BC's best U20 and Senior athletes will come together this week for the Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships right here in beautiful British Columbia. From the young hopefuls to the Canadian heroes, we expect to see lots of outstanding performances at the McLeod Athletic Park this week! Here is a short selection of some of the outstanding high school and U20 athletes competing this week in the U20 championships.
Local Athletes Dominate Sprints
The sprint entries are full of BC high school stars. In the men's 100m, Logan Duley, Ryan Lofstrom and Liam O'Donnell are ranked 7th, 8th and 9th, respectively, meaning they have a good chance at making the final. Lofstrom is also ranked 7th in the 200m by seed time, joined by Mattias Eastman who is ranked 9th and Pishon Haughton who enters the semi-finals ranked 10th. In the men's 400, Haughton holds the top seed time of 48.03 amongst a competitive field. Fresh off of representing Team Canada at the NACAC U18/U23 Championships, Iyimi Fagbamiye will have his eyes on a National podium as he enters the 110m hurdles ranked 4th.
On the women's side, Elisabeth McDowell-Mitchell is the 3rd fastest entrant in the 400m, with local Langley athlete Maiya Brunoro ranked 6th. Brunoro is also the second fastest seed in the 400m hurdles, with fellow BC athlete Amelia Kristen the top entrant in that event and also enters the 100m hurdles ranked 5th. In the short sprints, Jordyn Reed is the highest-ranked BC athlete in the short sprints, ranked 12th in the 100m and tied with Kerlinda Chatwin for the 19th rank in the 200m.
The Distance Dawgs are Back
In the women's 800m, the trio of Alexa Dow, Maya Baechler, and Maella Hodgson will seek to make the final, with Dow the top-ranked athlete of the BC trio, entering the event as the 2nd fastest seed. Meanwhile, Hodgson is the top-ranked 1500m entry, with Bachelor joining her in the 800/1500m double this week. Ruby Broadbent will challenge for the championship in the women's 3000m, entering as the second-fastest seed with a narrow margin to the top entry.
In the men's 5000m run, Yemane Mulugeta has the top seed time by over 10 seconds and will be after the gold. He'll chase another medal in the 3000m, where he enters ranked second overall. The 3000m is packed with BC athletes, as Charlie Mlotshwa and James Hodgson will also contest the event. In the men's 800, the duo of Mark Molina and Hudson Irvine will seek to make the final.
Exciting Field Action
In the Triple Jump, Divine Aniamaka is the overwhelming favourite, with his seed being nearly 60cm further than the next closest athlete. Lyle Lo will chase the podium in that event, ranked 4th overall. Aidan Turner will have a busy weekend in the field. Turner is the second-ranked athlete in the men's Long Jump and the Pole Vault. Rounding out the men's jumps, Caidyn Maver will hope to soar to a medal on the men's High Jump, entering the event ranked 4th.
Jumps seem to be BC's strong point in the field this weekend. On the women's side, Jasleen Nagra is ranked 5th and 6th in Triple Jump and Long Jump, respectively. Kerlinda Chatwin will also contest the Triple Jump. In Pole Vault, Mackenzie Hurtubise is the third-ranked athlete entered and will look to secure the bronze medal.
In the men's Javelin Throw a BC trio looks to capture the entire podium, as Riley Malkoske, Martynas Bajarunas, and Kayden U-Ming are the top three ranked entries, in order. Speaking of throws, in the U20 men's hammer Matthew Uliana, coming off his freshman season at University of British Columbia, is sitting in the top seed position, fellow BC athletes Michael Ogbeiwi and Deven Marrero are ranked third and fourth respectively going into the meet. Uliana is also the top seed in both the discus and shot put. On the women's side in the hammer throw, Isabella Hall of the Alberni Valley Track Club comes in as the number one seed with a mark of 55.18m. Lauren Friesen, Lauren Curtis, Elise Drake and Keerat Dhillon are ranked second, fourth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Marvellous Multis
The U20 championships will also see a heptathlon for women and a decathlon for men. Langley athlete Madison Gordon enters the women's heptathlon seeded in 4th and will chase the podium.
We can't wait to see all of the fabulous performances out there! We will see you all there for 4 days of fantastic track and field action in Langley!