Schultz breaks historic 5,000 mark

Nina Schultz admits that an injury-riddled off-season made it pretty tough for her to get a foot up on the competition heading into the current outdoor track and field season.

Yet as the New Westminster Hyacks’ Grade 11 dynamo proved this weekend, once healthy, she is among the most dynamic athletes in recent B.C. high school history.

Schultz became just the fourth girl in the 33-year history of the Subway B.C. High School Track and Field Championships to break the 5,000-point barrier in the heptathlon, scoring 5,046 points over the two-day, seven-event competition, which wrapped up Saturday in Abbotsford.

En route to repeating as heptathlon champion, Schultz not only won the 100-metre hurdles (14.82 seconds), high jump (1.74 metres), 200 metres (26.35 seconds), long jump (5.38 metres) and javelin (36.37 metres), she posted personal bests in the hurdles, javelin, 200 metres, 800 metres (2:29.61) and shot put (10.30 metres).

That’s five wins and five PBs, with the main portion of the B.C. meet set to run this coming Thursday through Saturday at Langley’s McLeod Athletic Park.

“Those are the best results I have had in a while because of my injuries,” said Schultz, who during the indoor season took turns spraining both her left, then right ankles. “I am feeling a lot more confident about things after this weekend.”

Robyn Buckingam of Langley’s Walnut Grove was second at 4,469 and Calli-Ann Abbott of Brooks Secondary in Powell River third at 4,381.

Victoria-Stelly’s Kaelan Carvalhal-Smith won the men’s decathlon with 4,716 points. Kelowna’s Alexander Taylor finished second at 4,615.

For more results, click the High School icon at provincesports. com.