With September fast approaching a number of Valley Royal athletes will be moving from secondary school to the university setting. Athletes that we are aware of are as follows:

Spencer Prince – Hammer thrower

Has completed his grade 12 year at Brookswood Secondary School Spencer has chosen to pursue his university experience at Illinois State University. Spencer chose this school because they have some excellent coaches and athletes in the throwing events and the school is initiating an aggressive program in track and field. Spencer hopes to add a lot of extra strength during his fall semester at Illinois and then come spring he will be looking forward to becoming a member of Illinois State’s traveling team.

Travis Vugteveen – 800m/1500m

The pride of Trinity Unity has accepted a scholarship offer from Simon Fraser University. Travis had the choice of a number of Canadian schools as well as several in the United States. The BC High School champion, and bronze medallist at the Canadian Junior Championships with the best time of 1:51:50 will be concentrating on the 800m during his initial year and perhaps move up his distances at a later date. It will be an exciting experience for Travis as SFU are competing for the first time as a member of NCAA division II. During this initial year of membership in the NCAA the Clansman are ineligible to compete in the NCAA Championships but they will still take part in a national meet in their final year as a member of the NAIA.

Kim Doerksen – XC & 1500m/3000m

Last year Kim became a member of the Valley Royals Track Club and for the first time concentrated on running, rather than soccer a sport that she partook in as a member of the Fraser Valley University Cascades. Unfortunately, the Cascades do not compete in track and field so Kim has decided to join Travis as a member of the Clansman. With the nucleus of a very good women’s cross-country team, Kim is looking forward at having the opportunity to join her teammates in an attempt to place well up at the NAIA Cross-Country Championships. In the spring, she will probably run both the 1500m and the 3000m for the SFU team.

Andrew Ott – 800m/1500m

After graduating last year from a high school in Alberta, Andrew took a year away from school to earn some money and get a little more background for his running. In September, Andrew will follow his Valley Royal track coach Sue Northey and become a member of the Trinity Western Spartans. Andrew is looking forward to the experience and since he has already spent the past year with Sue as his coach the transition to university running should be a smooth one.

Sue Northey – MD Coach

In addition to her position as a middle distance coach of the Valley Royals, Sue has accepted a position as the cross-country and track coach with the Spartans. Initially her plans are to combine practices for both the university and club, and as in the past these sessions will take place at Clearbrook Park in Abbotsford. It’s gong to be a busy but exciting time for Sue and we wish her the very best in fortune for the coming season.

Kendra Peters – 400m hurdles

Kendra has already spent one year as a student at Trinity Western, but now that that school has a track program she will be competing for the Spartans during the indoor season. Although there is no 400m hurdles run indoors Kendra will still be able to take part in the 100m hurdles and the 400m, an event she was very proficient at during her high school days at the Mennonite Educational Institute. The opportunity afforded Kendra by being able to compete indoors should help her considerably come next spring and summers outdoor season.

Two other Valley Royals have also completed their high school education but as yet have not decided on a university setting. Django Lovett is examining his opportunities at several schools including Simon Fraser and Southern California. In the meantime the Valley Royal high jumper, who placed third at the 2009 World Youth Championships (2.18m), encountered an injury last winter that hampered his progress during the outdoor season. However with a good fall season of practice under coach Szelagowicz, Django should once again establish himself as one of the best junior high jumpers in the world.

Through his high school days Jared Heldman, who graduated in June from Brookswood Secondary, was best known as a sprinter and long jumper. But last winter Heldman decided that he would like to give the decathlon event a whirl. An accomplished all round athlete, Heldman placed second in the multi-event competition at the Canadian Junior Championships and was selected as a member of Canada’s team fro last summers World Junior Championships in Moncton, NB. He enjoyed the experience and has decided to spend the next year training with coach Szelagowicz and will be attempting to add a few hundred points to an already good score in the decathlon.

Kiya Posthumus – progress report

Since her unfortunate accident in January that forced Kiya to miss her final year of high school track and field she is making good progress health wise. Kiya is now allowed to run continuously for 30 minutes and it won’t be much longer before she is once again on a near full training schedule. Kiya has decided not to enter university until at least the winter or spring, and in the meantime she will be working towards gaining her full health. She seems very excited about how things are progressing and we look forward to seeing Kiya back running competitively in 2011.

Ruky Abdulai and Mike Mason were chosen to the Athletics Canada team of 40 athletes that will compete at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. Athletics competition at the Commonwealth Games starts October 6th and will wrap up on the 12th.

At the recently concluded Canadian Senior Championships Abdulai placed second in the long jump while Mason was the silver medalist in the men’s high jump.

“At the Commonwealth Games in Delhi we expect all athletes to perform at their highest level for this year,” comments Head Coach Alex Gardiner. “We are using the Commonwealth Games as an important benchmark for those athletes pursuing selection for the London Olympic Games.

Ottawa, ON—Aug/6-8: Aisha Klippenstein capped off her season by winning a silver medal in the triple jump at the Canadian Youth Championships (16/17 year olds) held last weekend in the nation’s capital city. Klippenstein leaped 11.53 meters to place second to Julia Stille of Ontario who had a winning jump of 11.76 meters. This was an excellent performance for the 17-year old who just completed her first year as a Valley Royal club athlete.

Klippenstein, who won the 100-meter hurdles in the Youth Division of the BC Jamboree, was also hoping to take part in that event at the nationals. However, a mix-up occurred and, unfortunately, Klippenstein was not entered in the hurdle event. However, Klippenstein was a part of the Team BC 4x100m Relay team and gathered a bronze medal as a part of that team.

Two other Valley Royal athletes took part in the meet. Emma Beckett placed fifth in the pole vault (3.20m) while Alexandra Siemens, who competed in the 14/15 year old division, placed 11th in the 2,000 meters (6:53.11).

The three Valley Royal athletes in addition to competing in the meet, attended a training camp during their first two days in Ottawa and then following the meet had a day of sightseeing.

Toronto, ON-July 28-31—Valley Royal athletes brought home 3 silver medals and one bronze medal from the Canadian Senior Track and Field Championships held last week at University of Toronto track.

