Evan Owens / Staff Reporter
Gleneagle’s track and field athletes continued their season on May 4, competing in the Nick Wilkes Invitational in Maple Ridge.
The team, coached by Billy Demonte, Alex Campbell, and Jordyn McDonagh, had eight athletes participating in a variety of events at the competition; less than usual because it was an away meet.
“The [meet] was pretty fun. There weren’t too many athletes there, but I felt pretty good considering my competition,” said Tae Hyun Kim, grade 12, who cleared 1.7 meters in high jump, which landed him in second place.
Otherwise, Corinna Zenger came fifth in the 1500-meter race, Malin Folkers came seventh, and Abril Guerrero, grade 12, finished eighth. Sharif Hebrahim, grade 12, placed fourth in long jump and sixth in javelin.
The Maple Ridge meet was the second of the season, following the SD43 Coquitlam Classic, which was held on April 27 at Town Centre Park.
At the classic, attended by all the high schools in the district, Kim and Kaitlyn Questroo, grade 10, placed first in their respective events, high jump, and javelin. Questroo also placed third in discus.
Hebrahim came fifth in long jump and javelin, Haewon Park, grade 11, came fifth in the 100-meter sprint, and eighth in javelin, and Guerrero finished fifth in the 1500-meter event.
Zenger, and Marie Ebeling, juniors placed fifth and eighth respectively in the 1500m race, and Alexandra Borvanova, grade 10, came fifth in long jump.
Having started just before spring break, the team trains every Tuesday at Town Centre Park, alongside all the other district teams. “All the schools in the district get together because it is not like a team sport,” Demonte explained. “It is individualized, so what we do is split everyone up into different areas.”
According to Demonte, there have been challenges after two years of no track and field. “[This season] is almost like a rebuild because students have not done anything for so long,” Demonte said. “[We are] just trying to get back into the groove of things.”
While Kim agreed that this season is a rebuild, two years of no school track and field have not affected more experienced athletes like himself as much. “I have been doing club [track and field], and some stuff on my own, so it was not a big loss for me,” he explained.
Students competed on May 10 and 11 at the regional championships, but results were unavailable at press time. Students who did well will be competing in the Fraser North Championships on May 24 and 25. Those who qualify will move to provincials for June 9, 10, and 11.