Jake Hanna’s trophy case is a little more crowded this week, after his performance at BC High School Track and Field Championships in Langley.
The Elgin Park Secondary Grade 11 student – who was second in the senior boys 400-m last year as a Grade 10 – won three silver medals this year, in the senior boys 200-m, 400-m and the 400-m hurdles.
His first medal-winning performance came Friday afternoon, when he successfully defended his silver-medal in the 400-m. His time of 49.22 seconds was a half-second behind Oak Bay’s Nick Taylor, but was still better than his 49.6-second time from last year’s meet.
For Hanna – who originally thought he’d finished third, but beat Carson Graham’s Aiden Macklin by one-hundredth of a second – just breaking the 50-second mark was victory in itself.
“So far this season, my times in the 400 have been a bit slow. Before today, the fastest I’d run was a 50.5 which is not too good,” Hanna explained after the race.
“Coming off the silver in Grade 10, I thought at the start of the year that it’d be great to win it (this year), but then my times were slow, so I was a bit worried. But 49.2 – I’m really happy with that. I’ll take it.”
Hanna and his fellow runners also had to deal with strong winds in the one-lap race.
“The backstretch we had a tail wind, so you don’t notice it too much, but coming around that last corner, it kind of hits you really hard, and it’s a struggle. You could see everybody slow down a bit right there,” said Hanna, who made his move into a medal position on the last 150 metres.
“I was pretty tired when we got to that point. I think it was just adrenaline that pushed me through it.”
On Saturday, Hanna tripled his medal haul with a silver in the 200-m – he admitted Friday his 200-m times were “a lot further ahead” than his 400-m runs – and the 400-m hurdles.
Hanna was the most decorated Surrey/Cloverdale athlete at provincials, but was far from the only one.
White Rock Christian Academy’s Glen Johnston won a pair of medals, nabbing bronze in the decathlon and gold in the senior boys pole vault. In the latter event, he tied for top spot with Oak Bay’s Lucas Petruzelli as both cleared 3.7 metres.
Rounding out the senior medal winners, Semiahmoo Secondary’s Katherine Reiss won bronze in the girls triple jump, while her teammate Chelsea Ribeiro just missed the podium, placing fourth in the senior girls 1,500-m steeplechase.
Lord Tweedsmuir’s Ben Ingvaldson won bronze in the senior boys shotput, while placing fourth in the discus and hammer throw.
Jasmine Gill, a senior runner from Sullivan Heights, also had a big day on the track, winning a bronze medal in the 800-m. Gill also achieved a national standard with her time of two minutes, 13.99 seconds.
At the junior level, Semiahmoo claimed three gold medals – led by Jessica Williams, who won gold in the 400-m while also picking up a silver medal in the 300-m hurdles.
Semi’s two other golds came in team events, as the school’s junior girls 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams each won their respective races.
Earl Marriott’s junior-aged athletes also fared well on the weekend, as Jade Duncanson won gold in the girls 100-m dash, Chloe Alkema won silver in the pole vault and Georgia Ginther took home bronze in the 1,500-m steeplechase.
Other medal-winners included Elgin Park’s Emily Killam, who won a bronze medal in the high jump; WRCA’s Nolan Schneider, who finished third in the junior boys hammer throw; and Lord Tweedsmuir’s Kenzo Los, who won silver in the boys 100-m.
The podium was a familiar place for a handful of south-end Grade 8s, as well.
Four Semiahmoo Totems won medals in the Grade 8 meet, led by Haley Ribeiro, who was second in the 3,000-m and third in the 1,500-m.
Gabrielle Hack won silver in the triple jump, Cole McIvoy was third in the javelin and Alex Porpaczy won gold in the high jump.
Earl Marriott’s Jaxon Mackie won a pair of medals, too – a gold in the boys 3,000-m and bronze in the 1,500-m.
Tweedsmuir was led by Sedona Arabsky, who won silver in the shotput, and Amanda Moore, who won bronze in both the 100-m and 200-m races.
Sullivan Heights Secondary’s Alyssa Terry scooped a silver medal in the Grade 8 girls 800-m race, while Panorama Ridge also won one medal – Grade 8 Alexa Robichaud claimed silver in the girls javelin, with a toss of 29.33 m.
