Outstanding National Championships Performances

Shout out to Royals power/speed athletes for their outstanding performances this past weekend at the National Championships in Langley.    Sanaa Musonge and Christine Chittattu, both competing up an age-category, sprinted well against some intense competition in the 100 and 200 meters.   Theo Manuel and Will Van Schagen both ran well in the 400 hurdles.    Special shout out to Mayci Falk who contested her first ever heptathlon.   Achieving 5 personal bests, Mayci placed 15th overall in the nation.

 Great job everyone.   We wish Will and other Royals athletes competing at Legions in about 10 days the best of luck.   – Coach Trevor

 

JD Practice Update

Wednesday, July 12 – Regular JD practices

Saturday, July 15 – NO practice because of Provincial Championships

Sunday, July 16 – Provincial Championships

Monday, July 17 – joint practice from 6-7pm (last JD practice for the season)

Royals Deliver Champion Performances at Provincial Championships

POWER AND SPEED GROUP

Valley Royals power/speed athletes delivered numerous personal bests at the BC Athletics Jamboree from July 7-9 in Nanaimo.   For a good number of our athletes, this meet marked the end of an intense, long season already highlighted by the BC High Schools one month ago.  This meet was also the first provincial club championships for many of our new athletes, who have joined over the recent months.   We wish those athletes whose seasons have now concluded all the best for their summer.  And we wish the best for our athletes continuing on to Nationals in Langley at the end of July.  

I am extremely proud of this crew, for their hard-work, team-spirit, dedication, and sportsmanship. – Coach Trevor

Here are more specific results.   

U16s 

Neven McNeil – Relatively new to the Royals, Neven stepped up to run PBs in the 100 and 200.  He further added a PB in the 100 hurdles to claim 4th.   Neven also ran a great lead-off leg in the 4 x 100 relay. 

Gurpartap Sandhu – Resident workhorse Gurpartap started her meet with a PB in the triple jump to claim 4th.    The next day, she took on the gruelling Pentathlon, placing fourth with a personal best score.   In the process, she had another PB in the hurdles and a massive 6 cm PB in the high jump.   If that wasn’t enough, Gurpartap scored another PB in the 300 hurdles the following day and then finished off the meet with solid performances in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.    

Evan Booth– On the track, Evan had strong showings in both the 100 (placing 8th) and in the 200.   In the jumps, Evan captured 5th in the triple jump and 8th in long jump.   Evan also ran a great lead-off leg in the 4 x 100 relay.   

U18s 

Sanaa Musonge –   With the Nationals later this month as her season’s biggest goal, Sanaa’s form is coming along.  She placed 8th in the both the 100 and 200.  After running a great leg in the 4 x 100 relay, Sanaa stepped in at the last moment and anchored our 4 x 400 team to a 4th place finish.  Sanaa, who rarely ever runs the 400, improved her 400 time by an astonishing 10 seconds.   

Luke Wight – Luke scored a long-awaited and huge PB in the triple jump to take 5th.  He followed that up with an 8th in the long jump and excellent legs in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.    

Tristan Steiger – Tristan had strong showings in both the 200 and 400, running a PB in the latter.   Tristan also had excellent legs in both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays. 

Nimritha Dhesi – Newcomer and aspiring heptathlete, Nimritha’s fearlessness to try new events helped her to capture five PBs the following events:   100 hurdles (8th), 400 hurdles (4th), long jump (9th), shot put (11th) and javelin (7th).   Nimritha followed this up with solid performances in both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.    

U20s 

Theo Manuel – After only one season with the Royals, Theo has quickly become a leader on our team with his strong work-ethic and commitment.   Primarily a javelin thrower, Theo has been recovering from an arm-injury since March.  Having switched his focus to the track, Theo ran huge PBs in both the flat 400 to claim 8th and 400 hurdles to claim silver.     

Simran Dhesi – Also a newcomer, Simran’s work ethic led to PBs in the 200, 400 hurdles (5th) , and a strong showing in the 800 later that same day.   Simran ran an excellent anchor leg in the 4 x 100 to finish off a tiring day.    

 
DISTANCE GROUP
Our Valley Royals Distance Team competed this past weekend in the BC Athletics Championship Jamboree in Nanaimo. A great time was had by all, and I could not have been more proud of our athletes and the parents who support them. In what was probably the biggest pressure meet of the year for our team, they came through in shining colors with another round of personal best performances and podium finishes while running against the best athletes in the province of British Columbia.
 
