Revelstoke Secondary School records fall at BC track & field championships

By Andy Pfeiffer, Revelstoke Secondary School

Twenty-eight members of the Revelstoke Secondary School track and field team competed in the BC High School Provincial Track and Field Championships in Langley from June 4–6. Faced with their stiffest competition all season, RSS athletes managed four top eight finishes and several school-record breaking performances in the stifling heat at Macleod Athletic Park.

Grade 12 Jacqueline Cottingham put a bow on her five years of work in track and field by cracking the top eight twice at the provincials. After jumping 150 centimetres to take seventh in the high jump, Jacqueline ran a best-ever, RSS School record of 1:00.41 in the sr. Girls 400 metres, good enough for a spot in the final where she finished in eighth place in the province. Although this was the last track meet of the year, Jacqueline plans to continue with the sport at the University of Calgary next year, where she will study engineering.

The best singular performance of the team belonged to big Jacob Ancell, who finished in sixth place in the grade eight boys shotput with a put of 11.02 metres. Another grade eight thrower, Aleks Klassen, also was able to crack the top eight. Klassen’s mark of 34.02 metres in the javelin was good enough for seventh place in the province. Earlier, he missed out on the finals in the 400 metres by 1/100th of a second, finishing in ninth place with a new school record time of 58.06 seconds.

Maxine Opatril broke Brittany Evans’s school record in the sr. girls 800-metre run. After a disappointing 1500 metres the day before, Opratril ran strongly throughout her 800-metre race and finished with a 2:28.73.

The junior girls 4X400 metre relay team of Megan Cottingham, Elizabeth Elliott, Alexis Welch, and Alana Brittin also got their name on the RSS record board with an inspiring 4:25.23 in their race.

Most athletes peaked at the right time and left Langley with personal bests and season’s best results. In the final race of the meet, Hayden Mallet’s performance in the 3000 metre exemplified RSS track and field. With every one of his teammates chanting his name, Hayden ran his personal best by more than 20 seconds in the gruelling 7.5-lap race in 30 degree heat. The team then ran onto the field and flooded him with high fives.

After winning several North Zone and Okanagan Valley pennants this year, the RSS track season comes to a close. With key grade 12s leaving for university next year, grade eight athletes such as the speedy Riley Wallach are ready to take the baton and run with it.

Here are the complete Revelstoke results:

Elizabeth Elliott – 13^th 400m 1:02.56, 25^th 800m 2:35.29, 22^nd 200m 27.88

Jacqueline Cottingham – 8^th 400m 1:00.41, 7^th HJ 1.50m, 15^th 400mh 1:10.92

Adam Smith – 22^nd 400m 55.53

Kate Granstrom – 25^th 1500m 5:11.90, 18^th 3000m 11:48.64

Alana Brittin – 26^th 1500m 5:15.25, 20^th 800m 2:32.31, 17^th Javelin 24.87m

Maxine Opatril -- 13^th 800m 2:28.73, 27^th 1500m 5:41.83,

Megan Cottingham – 25^th 80mh 14.65, 26^th Hammer 22.07m, 22^nd 300mh 52.83

Daniel Blackie – 18^th 110mn 20.12, 21^st 400mh 1:08.13

Spencer Spannier – 29^th 800m 2:10.93, 13^th 300mh 45.57, 16^th 1500m steeple 4:52.38

Zoë Kramer – 28^th 200m 30.47

Alexis Welch – 29^th Triple Jump 8.84m

Nick Flick – 15^th Long Jump 5.56m, 15^th High Jump 1.7m

Linnea Allain – 33^rd Shot 6.58m, 23^rd Hammer 26.40m

Cam McKenzie – 20^th Discus 26.57m, 20^th Javelin 34.32m

Roger Jover – 26^th Triple Jump 10.59m

Robyn Rourke – 14^th Javelin 26.53m

Erin Behncke – 18^th Javelin 24.49m, 27^th Discus 19.28m, 10^th Hammer 34.48m

Mitch Kovacs – 19^th Shotput 9.99m, 10^th Hammer 30.02m

Andreas Suchovs – 15^th Hammer 26.65m, 22^nd Javelin 33.03m

Stefanie Wallach – 20^th Shotput 7.15m, 18^th Javelin 28.01m

Alexis Allain – 25^th Shotput 5.88m

Aleks Klassen – 9^th 400m 58.06, 7^th Javelin 34.02m, 18^th 200m 26.68

Riley Wallach – 10^th 100m 12.69, 11^th 200m 25.98

Jacob Ancell – 6^th Shotput 11.02m

Hayden Mallet – 15^th 3000m 10:48.14

Rylan Bokis – 30^th 400m 1:00.91

Jr. Girls 4X100m 29^th 55.32 – Zoë Kramer, Elizabeth Elliott, Megan Cottingham, Alexis Welch

Jr. Girls 4X400m 15^th – Alana Brittin, Elizabeth Elliott, Megan Cottingham, Alexis Welch 4:25.43

Jr. Boys 4X400m 27^th – John Echlin, Tettey Tetteh, Rylan Bokis, Spencer Spannier 4:05.98

Sr. Girls 4X100m 26th 56.69 – Jacqueline Cottingham, Maxine Opatril, Stefanie Wallach, Erin Behncke

Sr. Girls 4X400m 15^th 4:27.89 – Erin Behncke, Maxine Opatril, Jacqueline Cottingham, Zoe Kramer

Sr. Boys 4X400m 26^th 4:10.28 – Roger Jover, Adam Smith, Daniel Blackie, Jacob Ancell