Three North Okanagan runners celebrated third-place finishes in their respective events at the recent B.C. High School Track and Field Championships in Nanaimo.
Simon Heidt, a Grade 10 student from Vernon's Seaton Sonics, won bronze in the junior men's 3,000-metre race in a time of 9 minutes 2.42 seconds. Riley Simmons of Sardis Secondary won gold in 8:51.07, and Isaiah Johnston from Surrey's Clayton Heights won silver in 8:56.12.
A pair of Grade 8 athletes captured the other bronze medals.
Kingston Soper from Enderby's A.L. Fortune Falcons improved from a fourth-place showing in the preliminaries of the boys 200-m run to finish third in the final in a time of 24.73 seconds. Surrey runners Justin Ikwueglu (23.86, Archbishop Carney) and Noel Maldonado (24.71, École Salish) won gold and silver, respectively.
Chase Pighin of Vernon's Clarence Fulton Maroons ended up third in the boys 3,000m in 10:13.44. Laken Olson was the only runner in the field with a sub-10-minute time, winning gold in 9:37.47. Matthew Hrysio of Highland Secondary in Comox took silver in 10:13.08.
North Okanagan numbers reached double-digits for top-10 results.
Heidt was sixth in the final of the junior boys 1,500m in 4:14.55. He qualified ninth in 4:22.90. Soper finished eighth in the Grade 8 100m (12.49) and Pighin was eighth in the Grade 8 1,500m race (4:43.51).
Kosis Linke from the Kamalka Lakers of Coldstream placed fifth in the Grade 8 boys high jump with a leap of 1.55 metres.
Kiara Pighin of Fulton was seventh in the senior women's 3,000m in 11:04.44.
Rebecca Sawatzky of the Vernon Christian School Royals was eighth in the senior women's high jump (1.50m). Teammate Ben Tishenko was eighth in the senior men's long jump, landing after 6.11m. Linnaea Heidt of Seaton was eighth in the Grade 8 girls 3,000m run (11:52.24).
Shaden Cormier from A.L. Fortune was ninth in the junior mens pole vault, clearing the bar at 2.20m. Lanelle Sawatzky of VCS placed ninth in the junior women's high jump at 1.50m, and schoolmate Tristan Thompson was ninth in the senior mens triple jump at 12.15m.
Leah Funk from the Royals was 10th in the senior women's long jump (4.79m). Jacob Funk of VCS placed 10th in the Grade 8 boys high jump (1.45m). Ayden McDonald of the Vernon Secondary Panthers placed 10th in the junior boys 100m (11.93s). And Sarah Mitchell from Seaton was 10th in the Grade 8 girls 3,000m run in 12:07.72.
Other results from the six competing North Okanagan schools included:
A.L. FORTUNE
Declan Saner, senior mens 1,500m race walk, 12th; Kaelan Zacharias, senior mens 110m hurdles, 13th; senior mens javelin, 20th; Shaden Cormier, junior mens 300m hurdles, 26th; Kaeden Loewen, senior mens 400m hurdles, 22nd; junior mens high jump, 22nd; Evan Nicholls, junior mens triple jump, 31st; Jacob Simpso, senior mens pole vault, 15th; Brody Cormier, senior mens pole vault, 16th; 4x400 junior mens relay (Shaden Cormier, David Aylard, Mason Hank, Evan Nicholls), 28th; 4x400 senior mens relay (Brody Cormier, Kaelan Zacharias, Kingston Soper, Kayden Loewen), 24th;
CLARENCE FULTON SECONDARY
Isabella Pighin, senior women's 800m, 13th; senior women's 3,000m, 16th; Fin Mignon, junior mens 400m, 21st; junior mens long jump, 24th;
KALAMALKA SECONDARY
Liam Reid, senior mens 800m, 29th; Ashlyn Funston, junior women's 3,000m, 26th; Kosis Linke, Grade 8 boys long jump, 23rd;
VERNON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Leah Funk, senior women's 400m, 27th; senior women's 400m hurdles, 12th; Stefan Schuch, junior mens long jump, 16th; Rebecca Sawatzky, senior women's long jump, 28th; Tristan Thompson, senior boys 400m, 30th; Jaden Overend, senior boys 400m, 32nd; Ben Tishenko, senior mens triple jump, 14th; Jacob Leyenhorst, junior mens 100m hurdles, 21st; 4x100m junior mens relay (Stefan Schuch, Tristan Vanderdeen, Nic Demiris, Jacob Leyenhorst), 19th; 4x100 senior mens relay (Jaden Overend, Tristan Thompson, Zack Barry, Ben Tishenko), 26th; 4x400 senior mens relay (Overend, Thompson, Leyenhorst, Tishenko), 22nd; Nolan Smith, Grade 8 boys 800m, 18th;
VERNON SECONDARY
Lyriq Nerling, junior girls 100m, 2th; junior girls 200m, 27th; Anderson Bicknell, senior boys 100m, 18th; senior boys 200m, 15th; Jeff Curtis, senior mens 110m hurdles, 26th; Cisko Hove, senior mens shot put, 27th; 4x100m senior mens relay (Anderson Bicknell, Ayden McDonald, Coby Therrien, Jonah Lee), 14th;
W.L. SEATON SECONDARY
Oliver Parilak, junior mens shot put, 28th; junior mens discus, 13th; Emily Lane, Grade 8 girls 800m, 11th; Sarah Mitchell, Grade 8 girls 1,500m, 14th.