Ruky Abdulai placed second in the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.37 meters. The long jump was won by Ontario’s Tabia Charles, the Canadian record holder, with a leap of 6.43 meters just 6-cm further then Ruky. Meredith Macgregor had her best time of the year and ran a very competitive race to place second in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. MacGregor and Manitoba’s Dana Buchanan stayed close to each other throughout the race but the Prairie runner had a better finishing kick and won with a time of 10:13.04 with MacGregor just over 3 second back in 10:16.94.

Mike Mason jumped 2.16-meters in the men’s high jump to tie for second place with Ontario’s Derek Watkins. NCAA champion Derek Drouin who cleared 2.24 meters won the event.

Natasha Miller won her first Canadian championships medal by placing third in the heptathlon. Miller scored 5,256 points in the event that was won by Olympian Jessica Zelinka (5,998 pts.) with second place going to Ontario’s Jennifer Cotten (5,491 pts). Miller also competed in the individual high jump and placed 6th with a height of 1.70 meters.

Julia Howard placed fifth in the final of the women’s 1500-meters in a slow but closely contested event. Edmonton’s Malindi Elmore had an excellent finishing sprint to post in 4:16.52 with Howard not far behind in 4:18.69.

Last weekend, the Junior Development crew had their last big meet of the 2010 track season. The BC JD Championships were held in Kamloops on July 30- August 1. In total the club sent 10 athletes that participated in 54 events with 39 top-ten finishes, 19 medals and 33 new personal bests.

Among these JD athletes were some incredible performances. On the girls side, Alicia Unruh, though having just come back from an injury, had a strong showing in the 13-year old girls division by winning the 3000m run (11:26.75), and placing 3rd in the 1500m (5:07.27). Mehroop Takhar won the bronze medal in the 11- year old girls 100m (14.67), while Gabe MacGregor placed 2nd in the 11-year old girls 400m (68.19) and the 800m (2:36.25), as well as placing 3rd in the shot put (8.04m). Additionally, the girls’ 4x100m relay (Jensen Bako; Kaitlyn Blair; Abresia Foote; Rachel Choboter) placed 3rd overall (69.27), and in the 1600m sprint medley the girls (Delaney Chapman, Gabe MacGregor, Rachel Choboter and Mehroop Takhar) placed 2nd in the ‘A’ division with a time of 4:59.59.

On the boys’ side, there were only 2 athletes, both of which performed exceptionally. Parker Wakelyn raked in the medals with golds in the 60m (9.15), 100m (14.89), 800m (2:42.58), 60m hurdles (11.94), and the long jump (3.83m); and silver in the shot put (6.42m). Jeewan Grewal also had a good showing at the championship with personal bests in all his events which resulted in a gold medal in the hammer throw (25.46m), and two silver medals in the shot put (8.71m) and discus throw (26.14m).

Overall, it was a great finale to the 2010 season, and a great transition into the upcoming cross-country events.

Bako, Jensen: Girls 11-year old 400m – 11th (76.55)
Girls 11-year old 60mH – 19th (12.47)
Girls 11-year old high jump – 6th (1.20m)
Girls 11-year old long jump – 21st (3.09m)
Girls 11-year old shot put – 12th (4.96m)

Blair, Kaitlyn: Girls 12-year old 200m – 17th (35.99)
Girls 12-year old 100m – 20th (17.16)
Girls 12-year old 80mH – 15th (18.39)
Girls 12-year old 200mH – 11th (41.74)
Girls 12-year old high jump – 12th (1.05m)
Girls 12-year old shot put – 10th (3.77m)

Chapman, Delaney: Girls 13-year old 800m – 10th (2:42.95)
Girls 13-year old 1500m – 6th (5:37.74)
Girls 13-year old long jump – 25th (3.05m)
Girls 113-year old 200mH – 10th (36.85)

Choboter, Rachel: Girls 12-year old 100m – 15th (prelims; 15.85)
Girls 12-year old 200m – 13th (32.06)
Girls 12-year old 80mH – 8th (15.20)
Girls 12-year old 200mH – 5th (35.40)
Girls 12-year old long jump – 12th (3.67m)
Girls 12-year old triple jump – 9th (8.11m)
Girls 12-year old shot put – 8th (6.01m)

Foote, Abresia: Girls 11-year old 800m – 10th (3:22.79)
Girls 11-year old 60mH – 22nd (14.23)
Girls 11-year old long jump – 26th (2.73m)
Girls 11-year old shot put – 8th (6.11m)
Girls 11-year old javelin – 7th (12.45m)

Grewal, Jeewan: Boys 13-year old shot put – 2nd (8.71m)
Boys 13-year old discus – 2nd (26.14m)
Boys 13-year old hammer – 1st (25.46m)

MacGregor, Gabrielle: Girls 11-year old 400m – 2nd (68.19)
Girls 11-year old 800m – 2nd (2:36.25)
Girls 11-year old 60mH – 5th (11.06)
Girls 11-year old high jump – 9th (1.10m)
Girls 11-year old long jump – 16th (3.24m)
Girls 11-year old shot put – 3rd (8.04m)

Takhar, Mehroop: Girls 11-year old 60m – 7th (9.64)
Girls 11-year old 100m – 3rd (14.67)
Girls 11-year old 200m – 4th (31.22)
Girls 11-year old 400m – 10th (76.03)

Unruh, Alicia: Girls 13-year old 800m – 7th (2:38.11)
Girls 13-year old 1500m – 3rd (5:07.27)
Girls 13-year old 3000m – 1st (11:26.75)
Girls 13-year old long jump – 24th (3.18m)

Wakelyn, Parker: Boys 9-year old 60m – 1st (9.15)
Boys 9-year old 100m – 1st (14.89)
Boys 9-year old 800m – 1st (2:42.58)
Boys 9-year old 60mH – 1st (11.94)
Boys 9-year old high jump – 7th (1.00m)
Boys 9-year old long jump – 1st (3.83m)
Boys 9-year old shot put – 2nd (6.42m)

Natasha Miller captured the bronze medal in the heptathlon at the Canadian Senior Championships, being held at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium. Natasha scored 5256 points, in an event that was won by Calgary’s Jessica Zelinka, a Canadian Olympian who scored 5998 pts. Second place went to London Western’s Jennifer Cotton (5491 pts). Sixteen athletes took part in the event. This was the first medal for Natasha at the Canadian Senior Championship level, and comes just two months after she won the NAIA championships in the heptathlon with a personal best score and record performance of 5310.

