The first two days of competition at the Fraser Valley High School track and field championships saw more than two dozen Abbotsford athletes finish on the podium.
Monday and Tuesday’s action saw more than a couple events come down to the wire, with competitors separated by a blink of an eye. In several such cases, it was Abbotsford athletes who found themselves on the top of the podium.
The junior boys 100 metres, for instance, saw the top three runners separated by just a single hundredth of a second, with Robert Bateman’s Anthony Bodger coming out on top, with a time of 11.95 seconds.
Rick Hansen’s Valerie Mensah-Wilson won the senior girls 100 metres in a time of 12.95, with the top five runners separated by just five hundredths of a second.
MEI’s Matthew Welsh won the senior boys 110-metre hurdles by just .04 of a second. And Abbotsford Christian’s Jarrod Choi won the junior boys 1,500 race walk by just two-tenths of a second.
Not all events were so close. W.J. Mouat’s Vikramjit Gondara’s discus throw of 46.1 metres outdistanced the nearest junior boys competitor by seven and a half metres.
And MEI’s Hannah Kornelson claimed first in the senior girls 1,500-metre race walk by beating the next-fastest walker by more than 40 seconds.
Other first-place finishes came from ACS’s Annika Rebel, who won the Grade 8 girls discus throw, and Cole Brandsma, who won the Grade 8 boys triple jump and finished second in the high jump.
And Mouat’s senior boys squad claimed the Fraser Valley crown in the 4x400-metre relay.
Abbotsford athletes also found themselves on the other two podium rungs.
From Abbotsford Christian school, Lizaan Steenkamp claimed third place in the Grade 8 girls 400-metre dash, finishing; Cassie Brandsma finished third in the Grade 8 girls high jump; George Ma was third in the senior boys 110-metre hurdles; and Parker Schlacter finished third in the junior boys shot put.
MEI’s Hannah Konrad finished second in the senior girls 400 metres; Tim Bertness finished third in the senior boys javelin; Lyzandria Enns claimed third in the junior girls triple jump; Damian Crosby finished third in the Grade 8 boys shot put; and the school’s junior girls 4x400-metre relay finished second.
Mouat’s Angela Gourley finished third in the senior girls 100-metre hurdles; Amrin Bhangu claimed third in the junior boys 1,500-metre race walk; Nic Bonneau was third in the senior boys 1,500-metre race walk; and the school’s 4x400-metre senior girls relay claimed third place.
Rick Hansen’s Monique Sever finished second in the senior girls triple jump and third in the senior girls long jump.
Bateman’s Greg Poirier claimed second in the junior boys shot put.
Yale’s Zach Foth claimed second place in the junior boys javelin.
Abbotsford Traditional’s Parmvir Waring finished third in the junior boys 1,500 metres.
After an off-day Wednesday, the meet concluded Thursday, but results were not available at press time. See the next edition of The News for results.
