Large Group of Royals Competing at BC High School Championships

This Friday and Saturday the BC Secondary School Track and Field Championships will be held at the Langley Langley’s McLeod Stadium track and the Valley Royals will be represented by a number of athletes representing their various schools.

Mouat middle distance runners Alex Siemens and Callum Pilgrim swept the gold medals in three middle distance events in their respective age divisions at the Fraser Valley Championships. This will be the last BC High School Championship meet for grade 12 student Siemens who has accepted a scholarship to attend University of Idaho this coming September. Siemens is running with confidence this year and it’s expected that she will be a medal contender in both the 1500 and 3,000 meters this weekend. Pilgrim was the junior girls aggregate winner at the FV Championships and this all round athlete, although just in grade 10, is considered to be a definite threat in both the 1500 and 3,000 meters.

Oliver Jorgensen will concentrate on the 2-k steeplechase event in these championships and his time of 9:07.68 in the Fraser Valley meet ranks him second in the province going into Saturday’s meet. Manpreet Grewal is one of the very best teenaged hammer throwers in Canada and is expected to shine in that event even though she will have to contend with Aisanna Covington, another highly ranked Canadian thrower. Adam Lambert at the FV meet won both the shot put (13.45m) and discus (47.88m) and placed second in the hammer and he will contest all three of those events during the weekend. Fraser Valley pole vault champions Spencer Spenst and Catherine Taekema are ranked second and fourth respectively in the male and female vault events respectively and they will both be looking for medal performances this weekend. Zach Choboter will join Spenst in the pole vault and also compete in the long jump and 100 meters. As a grade 9, Hannah Konrad will compete in the junior division of the meet and she is expected to do well in the 400 and 800m events.

The championship runs from 9:00 am to 7:15 pm on Friday and commences again at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Happenings in the Past Week….

Manpreet Grewal tossed the 3-k hammer 54.36 meters last Saturday at the Valley Royals Invitational. The toss ranks Grewal number 2 in Canada (behind Naville Rutherford of Courtenay who has a toss of 54.81 meters). In addition, Grewal has tossed the 4-k hammer a distance of 44.74 meters for a third place Canadian ranking. A nice start to the season for the 17 year old grade eleven scholarship student.

Sarya Ross is overcoming a variety of health problems and at the Valley Royals meet this 17-year old recorded a 1500m personal best of 5:00.22. It was the culmination of a busy week of competition for the W.J. Mouat athlete who during the week ran a variety of events for her school at the Upper Fraser Valley Championships and had only one day’s rest before the VR meet. Ross was pleased with her performance but is now looking forward to breaking under that 5:00 minute mark.

Simon Fraser University is attending the team’s conference meet this weekend in Oregon. Several Royal athletes that include Travis Vugteveen, Helen Crofts and Chantel Crofts will be competing for SFU and all three will be vying for berths in the NCAA Division 2 National Championships that take place at Colorado State University in Pueblo. Croft is favored to win the 800 meters at both the conference meet and the forthcoming nationals.

Next week will be a busy one for Valley Royal secondary school athletes as the Fraser Valley Championships take place on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Swan track. Royal athletes are favored to medal and qualify for the BC High School Championships in a number of events. These athletes include Manpreet Grewal (hammer), and Callum Pilgrim, amongst others.

Siemens & Pilgrim Win Aggregate at Upper Fraser Valley Meet

Alexandria Siemens and Callum Pilgrim each placed first in three events to win aggregate awards at the Upper Fraser Valley Championships held at the Swan Track on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

Siemens had little trouble winning the senior girls division 800m (2:21), 1500m (4:55) and 3,000m (10:23). For the most part the Mouat Secondary School senior ran conservative races but won by wide margins ranging up to 150m. For good measure, Siemens ran a leg of the Mouat 4x400m relay that placed second.

Meanwhile, Pilgrim performed the same feat in the junior girls division but she had to display a good fighting spirit to secure the victories. Pilgrim fought hard to win the 1500m (4:56.9) and staved off a challenge by Walnut Grove’s Isabella Bercia who placed second (4:57.5). The other two victories by Pilgrim came in the 800m (2:23) and the 3,000m (10:39).

Oliver Jorgensen (Bateman) ran a personal best 9:05 to win the senior boy’s 3,000m and came back on Thursday to place second in the 1500m (4:11) and 2-k steeplechase.

Other multiple medalists included Sarya Ross (Mouat), second in both the senior girls 1500 and 3,000m events, Hannah Konrad (Yale) with a first in the junior girl’s 400m (61.10) and second places in both the 800m (2:23.7) and triple jump (9.96m). Spencer Spenst (Abbotsford) won the senior boy’s pole vault (3.10m) and Catherine Tackema was first in the senior girls vault (2.48m). Aiden Bingert (Mouat) had a second place finish in the junior boys 1500m (4:32) while Ashley Heisler (Chilliwack) came second in the senior girls 800m and third in the 400m.

In two week’s time the Fraser Valley Championships take place in Abbotsford. Athletes in that meet will be fighting to gain entry marks for the BC Secondary School Championships scheduled for Langley on May 31 and June 1.