Valley Royals had two athletes take part in the World Junior Championships held in Moncton, New Brunswick during the third week of July. Both Jared Heldman and Django Lovett, who were members of the Canadian team that participated in these games, felt the competition provided them with some good experience. Heldman took part in the decathlon, and over the course of the 10 events, he had some good performances but unfortunately he had a couple of sub-par efforts that he would have preferred to have rectified. Heldman got a good start in the first event, posting the fastest time amongst the 22 competitors (10.90), and recording personal bests in the long jump (7.24m), the 400m (50.28), and the 100m hurdles (14.99). Unfortunately, sub-par efforts in the discus (30.50m) and the javelin (39.25m) cost Heldman quite a few points. But all in all it was a wonderful experience for the highschool sprint champion and demonstrated to him that with some hard work during the next winter, he has the ability to become an excellent multi-event performer.

Last year, Django Lovett won the bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Italy with a 2.17m performance. This year however, things did not go as he would have liked. Lovett was not able to progress from the preliminaries, where he was held to a 2.10m effort. His coach, Ziggy Szelagowicz thought that a winter injury held Lovett back from the preparatory work that would have enabled him to do much better. “We got a late start and that combined with very wet weather during the spring made it difficult to perfect Django’s technique,” stated the coach.

Emma Beckett and Aisha Klippenstein both came up with season best performances in the youth women pole vault (3.25m) and triple jump (11.60m) respectively, and were named to the BC Team that will leave on Wednesday for the Canadian Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. Klippenstein will also compete in the 100mH at the Championships. Joining the two juveniles will be Alex Siemens, who has been named as one of BC’s 15 athletes that make up this province’s midget team in Ottawa. In Ottawa, Siemens will compete in the 2000m distance,an event that is being held for the first year.

Valley Royal athletes had some excellent performances at the BC Track and Field Championship Jamboree held last weekend (July 16-18) at the Swan Track in Abbotsford.

Aisha Klippenstein, who was competing in the youth division of the meet (16 & 17 year olds) won the triple jump with a personal best of 11.60m, and followed that up with a victory of the 100mH (15.25) and placed fourth in the long jump (5.23m).

Emma Beckett had a personal best, 3.25m, in the pole vault to capture the gold medal. It is very likely that both Beckett and Klippenstein will be named to the BC Team, which will travel to Ottawa in mid-August for the Canadian Youth Championships.

Even though he had to fight a negative winds, sprinter Mike Crivello had an excellent weekend recording a personal best of 22.90 in the youth division 200m and winning the bronze medal in the 100m with an 11.41 clocking.

The senior women’s 800m was an exciting event that was won by the Royal’s own Julia Howard in 2:04.37. Howard, who is better known as a 1500m runner, edged out North Vancouver’s Helen Crofts (2:04.57) and long time Canadian International Malindi Elmore of Calgary, who placed third with 2:04.63.

Travis Vugteveen completed his season in the same manner as he began it by winning the junior men’s 800m with a time of 1:54.11. As he usually does, Vugteveen took the lead from the start and never relinquished it to record the victory. On the previous day Vugteveen placed third in the 400m with a 51.19 clocking.

The senior men’s high jump took place in the dark on Friday evening, but the conditions did not seem to bother Mike Mason who won the event with a 2.20m effort. Mason stated that he didn’t mind the lateness of the event or the dark as the wind had died down and it was reasonably warm. “I had trained hard all week and didn’t expect too much from this competition, but was surprised and pleased that I was able to jump as well as I did,” stated the Valley Royal athlete.

As expected, Ruky Abdulai won the senior women’s long jump (6.41m); Meredith MacGregor was first in the 3000m steeplechase (10:49.01); and Natasha Miller led the way in the heptathlon.

Spencer Prince had his best performance of the year by heaving the hammer a personal best distance of 57.31m to win the junior men’s hammer event. Prince added silver medals in the discus (38.70m) and shot put (15.74m).

Other medal performances included Kendra Peters’ bronze medal in the senior women’s 400m hurdles recording a seasonal best of 62:16 while Dyson Barnes was first in the junior men’s 400m hurdles (57.06).

Fourteen-year-old Catherine Taekema demonstrated that she has a great career ahead of her as a pole-vaulter by tying for first place in the 14/15 year age division with a 2.40m performance. It was an excellent performance for the young Royal who just began vaulting this season.

In approximately one week’s time, the BC Teams that will take part in the Canadian Senior Championships, scheduled for Toronto, and the Juvenile Championships that will take place in Ottawa will be announced. Valley Royal athletes that are expected to be named to the senior team include Julia Howard, Mike Mason, Ruky Abdulai and Meredith MacGregor.

High jumper Django Lovett and multi-event athlete Jared Heldman are in Moncton, New Brunswick this week as members of the Canadian team that is taking part in the World Junior Track and Field Championships.

Lovett, who last year won the bronze medal in the high jump at the World Youth Championships in Italy, will be moving up a step in the Moncton competition. These championships attract the world’s best up-and-coming athletes with many of them slated to be future Olympians. Lovett had a good experience at the Youth Championships and that should instill him with some confidence when he competes later this week.

Heldman is a novice at the 10-event decathlon, but is an excellent all-round athlete and the BC High school Champion in this discipline. It will be a tough competition for the 18-year old, but his sprinting and jumping ability should gain him a number of points. Heldman’s competition begins on Tuesday with the first five events (100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m), and will finish on Wednesday with the last five events (110mH, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m).

Our very best to both Lovett and Heldman in this high level competition.

Moncton, NB - Django Lovett placed second in the high jump on Sunday and was named to the Canadian team that will travel back to Moncton in two weeks time for the World Junior Track and Field Championships.

Lovett cleared 2.14 meters to win his silver medal in an event that was won by Ontario’s Braden Wilhelm with 2.17 meters. Lovett was named to the world team and this will give him another chance to medal in an international competition as year he was the bronze medalist at the World Youth Championships.

