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Our Royals Distance Crew has been looking good in the early season. This past weekend our athletes competed at the Emilie Mondor Invitational at Simon Fraser University. Running against primarily university competitors our athletes held their own and represented us proudly.
In the men’s steeplechase event Sam May, Arata Nakanishi, and Miles Graham ran strongly finishing 3rd, 4th,and 5th behind Olympian John Gay, and Senior Team member Cole Dinsdale. Sam May’s 6:15.08 was National qualifying standard for Team BC in his first race over 36” barriers.
In the women’s 1500m event Adrianna Buitelaar, Maggie Epp, Zoe Unger, Syra Dhaliwal, and Kamora Piper also ran strongly against top level senior competition. Adrianna ran an impressive 4:34.42 to finish 3rd out of 20 competitors.
In the men’s 1500m event Riley Simmonds, Jonah Dyk, and Samuel Rasquinha represented us proudly and Riley Simmonds blazing personal best of 4:00.47 was faster than the BC High School Junior Record. Other great performances included Will Van Schagen’s Personal Best Performance of 51.32 in the 400m and second place finish in the 400m hurdles as well as Santos Svelander’s personal best in the 200m of 26.00.
Many of our athletes rounded out the day by competing in the 800m event and Riley Simmonds personal best performance of 1:57.47 was truly remarkable as it was only about an hour and a half after the 1500m. – Look for us next in two weeks time at the Oregon Relays on Historic Heyward Field University of Oregon.
Well done all of our Royals athletes and families who participated. – Coach Scott
Congratulations to Adrianna Buitelaar and Riley Simmonds who both posted the fastest U18 indoor marks in Canada for 3000m at the University of Washington’s High School Invitational this past February. Riley’s time of 8.41.03 was 3 seconds ahead of the next fastest runner and Adrianna’s 9:50.67 was a full 13 seconds ahead of the next fastest Mark. Check these marks out at Athletics Canada Rankings and make sure to scroll down to the section for Tracks over 200m.
Join us for the Valley Royals premier event: our annual Jennifer Rogers Swan Memorial Meet. On May 3-4, track and field athletes of all ages and levels will compete at Rotary Stadium, in Abbotsford.
Friday: Field events from 4pm to 7pm
Saturday: Track and field events from 9am to 4pm
NOTE: The schedule (in the Meet Package, below) is subject to change at any time.
Register on Trackie before Tuesday, April 30, 11:59pm:
https://www.trackie.com/event/2024-jennifer-rogers-swan-memorial-meet/1006433/
Download the Meet Package: Jennifer Swan Meet Package 2024 (vMarch 29)
Calling all aspiring track and field athletes between the ages of 8 and 12 (birth years 2015 – 2012). Junior Development (JD) season is here! Contact Club Administrator, Christa ([email protected]), to register your child. Fees for JD Track and Field season are $330. BC Athletics Insurance is required for all athletes, and this must be purchased directly from BC Athletics.
Our Valley Royals Distance Crew had a great weekend at the University of Washington High School Invitational in Seattle Washington. In the premier High School Indoor meet in the Pacific Northwest, our runners recorded many personal best performances, got a great experience in a first rate track and field event, and in some cases recorded downright stunning performances.
In the Women’s 3000m event, Adrianna Buitelaar ran an amazing race to finish 2nd overall in open high school competition with a fantastic 15 second PR of 9:50.67. Quite an accomplishment for this grade 10 runner. In the same race Zoe Unger and Syra Dhaliwal ran strongly to finish 32nd and 54th respectively.
On the men’s side Riley Simmonds lit up the track with a blazing 25 second Personal Best Performance of 8:41.03 just 1.5 seconds from the BC HIgh School Juior Boys Record. This placed him in the 15th position overall in open high school competition. In the same race Miles Graham, Arata Nakanishi, Arie Wassenaar, Sam Rasquinha, Will Steiger, and Ollie Teer, ran strong races to finish well in a field approaching 200 runners.
In the women’s mile event Adrianna Buitelaar once again turned in a great race to finish 3rd overall with a very fast 5:03.25 personal best. Maggie Epp ran a very strong 9th position finish with a very fast 5:13.40 season opener and Zoe Unger and Syra Dhaliwal also ran well.
Overall it was a great experience for our athletes and a big congratulations to all of our families who participated.
Well done Royals!! – Coach Scott
