Canadian track and field championships Sports, D8
Kitchener jumpers shine at recent Canadian Track & Field Championships
KITCHENER — They are friends, training partners and rivals.
This past weekend in Ottawa, they became national champions.
Kitchener residents Ryan Taylor and Kenny Siharath turned in gold-medal performances at the Canadian Track & Field Championships, with Taylor taking top spot in Sunday’s U20 triple jump competition and Siharath edging Taylor in Saturday’s U20 long-jump event.
Taylor, representing First Attempt Jumps Academy, won his first national championship in dramatic fashion, recording a hop, step and jump of 14.76 metres on his sixth and final attempt to knock Frédéric Hanna of Ste-Thérèse, Que., into second place. His medal collection from Canadian championships now stands at six, having previously won three bronze and a pair of silvers.
“It’s been a long season and I was pretty tired, but in the end, I got what I came for,” said Taylor, who will start classes at Central Michigan University later this summer.
“It’s nice to finally become a national champion; it’s something I’ve always wanted.”
Siharath, representing Supreme Athletics, won the long jump with a 7.18-metre effort he recorded on his third of six attempts and also recorded his first national championship. Taylor finished second with a 6.98-metre jump.
“I wasn’t really focused on winning the competition, I was just focused on executing and doing what I needed to do,” said Siharath, who will return for a fifth year at Cameron Heights.
“I’m really glad it came together at nationals because it was my last meet of the season and it was a great time to really show up.”
Taylor, who won gold for Huron Heights in both disciplines at the recent Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association championship, said he was happy to share the wealth this time around. Siharath finished third in the long jump at OFSAA and fifth in the triple jump.
The two have been close friends for a number of years now, said Taylor, and despite belonging to different clubs, they train together three times a week at St. David Catholic Secondary School in Waterloo.
“No one wants to finish second or third, but Kenny had the better day at nationals (in the long jump) and it’s really cool to see him win … and it’s nice to that both horizontal jump medals are coming back to Kitchener,” said Taylor.
Siharath, who hopes to land a scholarship offer from an American university, chuckled when asked if it was nice to edge his friend for the gold medal.
“We push each other and motivate each other in practice and competition, so it was really good to have him there,” he said.
“We’re good friends, on and off the track, and it’s a healthy rivalry because we really get along.”
Siharath won silver at last year’s youth nationals to go along with three OFSAA medals. He won gold in the triple jump and long jump and was part of the Cameron Heights team that finished third in the 4x100-metre relay.
Siharath plans to take a few weeks off before returning to a light practice schedule, while Taylor will continue his season at the July 28-Aug. 13 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg.
Meanwhile, Kitchener native Angela Mercurio won silver in the senior women’s triple jump with a 13.19-metre performance.
The University of Nebraska student saved her best for her final attempt and finished behind Caroline Ehrhardt of London, who topped out at 13.53 metres.
Sevanne Ghazarian of Cambridge, representing the Speed River Track and Field Club, earned bronze in the U20 women’s 1,500-metre race, finishing in four minutes, 25.28 seconds. The St. Benedict graduate, who will attend Yale University this year, was edged by Saskatoon’s Courtney Hufsmith, who won in 4:24.12, and Speed River teammate Anne Forsyth (4:25.00).
Kitchener’s Christopher Green, who attends Texas State University and trains with Supreme Athletics, earned bronze in the senior men’s 400-metre hurdles, finishing in 52.71 seconds. Kirema Macharia of the University of Texas won in 51.30 seconds and Speed River’s Gregory MacNeill was second (51.68).
Megan O’Brien of the Kitchener Waterloo Track and Field Club was third in the women’s 400-metre ambulatory race, Jellisa Westney of Supreme Athletics was fourth in the senior women’s 100-metre dash, Alissa Melvin of Invictus Athletics was fourth in the U20 women’s triple jump, and Tamara Grahovac of Supreme Athletics was sixth in the same event.