Ben Lypka
Mission Record
Mission Secondary’s Bryce MacKenzie continued his leaps to greatness at the Fraser Valley Track and Field Championships, which ran from May 16 to 19 in Coquitlam.
MacKenzie grabbed first-place finishes in the junior boys long jump, triple jump and high jump at the event, posting impressive results in all three competitions.
He crushed the competition in the long jump, beating out the second-place jumper by .3 metres. He was the only junior athlete to jump six metres, reaching 6.17 metres in his winning leap.
The high jump saw MacKenzie beat the second-place athlete by .08 metres, jumping 1.93 metres to victory. The triple jump saw him win by .21 metres, and he was one of only two competitors to jump over 13 metres, finishing with a total of 13.23 metres.
MacKenzie wasn’t the only local to excel at the event, as a handful of other Mission athletes finished in the top three in their respective events.
Mission Secondary’s Charlotte Daignault earned second place in the 1500 metre girls junior race walk. Daignault posted a time of 8:41.55, beating out teammate Amelia Janes from Mission Secondary who placed third with a time of 8:43.44.
Hatzic Secondary’s Tanner Geringer was the only junior athlete from his school to place in the top three, finishing third in the junior boys javelin. Geringer recorded a distance of 40.33 metres to earn the spot.
Also finishing in the top three for junior was Mission Secondary’s Jacob Walters, who placed third in the junior boys 300 metre hurdles. Walters posted a time of 42.85 seconds in the event.
The top Grade 8 finisher for Heritage Park Secondary was Harrison Trustham, who finished second in the Grade 8 boys 200 metre hurdles. He finished just half a second out of first place, completing the race in 28.87 seconds.
Hatzic’s Avery Loewen also earned a second place, with a strong showing in the Grade 8 girls discus. Loewen threw for 20.75 metres to earn a spot on the podium.
Bradly Tober from Hatzic also reached the podium with a third-place finish in the Grade 8 boys shot put. Tober recorded a distance of 10.06 metres to finish third overall.
Qualifying athletes advance to the provincials, which occur in Nanaimo from June 2 to 4.
For complete results from the event, visit fraservalleytrack.net.