Choboter BC High School Decathlon Champion

Valley Royal athlete Zach Choboter, representing Abbotsford’s St. John Brebeuf School, placed first in the BC Secondary School’s decathlon championship held this past Friday and Saturday at the Swan Track in Abbotsford.

In spite of inclement weather conditions that on Friday morning featured torrential rain showers, Choboter amassed 5,485 pts to easily win the event.  In second place was White Rock Christian’s Glen Johnston (4,529 pts) and Derek Brougham (Oak Bay) came third (4,468 pts).  Thirteen athletes from schools throughout the province took part in this year’s decathlon.

Choboter won seven of the 10 events (100m-11.49), 400m (54.62), 100m hurdles (17.14), hj (1.71.), LJ (6.22m), SP (10.73m) and discus (31.43m).  In the other three events Choboter placed second in the pole vault (3.30m) fourth in the 1500m (5:07.95) and fifth in the javelin (31.73m). 

At next week’s BC High School track and field Championships that begins Thursday at McLeod Park in Langley, Choboter will once again be busy as he expects to take part in the 100 meters, long jump and high jump events.

In the women’s heptathlon event, Nina Schulz of New Westminster Secondary scored 4,655 pts. to win in a tight battle with Walnut Grove’s Robyn Buckingham who placed second (4,506 pts.).  Winston Churchill Stephanie Cho came third (4,342 pts.).

On her way to the win, Schulz placed first in the 100m hurdles (14.92), shot put, (9.51m), 200m (26.55) and long jump (5.71m).  She was second in the high jump (1.59m), 6th in the 800m (2:31.81) and seventh in the javelin (25.76m).

Buckingham was first in the high jump (1.62m) and javelin (41.54m) while Cho won the 800m (2:15.01). Fourteen athletes completed the two day heptathlon event.

Smith & Crofts Impress in California

Last Thursday Helen Crofts and Jessica Smith competed in California at the USATF High Performance Distance Classic (also known as Oxy).

This meet always attracts very competitive fields in the distance events and provides an excellent opportunity to run fast times.  Smith came third and Crofts was fifth in section two of the women’s 800 meter competition producing times of 2:01.78 and 2:02.10 respectively, performances that rank them second and fourth in the Canadian rankings.

Commenting on the race Smith stated, “both Helen and I are in excellent condition and exceptionally fit, but we did not run tactically smart races, got boxed in and that no doubt caused us to run slower then we could have.  However it was a great experience and both of us look forward to our next race that takes place this coming Saturday in Austin, Texas.”

Jorgensen Wins Conference, Qualifies for NCAA Champs

Oliver Jorgensen will make history when he competes for SFU at the NCAA Division 2 National Championships as he becomes his school’s first male track and field athlete to do so.

Jorgensen, a freshman, won the conference championship in the 3-k steeplechase last week with a time of 9:17.20.

In the race, Alaska Anchorage’s Micah Chelimo, who is the top ranked runner in the 5k and 10k in NCAA Division II, crashed in the water jump and Jorgensen took advantage of that.

With three other runners between Jorgensen and first place, the Clan freshman took the lead with three laps to go and then held off charges by runners from both Western Washington and Western Oregon universities.

Previously Jorgensen had turned in a time of 9:09.38 at the Mount Sac Relays, a performance that places him second in the Canadian Men’s Junior rankings for the steeplechase.

“I’m really proud to make nationals as a freshman,” said Jorgensen. “I barely missed qualifying individually in cross country and my goal has been to qualify in outdoor track so it’s a good way to end it. The transition into SFU couldn’t have gone any better. It was smooth and I’ve matured as a person and an athlete. At the championship, my goal is to make the final and hopefully earn All-American status. I look forward to representing the Clan with Sarah at the championship and working to improve over the next few years.”

GOOD PERFORMANCES AT FRASER VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIPS

At the Fraser Valley Championships numerous Valley Royal club throwers and middle distance runners qualified for the BC High School Track and Field Championships that take place in Langley May 29, 30, 31.

Leading the way were middle distance runner Tanner Geary and thrower Adam Lambert. Geary had personal bests in tying for first in the junior boys 800m (2:01.63) and placing second in 1500m (4:15.08) while Lambert had first place finishes in both the senior boys discus (47.36) and hammer (55.88).

In the heats of the senior boy’s 800m, Aidan Bingert turned in a personal best 1:58.5 and came fourth in the final (2:00.06). Sarya Ross won bronze medals in the senior girl’s 1500m (4:53.26) and 3,000m (10:33.29).

Josh Adhemar had a very creditable personal best of 58.49 for a fourth place finish in the senior boy’s 400-meter hurdle event.

JoJo Calverley placed first in the grade 8 girls 400-meters and will take part in her first high school provincial meet.

Tasha Willing was second in the senior girls hammer (44.37) and won the discus with a throw of (44.37m). Although recovering from an injury, Vikramjit Gondara was first in the junior boys hammer (47.28m) and second in the discus (36.92m) while another injury plagued thrower, Manpreet Grewal, came third in the senior girls discus (34.93m) and fourth in the hammer (44.97m).

Other performances by Valley Royal athletes that advanced them to the BC Championships include:
Alicia Unruh—7th in the senior girls 3,000 and 4th in the 1500m SC
Callum Pilgrim—7th in senior girls 1500m and 800m.
Kate Sokolowski—3rd in junior girls 3,000m and second in 1500m
Manpreet Grewal—3rd in senor girl’s discus and fourth in hammer (44.97)

Leading the Way…

Travel to California in the month of April can, in many cases, be a worthwhile excursion for athletes that are seeking performances that are encouraging. Perhaps it’s the escape from rain and cool temperatures of the Pacific Northwest into the warm and balmy southern weather, or maybe it’s because California is just a hotbed of track and field and that fact alone gets everyone in the mood to do well.
 
Whatever the reason, a number of club athletes made the trip south during the month of April and returned home with season bests and, in some cases, leading Canadian marks. Jessica Smith definitely made good use of the California sun by producing a 2014 Canadian best in the 800 meters by running the distance in 2:01.42. Not far behind Jessica was teammate Helen Crofts, now performing with full health, with a fast 2:02.41 clocking that at present ranks her third in Canada. In addition, both Jessica and Helen turned in personal bests for 1500 meters with times of 4:15.96 and 4:19.95 respectively.
 
Competing in Corvallis, Oregon, Alexandria Siemens produced a season best 4:39.24 as a member of the University of Idaho team. “It could have been better but I am now making progress and feel confident about my ability to run faster in coming weeks” stated Siemens.
 
Oliver Jorgensen, competing for SFU, took part in several California meets and produced the very worthwhile 5,000m clocking of 14:34.94 (second ranked Jr. men’s performance in Canada) and a creditable 3:54.84 in the 1500 meters. Oliver’s times in both the 1500 and 5000 meter events qualifies him for the conference meet and places him in strong contention to be invited to the NCAA Division 2 Nationals. Now if Oliver can just keep out-of-the-way of tripping over some obstacle and injuring himself, he should be in store for an excellent season.
 
The Upper Fraser Valley Championships were held last Wednesday and Thursday and countless club athletes qualified for the Fraser Valley Championships that take place next week in Coquitlam. While there were too many performances to enumerate in this release, some notable winning performances were turned in by Sarya Ross in the senior girl’s 1500, Hannah Conrad in the senior girls 400 and 800 meters, Tanner Geary in the junior boys middle distance runs and Kate Sokolowski in the grade eight girls middle distance events.