In a way Lovett’s loss to Wilhelm was good fortune for Jared Heldman as that assured the Valley Royal multi-event athlete a spot on the team. Last month Heldman placed second to Wilhelm at the Canadian decathlon championships and he had to wait until this weekend’s competition was completed to clinch his spot on the team. After the high jump competition, Wilhelm elected to compete only in the high jump at the world meet and that allowed Heldman to be selected for the decathlon event.

On the last day of the competition Travis Vugteveen placed third in the 800-meters. Vugteveen took the lead early in the race but a collision that saw one runner go down changed the paCE of the race and the first 400-meters was completed in 54.8 seconds, somewhat slower than the Valley Royal runner would have liked.

He held the lead to the final 100-meters but was passed at that point by Anthony Romaniv (Ontario) who won in 1:50.99. Trent Sayers of Toronto’s Phoenix club came second (1:51.68) with Vugteveen finishing third (1:52.27). More than 40 competitors took part in the popular 800-meter competition.

Spencer Prince placed a very respectable fourth in the hammer throw with a 56.35-meter performance. Spencer was hoping for a little better but his performance was still very respectable for a first year junior.

The September Spencer will attend Illinois State University.

Swan Track, Abbotsford, July 3 - Jared Heldman produced a big personal best by recording a 100-meter time of 10.79 for a fourth place finish at Saturday’s Lafarge International held at the Gerry & Jane Swan track in Abbotsford.

Heldman, who won the 100 meters at the BC High School Championships and placed second in the multi-events at the Canadian Championships, was in top form on Saturday evening. His coach Ziggy Szelagowicz stated that Heldman had a good start and a strong finish. The event was won by Canadian International and University of Texas runner Jared Vaughan with a time of 10.43. Heldman finished out the evening recording a personal best 50.15 meters in the javelin and coming fifth in the pole vault (3.8m).

Heldman’s performance on Saturday evening gained him an invitation to compete in the Harry Jerome Classic that takes place Monday evening at Swangard Stadium.

Ruky Abdulai once again proved her versatility by placing second in the 100-meter hurdles (14.33) then rushing over to sing the national anthem at the opening ceremonies and followed that by winning the long jump competition with a leap of 6.25 meters. “I like to support my club and although it forced me to rush from one thing to the other I was pleased to do it,” stated Abdulai who became a Canadian citizen just one year ago.

Mike Mason continued his winning ways by taking top money in the high jump with a leap of 2.25 meters. Mason had some good attempts at 2.30 meters that would have been a personal best. Mason’s coach, Larry Blaschuk, commented that the Valley Royal athlete may have been trying just a little too hard but saw a lot of good things in Saturday’s performance.

Other good performances by Valley Royal athletes included Emma Beckett who cleared a personal best 3.20 meters in the pole vault and 14-year old teammate Catherine Takema who had a pb of 2.90 meters in the same event. Dyson Barnes ran 55.91 seconds for second place in the 400-meter hurdles.

The Lafarge Track and Field meet has drawn a large field of athletes to contest 15 events on Saturday evening July 3 at Abbotsford’s Jane and Gerry Swan track at Rotary Stadium.

The meet has drawn an array of entries from several African and Caribbean countries, the United States, China and Canada. It should be an entertaining two hours of track and field with some exciting sprint and middle distance events plus the men’s high jump highlighting the gathering.

Adrienne Powers, one of Canada’s very finest sprinters, is entered in the women’s 100 meters. Powers, who was raised in Nova Scotia but now lives and trains in Texas, has a best time for the short sprint of 11.37 seconds. A versatile athlete, Powers is equally competent at the 100, 200 and 400 meter events but has opted for the shorter distance this coming Saturday.

Powers will get some top flight competition in the event from American Amber Plowden who has a best time of 11.25. Plowden has competed in Abbotsford several times before and believes that she runs some of her best times on the fast Abbotsford track. Jamay Deloach (USA) is also expected to be in the hunt for first place in this event.

Another athlete that cannot be counted out is the Valley Royals own Ruky Abdulai who will also run the 100 meters. Abdulai is a multi event talented athlete and is ranked first in Canada in the heptathlon event. But Abdulai is also a competent sprinter and hurdler and it’s expected that she will take part in three events during the meet so spectators will be able to see just how talented and versatile this young lady is.

Several other Valley Royal international caliber athletes will take part in the meet. Rebecca Johnstone, the defending Canadian Champion at 800 meters, will run the 400 meters on Saturday while Julia Howard will run the 800 meters.

As always, one of the highlight events will be the men’s 100 meters, an event that has drawn a field of 26 athletes. Leading the way is Canada’s Bryan Barnett who has a best time of 10.41. Barnett will be pressed by Justin Byron (Virgin Island) who has a best time of 10.38 seconds. BC High School champion and Valley Royal athlete Jared Heldman will also run the 100 meters.

The men’s high jump features the Valley Royals Michael Mason who two weeks ago established the leading performance in Canada of 2.28 meters. Also in the event is University of Washington graduate Norris Frederick who has cleared 2.22 meters and Canada’s Derek Watkins (2.20 meters).

The main attractions at the meet begin at 6:30 p.m.. There is no charge for admission. A full schedule of events is listed below.

SCHEDULE 2010

Track Events

6:30 pm 100m Hurdles Women

 6:40 pm 400m Women

6:50 pm 400m Men

7:00 pm 400mH Women

7:10 pm 400mH Men

7:20 pm 100m Women

 7:30 pm 100m Men

7:50 pm 800m Women

8:00 pm 800m Men

8:20 pm 1500m Women

8:30 pm 1500m Men

8:40 pm 3000m Men

8:55 pm 3000mSC Women

Field Events

5:00 pm Pole Vault Men

5:30 pm Javelin Men

6:00 pm High Jump Women

6:30 pm Pole Vault Women

6:30 pm Javelin Women

7:00 pm High Jump Men 

7:00 pm Shot Put Men

With 7 medals by Parker Wakelyn, Valley Royal athletes brought home a hoard of medals from the Langley Pacific Meet held Saturday June 19 and Sunday June 20 at the McLeod Athletic Park in Langley.

Wakelyn was a one-man team as he won 3 events, and placed 2nd in 4 others in the 9-year old age division. Wakelyn was 1st in the 60m, long jump, 100m, and 2nd in the 60mH, 800m, high jump and shot put.

