Large Group of Royals Competing at BC High School Championships

This Friday and Saturday the BC Secondary School Track and Field Championships will be held at the Langley Langley’s McLeod Stadium track and the Valley Royals will be represented by a number of athletes representing their various schools.

Mouat middle distance runners Alex Siemens and Callum Pilgrim swept the gold medals in three middle distance events in their respective age divisions at the Fraser Valley Championships. This will be the last BC High School Championship meet for grade 12 student Siemens who has accepted a scholarship to attend University of Idaho this coming September. Siemens is running with confidence this year and it’s expected that she will be a medal contender in both the 1500 and 3,000 meters this weekend. Pilgrim was the junior girls aggregate winner at the FV Championships and this all round athlete, although just in grade 10, is considered to be a definite threat in both the 1500 and 3,000 meters.

Oliver Jorgensen will concentrate on the 2-k steeplechase event in these championships and his time of 9:07.68 in the Fraser Valley meet ranks him second in the province going into Saturday’s meet. Manpreet Grewal is one of the very best teenaged hammer throwers in Canada and is expected to shine in that event even though she will have to contend with Aisanna Covington, another highly ranked Canadian thrower. Adam Lambert at the FV meet won both the shot put (13.45m) and discus (47.88m) and placed second in the hammer and he will contest all three of those events during the weekend. Fraser Valley pole vault champions Spencer Spenst and Catherine Taekema are ranked second and fourth respectively in the male and female vault events respectively and they will both be looking for medal performances this weekend. Zach Choboter will join Spenst in the pole vault and also compete in the long jump and 100 meters. As a grade 9, Hannah Konrad will compete in the junior division of the meet and she is expected to do well in the 400 and 800m events.

The championship runs from 9:00 am to 7:15 pm on Friday and commences again at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.