Coquitlam youngsters were burning up the track last weekend at the junior development track and field provincial championships in Nanaimo.
Coquitlam Cheetah junior development athletes carted away 10 gold and 17 total medals from the three-day championships.
"The multiple medals won by some of these individuals were just phenomenal. They exceeded my expectations," said Cheetah junior development coach Steve Boylan, who had set his sights on five golds going into the competition.
Twelve-year-old Jarrett Chong scooped up four gold medals, winning in javelin, shot put, discus and hammer, where he made one of the 10 longest throws in B.C. history.
Cameron Slaymaker, 10, took home gold in the 1,000 metres, shot put and javelin (all top-10 all-time performances), claimed silver in the 60 m hurdles and won bronze in long jump and discus.
"He had just come back from Europe and was still jet lagged. Actually, he got a massive sunburn so he was competing with blisters across his shoulders," said Boylan.
Evan Smith, 13, snared gold in discus and javelin and earned silver in the hammer, while 13-year-old teammate Amin Shahsavar won gold in shot put and bronze in the 100 m and long jump, and 11-year-old Liam Espedido landed a silver in high jump.
Coquitlam's Jasmine Lew, who now runs for the South Fraser Track and Field Club, struck gold in the 200 m and was edged out at the wire to take silver in the 100 m.
"I think it went really well," said the 13-year-old who was also part of the gold-medal-winning distance medley team that included Port Coquitlam's Jade Kreiser.
"I like the adrenaline and hearing people in the crowd yelling for you."
Lew became involved in sprinting at the age of nine, setting a goal of competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics. That goal has her forgoing trips to the mall with friends to practice at least three times a week.
"In the end it's all worth it," she said.
All the hard work has allowed her to turn in personal best times this year of 12.59 seconds in the 100 m and 26.12 seconds in the 200 m, the fastest times for any 13-year-old girl in the province. Her time in the 100 m has earned her a ranking of 37th in Canada for seniors (19-21 year olds).
Her next test will come Aug. 9-11 at the Canada Athletics Legions in Langley, where she will be up against 16- to 18-year-olds.
"I guess I am a little bit [intimidated] but I'm mostly excited."
Port Coquitlam's Jamal Mensah, 12, placed first in the 80 m hurdles and third in both the 100 m and 300 m.
Nico De Paoli, a 13-year-old from Port Coquitlam, won gold in the long jump, silver in the 100 m, 200 m and 800 m, bronze in the 300 m, and was part of the gold medal teams in the 4x100 and distance medley.