11-year old Mehroop Tahkar was also a multi-medal winner, as she placed 1st in the 100m, and 2nd in the 200m and 400m.

The older athletes also had a good day, lead by Michael Mason with a victory in the high jump (2.20m), followed by high school champion Django Lovett who was 2nd (2.10m). Newcomer Mike Crivello, who competed for Yale at the BC High School Championships performed well in his first meet as a Valley Royal. Crivello won the Juvenile Boys 200m (23.16) and placed 2nd in a closely contested 100m (11.45).

Alexandra Siemens won two medals by placing 1st in the 2000m and 3rd in the 1200m. Catherine Taekema performed well in the Midget girls pole vault, placing 2nd with a personal best of 2.40m. Ian Miller took part in the junior men’s pole vault and placed first (3.90m). Emma Beckett competed in the Juvenile Women’s Pole Vault finishing 1st with a vault of 2.90m.

Dyson Barnes had a personal best (55.03), and came 2nd in the Junior Men’s 400mH.

Full Results for Valley Royal athletes are listed below.

Results:
Bako, Jensen – 6th in W11 High Jump (1.15m) 9th in W11 Long Jump (2.90m)

Barnes, Dyson – 2nd in M18-49 400mH (55.03)

Beckett, Emma – 1st in W16-17 Pole Vault (2.90m)

Bishop, Regan – 5th in W9 60m (heats) (14.94) 7th in W9 800m (3:20.07) 8th in W9-10 1500m (6:02.15) 8th in W9 60mH (14.33)

Blair, Kaitlin – 5th in W12 200mH (42.07) 6th in W12 200m (heats) (35.43) 6th in W12 100m (heats) (17.30) 16th in W12 High Jump (1.10m)

Choboter, Rachel – 3rd in W12 100m (heats) (15.69) 5th in W12 Long Jump (3.78m) 9th in W12 Triple Jump (7.54m)

Crivello, Mike – 1st in M16-17 200m (finals) (23.16) 2nd in M16-17 100m (finals) (11.45)

DeGianni, Sophia – 5th in W14-15 Triple Jump (8.80m)

Dickson, Thomas A. – 1st in M35-59 100m (12.65)

Foote, Abresia – 5th in W11 60mH (13.73) 6th in W11 Javelin (13.14m) 8th in W11 Shot Put (6.38m) 9th in W11 Long Jump (2.93m)

Gentry, Turner – 3rd in M13 80mH (15.31) 6th in M13 100m (finals) (14.02) 6th in M13 200m (heats) (28.54)

Gondara, Vikramjit – 7th in M11 Shot Put (6.54m)

Grewal, Jeewan – 2nd in M13 Discus (21.84m) 3rd in M13 Shot Put (8.07m)

Grewal, Manpreet – 3rd in W14-15 Hammer Throw (29.51m) 8th in W14-15 Discus (20.86m) 9th in W14-15 Shot Put (7.42m)

Johnson, Erica – 4th in W13 3000m (12:27.52)

Jorgensen, Oliver – 2nd in M14-15 2000m (6:29.25) 5th in M14-15 300m (heats) (45.63) 5th in M14-15 1500m SC (4:56.76)

Klippenstein, Aisha – 1st in W16-17 100mH (15.54) 1st in W16-34 Triple Jump (10.94m)

Konrad, Hannah – 1st in W12 800m (2:39.51) 1st in W12 400m (68.70) 3rd in W12 High Jump (1.35m) 6th in W12 Triple Jump (8.08m) 9th in W12 Long Jump (4.01m)

Konrad, Jamie – 3rd in M14-15 800m (2:24.18) 5th in M14-15 Triple Jump (11.04m) 7th in M14-15 Long Jump (4.72m) 9th in M14-15 High Jump (1.50m)

Konrad, Matthew – 3rd in M10 High Jump (1.05m) 4th in M10 Long Jump (3.29m) 4th in M10 Shot Put (6.11m) 5th in M10 100m (heats) (17.62) 6th in M9-10 800m (2:58.66)

Lennea, Kayla – 11th in W16-99 800m (2:34.94) 4th in W16-17 400m (63.26)

Lovett, Django – 2nd in M16-34 High Jump (2.10m)

MacGregor, Gabe – 3rd in W11 60mH (11.77) 5th in W11 800m (2:45.26) 5th in W11 Long Jump (3.56m)

Markloff, Ryan – 4th in M16-34 Hammer (41.36m)

Mason, Michael – 1st in M16-34 High Jump (2.20m)

Miller, Ian – 1st in M18-34 Pole Vault (3.90m)

Motion, Emily – 2nd in W9 800m (3:05.05) 4th in W9 60m (heats) (11.01) 5th in W9-10 1500m (6:02.15) 6th in W9 60mH (14.39)

Musto, Emma – 3rd in W10 60mH (15.71) 6th in W10 High Jump (0.85m) 12th in W10 Long Jump (2.46m)

Ott, Andrew – 2nd in M18-34 800m (2:04.92) 5th in M18-34 400m (53.47)

Pankratz, Selah – 2nd in W11 Triple Jump (7.61m) 3rd in W11 60mH (11.21) 3rd in W11 100m (heats) (15.97) 4th in W11 Long Jump (3.48m) 6th in W11 60m (finals) (9.73)

Pankratz, Tana – 2nd in W9 60mH (13.58) 3rd in W9 100m (finals) (16.79) 3rd in W9 Long Jump (3.13m) 4th in W9 60m (finals) (10.40)

Patterson, Michaela – 2nd in W16-34 Discus (41.14m)

Peters, Kendra – 2nd in W18-49 400mH (64.68)

Price, Johannes – 4th in M18-19 200m (26.61)

Ross, Sarya – 3rd in W14-15 2000m (7:44.58) 5th in W14-15 Pole Vault (1.80m) 8th in W14-15 1200m (4:07.65)

Schimdt, Jayden – 7th in M14-15 800m (2:50.68) 8th in M14-15 Triple Jump (9.25m) 9th in M14-15 Long Jump (4.05m)

Siemans, Alexandra – 1st in W14-15 2000m (6:48.42) 3rd in W14-15 1200m (3:48.23)

