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Placing at Parkland

The sun is starting to shine on tracks across the Island, but this year’s Parkland secondary track team learned to weather the weather.

The sun is starting to shine on tracks across the Island, but this year’s Parkland secondary track team  learned to weather the weather.

“You might have to compete in the rain, so you may as well train in it,” said head coach Daniel Baouya.

Parkland qualified 18 student athletes to the Lower Vancouver Island Championships held May 11 at UVic. Those student athletes accounted for 36 qualifying performances in 32 different events.

Finishing at LVIC were, Phillip Caldwell, placing eighth in the 400m hurdles and accomplishing Personal Bests (PB) in the 100, 200, and 400m; Jason Bolduc set a PB in the 110m hurdles, 100, 200, and 400m sprints; Curtis Matthias had PBs in the 100 and 200m sprints; while teammate Robin Ball finished sixth in the 1500m race walk, seventh in the 110m hurdles, and got PB in both the 100 and 200m. Both Matthias and Ball continued to Vancouver Island Championships as members of the 4x100m relay team.

At the Vancouver Island Championships, held at UVic, Parkland’s athletes shone with  more amazing results.

In the Bantam Girls Courtenay Neville-Rutherford finished third in the shot put, second in the javelin and third in the hammer throw; Leigh MacFadyen was first in the high jump and third in the long jump; Nicola Hestnes kept improving her time with every race, finishing fifth in the 400m; Chloe Hegland finished sixth in the 3,000m and seventh in the 1,500m.

In Junior Girls Sophie Hegland finished sixth in the javelin; Jamie Hargreaves was first in the high jump; and Leah McStravick was fourth in the 100m, despite shin splints.

For the Senior Girls Kim Neville-Rutherford finished third in the long jump while in the same event teammate Susannah Pennell finished her Grade 12 season in ninth. Neville-Rutherford also finished second in the high jump and fourth in the 100m hurdles; Alanna Spence finished seventh in the 1500m steeplechase with a PB in that event.

In Bantam Boys Caelan MacEwan finished first in the 300m hurdles and third in the 100m hurdles.

For the Junior Boys  Wade Popel finished fourth in the 100m and fifth in the 200m.

In Senior Boys Ross Haskett finished third in the javelin, sixth in the 200m, and seventh in the 100m; Thomas Strocel finished 11th in the 400m with a PB.

“Pretty much everyone has set a new personal best which is very rewarding for me,” said Baouya. “The kids should be proud of their achievements. I try to teach them that it’s all about self-improvement and a healthy lifestyle.”