It took some planning and good fortune in terms of scheduling, but Siôn Griffiths came away from the first weekend of June with not one but two silver medals from provincial high school championships.
Griffiths won solo silver in javelin at the provincial track and field championships, and also helped Brentwood College School to second place in the AA Tier 1 rugby championships.
“It was quite an amazing experience, being able to compete in both sports at a provincial level,” Griffiths said. “I’m so thankful to my coaches at Brentwood College for allowing this to happen. Taking the silver in rugby wasn’t what I wanted for the boys, but it was still an amazing experience. As for javelin, I was extremely happy with my silver, being my second meet of the year due to a broken hand.”
Griffiths travelled to Abbotsford with the rugby team the Tuesday before the championships. Brentwood won its opening-round game handily, then Griffiths played a full game on Thursday afternoon as Brentwood defeated St. Michaels University School in the semifinals. Immediately after that, his dad, Dewi, arranged for a ride from Brentwood volleyball coach Jill Fougner to the track and field provincials in Langley. Making it there in time to throw, Griffiths threw 52.22 metres, which was good enough for silver. He returned to the rugby pitch two days later for the provincial final, which Brentwood lost to Collingwood.
The right-handed Griffiths qualified for the provincial track meet despite throwing with his left hand in the Mid Island championships and throwing with his right hand for the first time this season in the Island championships. He broke two bones in his right hand in a rugby game during Brentwood’s spring break trip to San Francisco, which required surgery and five weeks in a cast.
Griffiths was far from being Brentwood’s only medallist at the provincial track and field championships. Madison Heisterman finished second in the senior girls 800m and third in the 1500m, and Keaton Heisterman placed third in both the junior boys 800m and 1500m. Tony Else also collected a bronze medal in the junior boys shot put while setting a personal best, and placed 22nd in the javelin.
Also competing for Brentwood at provincials were Ayo Ogunlade (23rd in senior boys discus), Liam Stephenson (27th in senior boys discus), Reece Fougner-Rukus (26th in junior girls triple jump) and Femi Remi-Adelasoye (25th in senior boys 110m hurdles).
The Cowichan Valley’s only other medallist at provincials was Kaz Bannister of Chemainus, who placed third in the junior girls 100m after finishing sixth in the preliminary round.
Cowichan Secondary was shut out of the medals but collected three top-10 results as Emma Dewit finished fifth in the senior girls 200m and sixth in the 100m, and Matt Day placed ninth in the junior boys high jump. Dewit also placed 14th in the senior girls shot put.
Other provincial competitors for Cow High included Margo Blumel (12th in Grade 8 girls high jump and 22nd in triple jump), Jessica Castle (18th in junior girls 1500m preliminaries), and Graeme Dailey (21st in Grade 8 boys javelin).
Frances Kelsey Secondary got a fifth-place finish from Emily Carlson in the Grade 8 girls 80m hurdles. Carlson also placed 14th in the 100m preliminaries, and Kelsey finished 17th in the preliminaries for the junior girls 4x100m relay.
Queen Margaret’s School had one representative at the provincial meet: Gabrielle Austin, who placed ninth in the senior girls triple jump and 19th in long jump.