Spenst, Levi – 4th in M12 Triple Jump (8.03m) 10th in M12 1500m (5:32.50)

Spenst, Spencer – 2nd in M13 Triple Jump (9.60m)

Stredulinsky, Steve – 6th in M16-34 Shot Put (11.18m)

Taekema, Catherine – 2nd in W14-15 Pole Vault (2.40m)

Takhar, Mehroop – 1st in W11 100m (finals) (14.90) 2nd in W11 200m (finals) (30.89) 2nd in W11 400m (71.65) 5th in W11 Triple Jump (7.35m)

Toews, Clayton – 10th in M14-15 Shot Put (6.41m) 12th in M14-15 Long Jump (3.16m)

Toews, Trevor – 6th in M10 Shot Put (4.56m) 7th in M10 60mH (14.39) 8th in M10 High Jump (1.00m) 10th in M9-10 800m (3:13.79) 13th in M10 Long Jump (2.49m)

Vugteveen, Travis – 2nd in M18-34 400m (51.48)

Wakelyn, Parker – 1st in M9 60m (finals) (9.82) 1st in M9 Long Jump (3.18m) 1st in M9 100m (finals) (16.08) 2nd in M9 60mH (13.03) 2nd in M9-10 800m (2:45.12) 2nd in M9 High Jump (1.06m) 2nd in M9 Shot Put (5.58m)

Toronto, On—June 12, 13--He had several personal bests but unfortunately a cramping injury severely hampered his high jump performance and Jared Heldman had to be satisfied with a second place finish at the Canadian Junior Decathlon Championship held this past weekend at York University Track and Field complex.

Although he recorded personal bests in the 100m (10.91), 110m hurdles (15.15) and pole vault (3.80m), an injury forced Heldman to use the scissor style in the high jump and his sub par height of 1.62m put first place out of reach for the Valley Royal athlete.

The event was won by Branden Wilhelm (London Legion) who scored 6,658 pts, a Canadian Jr. record on the revised scoring chart for junior aged competitors. Heldman’s second place score was 6,389 pts.

Wilhelm insured himself of the victory by recording a high jump personal best of 2.22-meters a height that scored 1012 pts for the Ontario athlete. Wihelm’s high jump performance makes him eligible for selection in that event as well as the decathlon for this summer’s World Junior Championships.

Thirteen competitors took part in the event. Below are listed the performances of Wilhelm and Heldman.

100 meters—Heldman (10.91), Wilhelm (11.21)

400 meters—Wilhelm (49.97), Heldman (51.05)

1500 meters—Wilhelm (5:02.41), Heldman (5:11.34)

110m Hurdles—Heldman (15.150, Wilhelm (15.23)

High Jump—Wilhelm (2.22m), Heldman (1.62m)

Pole Vault—Heldman (3.80m), Wilhelm (3.00m)

Long Jump—Wilhelm (7.08m), Heldman (6.92m)

Shot Put—Heldman (11.72m), Wilhelm (10.88m)

Javelin—Heldman (48.61m), Wilhelm (40.44m)

Discus—Wilhelm (30.35m), Heldman (27.74m)

Mike Mason established a new BC Native record on Saturday at the Coquitlam Cheetah meet held at the Town Center Track. Mason was at his best even though it’s early in the season, clearing 2.28m for a new BC record and personal best outdoor performance. Mason had clearances of 2.10m, 2.15m, 2.20m, and 2.25m on his first attempt. The bar was then raised to 2.28m, and the Valley Royal athlete cleared this height on his second attempt. His coach, Larry Blaschuk, stated that, “Mike has some good efforts at 2.31m.” But the coach also stated that, “this was not a bad performance for only his second meet of the season.”

Meanwhile, a group of the Valley Royals junior development athletes attended and earned podium spots with their top-notch performances. Not only were they performing at a podium ranking caliber, many athletes improved on their past performances therefore obtaining new personal best records. The medallists include: Manpreet Grewal, 3rd in discus, 3rd in 100m and 1st in hammer; Jamie Konrad, 1st in triple jump, 3rd in long jump, and 3rd in 800m; Thomas Laurie came 2nd in high jump; Sophia Degianni, 1st in triple jump and 400m; Turner Gentry, 1st in 200mH; Jeewan Grewal, 3rd in discus and shot put; Hannah Konrad, 3rd in high jump; Gabe MacGregor, 1st in 400m, 1st in long jump and 2nd in shot put; Mehroop Takhar, 2nd in 400m; Selah Pankratz, 2nd in triple jump; Vikramjit Gondara, 2nd in discus; Trevor Toews, 2nd in high jump; Tana Pankratz, 2nd in 60m and long jump; Emily Motion, 1st in 1500m and 3rd in 800m; Regan Bishop, 3rd in 1500m; Michael Mason, 1st in high jump; Steve Stredulinsky, 1st in shot put; Ryan Markloff, 3rd in shot put, 2nd in hammer and 3rd in javelin; Spencer Prince, 1st in hammer; Michaela Patterson, 2nd in discus; and Kendra Peters, 1st in the 400m hurdles.

Summary of the results:

Bako, Jensen – 9th in Women’s 11 yr old 800m (2:65.01) 5th in Women’s 11 yr old 60mH (12.73) 5th in Women’s 11 yr old high jump (1.20m)

Bishop, Regan – 7th in Women’s 9 yr old 60m (11.03) 3rd in Women’s 9 yr old 1500m (6:43.20) 9th in Women’s 9 yr old long jump (2:45m)

Blair, Kaitlyn – 6th in Women’s 12 yr old 200m (38.88) 4th in Women’s 12 yr old 100m (16.28)

DeGianni, Sophia – 1st in Women’s 14 yr old triple jump (8.52m) 1st in Women’s 14 yr old 400m (1:05.76)

Foote, Abresia – 6th in Women’s 11 yr old 100m heats (17.47) 15th in Women’s 11 yr old long jump (2.62m) 7th in Women’s 11 yr old javelin (9.25m) 10th in Women’s 11 yr old high jump (1.15m)

Gentry, Turner – 2nd in Men’s 13 yr old 200mH (31.05) 5th in Men’s 13 yr old 200m (28.29) 6th in Men’s 13 yr old 100m (13.92)

