A change of venue and travel plans was no problem for four members of the Vernon Amateur Athletic Association.
The quartet of Kian Zabihi, Matthew Acob, Coby Therrien and Victoria Barry competed with 400 other athletes at the B.C. Junior Development (age nine to 13) Track and Field Championships at South Surrey Athletic Park.
The event was originally scheduled for Kelowna, to be hosted by Okanagan Athletics, but the decision was made a week before the championships to move the event due to potential air quality issues in the Okanagan.
As a result, the Vernon athletes were the only four that were able to adjust to new travel plans.
Zabihi competed in three throwing events in the men’s 12-year-old category. His throw of 41.51 metres in the hammer event landed him a gold medal. It also meant his throw was recorded as second in B.C.’s all-time records for the last 20 years in the event for his age. He threw a PB (Personal Best) in discus with a distance of 32.83m, earning a gold medal and a place in the B.C. record book. A throw of 10.88m earned him a silver medal in shot put.
Acob competed in three events in the men’s 12-year-old category: long jump, 800m, and 1,200m. He boasted PBs in both the 800m and 1,200m. He won bronze in the 1,200m with a time of 4 minutes 4.17 seconds. His time of 2:30.97 in the 800m placed him fourth.
Therrien competed in the men’s 10-year-old category and challenged himself in six events throwing, running, and jumping. This is Therrien’s first year doing track and field, thus his first time at provincials. He had a great meet with his best events being the 60m dash, where he placed fifth with a time of 9.76 (his heat qualifying time was 9.60), javelin with a PB throw of 14.55m and his eighth place finish in the 1,000m with a time of 3:42.25.
Barry competed in the 100m dash, long jump, and high jump events in the women’s 13-year-old category. She placed seventh in high jump, successfully clearing 1.33m.