Brentwood College School captured the AA boys provincial track and field championship as part of a meet in Kelowna on May 30-June 1 that was packed with highlights for Cowichan Valley athletes.
“For us this was a fantastic result,” Brentwood track coach Dewi Griffiths said. “All our athletes have to train for track and field in addition to taking a mandatory primary sport at Brentwood. This means a sport commitment over and above other students at the school.”
Keaton Heisterman earned silver medals for Brentwood in the senior boys 1500m and 800m races, but five other athletes contributed to the boys team victory: Ben Rossouw placed fourth in the senior boys high jump and eighth in triple jump, Sam Prokopchuk was sixth in the senior boys long jump and 17th overall (fifth in his heat) in the 200m preliminaries, Yang Luo was 12th in the junior boys triple jump and 13th overall in the junior boys 100m hurdles preliminaries (third in his heat), Tony Else finished 18th in the senior boys high jump, and Ope Remi-Adelasoye was 18th overall in the senior boys 400m preliminaries (third in his heat).
“Every member of the team performed exceptionally well and supported their teammates vociferously in all events,” Griffiths said. “Keaton’s two silver medals and Ben’s new PB of 1.85m in high jump were obvious individual highlights, but Ben’s eighth in triple jump and Sam’s sixth in long jump were equally important in securing the banner.”
Also representing Brentwood in Kelowna were Chloe Cady, who finished 19th in the junior girls 1500m race walk, and Ella Descoteau, who placed eighth in the Grade 8 girls long jump and 15th overall in the 200m prelims (fourth in her heat).
This was the first year that BC School Sports split the team competitions into single-A, AA and AAA divisions as well as having boys, girls and combined banners, which made a big difference for schools like Brentwood.
“This makes the competition for banners fairer based on size of school,” Griffiths commented. “Previously, small schools had little chance of recognition due the overwhelming numbers superiority of the large AAA schools such as Oak Bay, Vancouver College, et cetera.”
Quamichan School also had a medalist at the provincial championships, and two other top-10 finishes. Owen Reilly was second in the Grade 8 boys javelin, Evan Mayer placed sixth in the Grade 8 boys javelin and 21st in triple jump, and Margo Blumel finished fourth in the junior girls 1500m race walk and 24th in high jump.
Duncan Christian School sent a contingent of six to provincials, and collected three top-10 finishes. Rajan Hayer had the Chargers’ best individual showing, with a seventh-place result in the Special Olympics boys 100m, while Jameson Hengstler placed eighth in the junior boys shot put and ninth in hammer throw. Connor Hengstler placed 12th in the junior boys shot put and 28th in discus, Michael de Vries was 14th in senior boys long jump, Josh Greir finished 14th overall in the junior boys 100m prelims and 18th in the 200m prelims (fifth in his heats and the best results among Island runners in both), and Danielle Doherty placed 19th in the Grade 8 girls 3000m.
Miles Powell had a pair of top-10 finishes for Frances Kelsey Secondary, placing eighth in both the Grade 8 boys 1500m and 3000m, and also 13th overall in the 800m prelims (fourth in his heat). Kaiden Lewis placed 18th in the Grade 8 boys javelin, and Mowat de Valk Zaiss was 22nd in the junior boys long jump.
From Cowichan Secondary, Victoria Dailey placed seventh in the province in the junior girls hammer throw.
Katia Bannister of Chemainus Secondary won her heat and placed fourth overall in the junior girls 100m prelims, then finished seventh in the final, and placed 11th overall in the 200m prelims (second in her heat).