While the 2015 Pan American Games are all the rage in Toronto this week, several Tri-City athletes competed in a sporting event that was held a little closer to home.
Coquitlam Cheetahs competitor Jarrett Chong brought home an impressive array of medals from the B.C. Track and Field Championships in Nanaimo last weekend, winning gold in the midget discus category, a silver in both shot put and javelin and a bronze medal in the hammer throw.
His four medals made up a significant portion of the 14 medals the Cheetahs track and field club won on Vancouver Island.
Nathan George also had a strong championship, winning gold in the 400 m — his signature event — while Raquel Tjernagel took home gold in the 100 m.
George, a Centennial secondary graduate, will be running in the 4 x 400 m relay with Team Canada next week at the Pan Am Games, while the 17-year-old Tjernagel will compete in both the 200 m and the 4 x 400 m in Toronto.
Shania Payne, another Cheetah’s track team member, won both the senior 100 m and 200 m races. She will next compete at the Western Canada Games in Wood Buffalo, Alta., where she will be joined by Cheetah’s teammate Adeyemi Taylor-Lewis, who finished in Nanaimo with a silver in the junior 100 m and a bronze in junior 200 m.
Grade 11 Heritage Woods student Josh Kozelj also had a strong showing at the provincials, winning the 2000 m steeplechase and a second place finish in the 3000 m run.
Meanwhile James Linde, a Charles Best secondary student, ran a personal best 20.80 to win the 200 m, while finishing second with a personal best of 10.58 in the 100 m.
In total, the Coquitlam Cheetahs took home seven gold, four silver and three bronze and had 24 top ten performances.
JR. CHEETAHS
Coquitlam Cheetahs junior development athletes Alanna Noble, Alyssa Dulay-McGuire, Devon Meadows and Cameron Slaymaker all captured gold medals at the Provincial Pentathalon Championship in Chilliwack last week.
Athletes at the one-day meet compete in five events, including sprint hurdles, 600 m long jump, shot put and high jump, and are awarded scaled points based on their individual performance. They range in age between 9 and 12 years old.
Additional medalists include nine-year-old Marty Bajarunas and nine-year-old Elianne Dugal, who both won silver, and 11-year-old Lauren Able, who took home bronze.