Gondara, Vikramjit – 9th in Men’s 22 yr old 200m (35.08) 5th in Men’s 11 yr old shot put (6.69m) 2nd in Men’s 11 yr old discus (16.29m)

Grewal, Jeewan – 3rd in Men’s 13 yr old discus (21.82m) 3rd in Men’s 13 yr old shot put (8.27m)

Grewal, Manpreet – 3rd in Women’s 14 yr old discus (22.76m) 3rd in Women’s 14 yr old 100m (15.86) 1st in Women’s 14 yr old Hammer (27.41m)

Jorgensen, Oliver – 4th in Men’s 15-99 3000m (10:13.78)

Konrad, Hannah – 5th in Women’s 12 yr old 400m (1:10.88) 5th in Women’s 12 yr old 800m (2:45.11) 3rd in Women’s 12 yr old high jump (1.30m) 8th in Women’s 12 yr old long jump (3.76m)

Konrad, Jamie – 1st in Men’s 14 yr old triple jump (10.77m) 3rd in Men’s 14 yr old long jump (4.76m) 4th in Men’s 14 yr old high jump (1.40m) 3rd in Men’s 14 yr old 800m (2:26.00)

Laurie, Thomas – 10th in Men’s 14 yr old long jump (3.09m) 2nd in Men’s 14 yr old high jump (1.50m) 5th in Men’s 14-15 yr old 100mH (18.06)

MacGregor, Gabe – 2nd in Women’s 11 yr old 400m (1:10.18) 4th in Women’s 11 yr old 60mH (11.79) 1st in Women’s 11 yr old long jump (3.85m) 2nd in Women’s 11 yr old shot put (8.14m)

Markloff, Ryan – 3rd in Men’s 18-19 yr old shot put (9.44m) 2nd in Men’s 18-19 yr old hammer (38.14m) 3rd in Men’s 118-19 yr old javelin (33.05m)

Mason, Michael – 1st in Men’s 16-99 yr old high jump (2.28m)

Motion, Emily – 6th in Women’s 9 yr old 60m (10.79) 1st in Women’s 9 yr old 1500m (6:33.37) 8th in Women’s 9 yr old 60mH (13.38) 3rd in Women’s 9 yr old 800m (3:03.71)

Pankratz, Selah – 5th in Women’s 11 yr old 100m (15.28) 4th in Women’s 11 yr old 60mH (11.49) 6th in Women’s 11 yr old long jump (3.37m) 2nd in Women’s 11 yr old triple jump (7.89m)

Pankratz, Tana – 2nd in Women’s 9 yr old 60m (10.05) 5th in Women’s 9 yr old 100m (16.48) 4th in Women’s 9 yr old 60mH (13.75) 2nd in Women’s 9 yr old long jump (3.02m)

Patterson, Michaela – 2nd in Women’s 20-99 yr old discus (44.65m)

Peters, Kendra – 1st in Women’s 20-99 yr old 400mH (1:02:02)

Prince, Spencer – 1st in Men’s 18-19 yr old hammer (55.07m)

Silverman, Sophia – 12th in Women’s 12 yr old triple jump (6.32m) 9th in Women’s 12 yr old 1500m (6:07.22) 6th in Women’s 12 yr old 80mH (17.25) 25th in Women’s 12 yr old long jump (2.85m)

Spenst, Levi – 5th in Men’s 12 yr old triple jump (7.96m) 6th in Men’s 12 yr old 800m (2:58.37)

Spenst, Spencer – 7th in Men’s 13 yr old high jump (1.45m) 4th in Men’s 13 yr old 800m (2:31.57)

Stredulinsky, Steve – 1st in Men’s 20-99 yr old shot put (11.26m)

Takhar, Mehroop – 3rd in Women’s 11 yr old 400m (1:10.58) 7th in Women’s 11 yr old 100m (14.88) 14th in Women’s 11 yr old long jump (2.97m)

Toews, Trevor – 2nd in Men’s 10 yr old high jump (1.05m) 7th in Men’s 10 yr old 800m (3:14.18) 5th in Men’s 10 yr old 60mH (14.68) 6th in Men’s 10 yr old 1500m (6:23.80)

Many of our 14/15-year old athletes took part in the Summer Games Trials this past week to try and earn a spot as a representative of Zone 3 (Fraser Valley) at this years BC Summer Games, which are being held in Langley. While our athletes had great results, we won’t find out until sometime in the next couple weeks whether or not they have made a spot on this years team. Good luck to all competitors!

Wednesday night SG results:

Choboter, Zach High Jump 8th (1.50m) Shot Put 5th (10.81m)

DeGianni, Sophie 300m 9th (46.13) Triple Jump 4th (9.02m)

Gibsons, Hailey 100m 6th (13.34)

Grewal, Manpreet Discus 5th (22.69m)

Laurie, Thomas 100mH 6th (18.44) High Jump 2nd (1.58m)

Ross, Sarya 1200m 10th (4:09.82)

Siemens, Alex 1200m 2nd (3:45.76)

Thursday night SG results:

DeGianni, Sophie 800m 11th (2:43.82) Triple Jump 4th (9.02m)

Gibsons, Hailey 200m 3rd (27.40) Long Jump 11th (3.94)

Grewal, Manpreet Hammer 2nd (28.17m)

Ross, Sarya 2000m 4th (7:20.81) Javelin 5th (16.82m)

Siemens, Alex 2000m 1st (6:44.36)

Taekema, Catherine 200m 13th (30.27) Long Jump 15th (3.20m)

Led by the multiple medals of Spencer Prince and Jared Heldman, Valley Royal athletes won a total of 12 medals, 8 of them gold, at the BC High School Track and Field Championships held June 4, 5 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.

Spencer Prince was at his all time best in winning two events, the hammer in a pb 65.36m and the shot put with a toss of 15.96m. Prince also added a silver medal with in the discus (46.51m)and gathered a third gold medal in joining fellow Valley Royals Jared Heldman, Django Lovett as well as Langley’s Chris Sutherland to give Brookswood a win the 4x100m relay (42.66).