For many of our athletes, the season goals that they established almost a year ago all came down to their performances in this meet because it was the selection trails for our U18 and U16 National Championship Team. I think you will see from the following results that without fail every athlete in our group rose to the occasion and performed to the very best of their abilities. We will be eagerly awaiting the announcements for the provincial team later this week.
 
So very well done Royals.  – Coach Scott
 
Distance Group Results Provincial Championship Jamboree

Mark Molina – Provincial Champion U18 800m (PR 1:53.37) and Provincial Champion U18 1500m

Adrianna Buitelaar – Provincial Champion U16 1200m(PR 3:33.94) and Provincial Champion U16 2000m 

Riley Simmonds – Provincial Champion U16 1500m steeplechase (PR 4:27.41) and Silver Medalist U16 2000m (PR 5:50.66)

Maggie Epp – Provincial Champion U16 800m and Silver Medalist U16 1200m (PR 3:39.07)

Zoe Unger – Silver Medalist U18 2000m steeplechase (PR 7:09.64) and Bronze Medalist U18 1500m

Will Van Schagen – Silver Medalist 400m hurdles (PR 55.68)

Sam May – Silver Medalist 2000m steeplechase

Arata Nakanishi – Bronze Medalist 2000m (PR 6:22.45) and 17th 1500m

Mackenzie Lascelle – 4thU20 1500m and 5th U20 800m

William Steiger – Great running U16 1200m and 800m

Santos Svelander  Great running U16 300m

Arie Wassenaar – Great Running 1500m and 800m(PR 2:14.67)

Sam Rasquinha – Great Running 1500m and 800m

Volunteers URGENTLY Needed

Our club has been given a great opportunity for fundraising. We will be running the concession at the Harry Jerome Meet in Langley on Friday, July 14. This is a high end meet with world class athletes competing. We need your help to make it a success for our club!

There are two time slots available 3pm-6pm and 6pm-9pm. These hours will count towards your volunteer time with our club and you get free access to the meet (otherwise there is an entrance fee for spectators)We can’t do this without the support of our athletes and their families! Please contact Naomi Booth, our volunteer coordinator, at [email protected]

Stellar BC High School Championship Performances

Great performances are the result of a great team. I cannot express how proud I am of our Valley Royals family today. I am so proud of our Athletes for the way in which they pulled together and supported each other through thick and thin every step of the way. I am so proud of our Parents for how they not only support their young athletes but work so hard to support our program. I am also so grateful for the support they show me each and every day. I am proud of our coaching staff from Coach Trevor and his hurdle magic to Coach Vanessa and Coach Sidney who are always so willing to lend a hand with a bunch of steeplechasers whenever they can. Our thanks also goes out to our great Board members and our Administrator Christa who work tirelessly to create an environment where athletic excellence can thrive. 
 
The following results are just statistics – they don’t show that every one of our Valley Royals Athletes attained a personal best performance in this meet. Think about that. They don’t show Arata Nakanishi running the race of his life in the Steeplechase and then falling badly over the second to last barrier. They also don’t show him getting up gritting it out and running down the bronze medal in the event. I am so proud of each and every one of our athletes who competed this weekend not only for the fantastic performances they attained, but for the strength of character and outstanding personal characteristics that they have developed in order to achieve them.
 
So very, very, well done Royals. – Coach Scott
 
Valley Royals Distance Group Results – British Columbia High School Championships:
 
Sam May – BC High School Champion 1500m Steeplechase. New British Columbia High School Record 4:22.37 – Bronze Medal 3000m Event
 
Mark Molina – BC High School Champion 1500m. Silver Medal 800m event with funding standard for Nationals (1:54.87)
 
Adrianna Buitelaar – BC High School Champion 3000m. BC High School Champion 4x400m. Silver Medal 1500m Event.
 
Will Van Schagen (In conjunction with Coach Trevor’s Sprint Group) BC High School Champion 300m Hurdles. 4th 400m Event.
 
Arata Nakanishi – BC High School Bronze Medalist 1500m Steeplechase.
 
Maggie Epp – BC High School Bronze Medalist 800m. Funding Standard to Nationals (2:14.46). Silver Medal 4x400m Event. 5th 400m Event
 
Mack Lascelle – 4th 1500m Event. 7th 800m Event.
 
Zoe Unger – 4th 1500m Event. 5th 3000m event.
 
Riley Simmonds – 5th 1500m Steeplechase. 7th 3000m Event
 
Miles Graham – 9th 1500m steeplechase. 11th  3000m Event
 
Arie Wassenaar – 17th 1500m Steeplechase
 
William Steiger – 19th 1500m Event