ukraine last summer, something she called “one of the best experiences ever.”
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Langley Fundamental’s Hannah Beaton was sixth in the heptathlon with 4,007 points. She had won bronze in the event at the 2013 championships with 3,938 points.
Beaton was first in the shot put (10.11m), second in the javelin (36.02m), fifth in both the 800m (2:29.95) and the high jump (1.44m), seventh in the long jump (4.67m) and the 200m (27.89) and ninth in the 100m hurdles (17.72).