Prince started off a little slowly in the hammer event, fouling on his first two throws. This forced him to make a conservative attempt on his third effort to make sure he qualified for the final. But in the fifth round Prince made his 65.36m effort and that assured him of the gold medal.

Travis Vugteveen missed the record in the boys 800-meters by several tenths of a second but he still won the event in the excellent time of 1:51.59. Vugteveen had to set his own pace and went through the first lap in 53.3 seconds. “I felt fine until the last 150-meter stretch run but those final yards were a little difficult.” stated Vugteveen. It was a good effort for Travis and his winning time was less then a second off the long-standing BC High School record.

Jared Heldman might have been expected to feel a little tired for this meet after having won the decathlon just 6 days ago. He could have been excused if he wanted to take it easy as he has to travel to Toronto in a week’s time for the Canadian Multi Events Championships which is the qualifying meet for selection to the Canadian team that will compete at the World Junior Championships in late July.

However at the urging of his high school coaches, Heldman consented to compete in three events (including trials this meant that he took part in five competitions) and he won the gold medal in each of them. Although Heldman had a bad start in the final of the 100-meters he ran very strongly over the last 50-meters in a come from behind win with a time of 11.05. Heldman had no trouble winning the long jump (6.92m) and that added to his first place finish in last week’s decathlon, along with his schools win in the 400m relay, gave Heldman four gold medals. It was a pretty busy 8-day schedule that saw him contest 15 events that included the 10 event decathlon and the five competitions this past weekend.

At the 2009 championships Heldman won three gold medals so his total haul of seven gold medals in two years must be some type of record in and of itself.

Django Lovett was quite satisfied after his win in the high jump. Through the first part of this season Lovett has battled both injury and poor weather conditions but on Saturday things came together for the 2009 World Youth Games bronze medalist. Lovett cleared 2.14 meters with ease and then set the bar at 2.18m, which would have been a personal best. He had two good attempts at that height and feels that he is now ready for much better performances in the weeks to come.

Mission’s Dyson Barnes timed his lean at just right and that allowed him to win the 400-meter hurdle event. Barnes trailed Vanier’s Nick Blackburn until the final hurdle but then Barnes put on a tremendous burst to win the event in 55.36 with Blackburn just 1/100th of a second back (55.36).

After recording a personal best of 10:15.10 to take the bronze medal in the 3,000 meters, Grade 9 athlete Alexandra Siemens ran the heat and final of the 1500m. Alex had no difficulty in qualifying for the final of the 1500 as she won her heat with a great come from behind win. But the final on Saturday morning proved to be a problem. Running in a packed field at the completion of the first 150 meters, Siemens was tripped up by another runner and she hit the ground hard. But to her credit the gritty youngster got up and even though she was by then 40-meters behind the last runner she made up ground and moved as high as fourth before finishing the race in eighth position (4:54.87). No doubt in races to come later on in the season Siemens should have no trouble running at least 10 seconds faster then she did on Saturday.

Aisha Klippenstein has only been a Royal for one year but on Saturday the grade 11 athlete demonstrated that she has a bright future in front of her by winning both a silver and a bronze medal. Klippenstein had a good surge over the final 30 meters of the 100 meter hurdle race finishing third (15.13) just a shade behind the winner Zaria Storm (15.09) and second place Georgina Ellenwood (15.11). Klippenstein took the silver medal in the triple jump (11.09) meters placing behind Alyx Treasure of Prince George who earlier in the day had a set a high jump record of 1.80 meters.

Emma Beckett recorded a respectable 3.00m performance to place fourth in the girls’ pole vault.

First year Royal Chantel Desch had a very good performance in an elite field of women 400-meter runners. Desch came sixth in the final with the very good time of 58.12 seconds.

A number of Valley Royal athletes are in the last stages of preparation for this Friday and Saturday when the BC High School Track and Field Championships take place at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.

Aisha Klippenstein and Emma Beckett, both grade 11 students at AISA Pacific, may lead their school to a best ever performance at the meet. Klippenstein had little trouble winning the triple jump at the Fraser Valley Championships and her 11.39-meter performance is the leading mark in the province. Klippenstein will also take part in the 100-meter hurdles and long jump and she should be a finalist in both those events.

Beckett has made steady improvement in the pole vault, an event that she specializes in. Beckett won the Fraser Valley meet with a 3.10 performance and now that she is getting used to new vaulting poles much higher heights might be in store for her this weekend.

WJ Mouat’s Alex Siemens will be hoping to be a medalist in the 3,000-meter event which will be contested on Friday morning. Siemens, who last November became the youngest athlete ever to win the girls BC High School Cross Country title, has so far this season gone undefeated at the 3-k distance. Siemens will also be hoping to place well up in the 1500-meter event that has heats on Friday with the final slated for Saturday morning.

Brookswood athletes Jared Heldman, Spencer Prince and Django Lovett have their eyes on gold medals. Heldman, who last week easily won the decathlon event, will forgo the sprints to concentrate on the long jump and relay. Heldman, who is the current champion in the long jump will hope to defend his title.

Spencer Prince will contest three throwing events and run a leg on the Brookswood 4x100 meter relay team. A couple of months ago Spencer decided to forgo the decathlon and concentrate on the hammer. He is the defending champion in the hammer and he should be able to win the event again this year.

Django Lovett had a leg injury earlier in the season but he seems to have recovered from that setback and is definitely the favorite to win the high jump. With a best effort of 2.18 meters, a performance he achieved last year while winning the bronze medal at the World Youth Championships, Lovett should be able to become a three time winner of this event.

Two months ago Dyson Barnes came directly from a demanding hockey season and began preparing to defend his title in the 400-meter hurdles. Barnes now seems to be rounding into top condition and his win at the Fraser Valley meet establishes him as the favorite to win this event.

The Royals will have two young ladies take part in the grade 8/9 division of the meet. Hailey Gibson won the grade 8 aggregate at the Fraser Valley Championships and she should do very well in the 100 and 200-meters at this weekend’s meet.

Sarya Ross, who took part in a school exchange trip to Quebec during the time of the Fraser Valley Championships, will compete in the 1500 and 3,000 meter events. A surprise fourth place finisher at the Grade 8/9 division of last November’s BC High School Cross Country Championships, Sarya is looking forward to good performances this time out.