Bernardo Sada, a Grade 11 athlete from Walnut Grove Secondary, located in Langley, British Columbia, is looking to keep progressing both through the cross country trails and on the track. During the 2022 cross country season he secured silver at both the BC XC Club Championships and BC High School XC Championships, so come November 4th, at the 2023 edition of the Provincial Championships, he is looking to medal again.
I caught up with Sada about how he got his start in running, his training group and his experiences within both high school track and cross country.
Personal Bests
800m: 1:53.40
1500m: 4:02.23
3000m: 8:52
Career Accolades
2023 BC High School Junior 1500m Silver Medalist
2023 BC Club U18 800m Silver Medalist
2022 BC High School XC Junior Silver Medalist
2022 BC Club XC Junior Silver Medalist
Sada started running at a young age. He did whatever it took to get into races and be in a competitive atmosphere.
"I started running with my elementary school in Grade 3, even though I wasn't supposed to because I had to be in Grade 4 to do so. My teacher helped me sneak into races because he saw how hard I worked. From there I discovered how much I liked to run, so I joined track later on in the year and my love for the sport continued to grow."
Flash forward to 2022, Sada's Grade 10 year of high school, he won the Junior Boys 4km at the East Valley XC Championships with a time of 13:04.90 and went on to become a double silver medalist at the provincial level. At the BC Club Championships he finished second to Charlie Mlotshwa on the 3km course with a time of 9:35.6. History repeated itself at the BC High School XC Championships with Sada placing second, tied with Sam May, as the both crossed the line after Mlotshwa, in a time of 12:44.
"Overall it was a pretty good season. It started off a little rocky due to various illnesses, but I was able to pull myself together for the bigger races. I got silver at Clubs and High Schools and the goal was to medal in both of them."
Sada carried this success into the 2023 track and field season. He broke the 1:54 barrier in the 800m which secured him a spot on Team BC for the Legion National Championships. Not to mention at the BC High School Track and Field Championships he showed his range, placing second in the Junior Boys 1500m.