South Zone athletes shine at track meet
A total of 45 South Zone athletes competed in the South-Central Zone High School Track and Field Championships in Kelowna on May 9 and many outstanding performances were turned in under ideal conditions at Apple Bowl Stadium.
Teams from Pen-Hi, Summerland Secondary Princess Margaret Secondary and KVR Middle School represented the South Okanagan against schools from West Kelowna, Kelowna, and Lake Country.
Grade 10 student Maverik Rahkola led the way for Pen-Hi with wins in the Junior Boys 800m 1500m and 4x400m Relay. He was joined on the winning relay team by Devan Kozak, Lorenzo Atilano and Miles Hayden.
Summerland sprinter Max Patenaude recorded a victory in the Junior 100m and was second in the 200m.
Patenaude, along with Summerland teammates Peter Kunka, Ian Robinson, and Jack Lessley, combined to win the 4x100m Relay. Robinson also claimed first in Junior Boys Long Jump, and was fourth in the 400m. Kunka, won the Jr. Boys 3000m and was third in the 1500m.
Other individual winners in the Junior Boys category were Devan Kozak of Pen-Hi who took first in the 300m hurdles and second in the 100m Hurdles, and Jasmine Hanry of Summerland who was a double winner in the Jr. Girls 1500m and 3000m.
Pen-Hi’s Jordis Hickie won the Jr. Girls 800m and finished a very close second to Hanry in the 1500m. Hickie also ran on both winning 4x100 and 4x 400m Senior relay teams for Pen-Hi. The Pen High girls Senior team of Hickie, Grace Campbell, Katya Pentecost and Baylee Leduc were convincing winners in the 4x100m Relay as was the 4x400m relay team consisting of Hickie, Campbell, Pentecost and Alexis Duncan.
Anna Hatch of Pen-Hi won the 300m hurdles and finished second in the 80m hurdles, while teammate Alexis Duncan finished second in the 300m hurdles and third in the 80m hurdles.
Miles Hayden of Pen-Hi finished second in the Junior Boys 1500m and third in the 800m.
In total, South Zone Junior athletes claimed 13 first-place finishes on the track. Summerland’s Emma Scholefeld led the way on the Senior Womens’ side with victories in both the 1500m and 3000m.
Kaydence Hickie of Maggie Secondary recorded a first-place finish in Sr. Women’s High Jump.
A pair of Grade 8 sprint hurdlers led the way for KVR Middle School. Sophia Carleton-Paliano dominated the Grade 8 girls’ competition as she won the 80m hurdles, 300m hurdles, and was second in Long Jump and third in the 100m as well as anchoring KVR’s 4x100 relay team. Other members of the winning KVR relay team were Ariana Wilson, Kennedy Lanteigne and Meg Arunan. Wilson also finished first in the Long Jump.
On the boys’ side, Tyler Hvidston was the class of the field with wins in three Grade 8 boys’ events: 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and High Jump.
Next up will be the Okanagan Valley Championships in Kamloops on Thursday.