The trophy cases of Ocean Athletics’ athletes are going to need expanding, after a medal-filled showing at B.C. Junior Development Track and Field Championships, which were held at South Surrey Athletic Park on the weekend.
The club cleaned up at the province-wide youth event – which was moved to South Surrey from Kelowna, due to wildfire-related air-quality concerns.
Many Ocean athletes finished the weekend with multiple medals, led by six-time podium finisher Tayla Kempf. The 10-year-old won four gold medals – in javelin, shotput, high jump and long jump – a silver in 60-m hurdles, and added a bronze in the 60-m.
Other multiple-medal winners included Ajax Shen and Aiden Turner, who won five apiece. The 13-year-old Shen won silver in the 200- and 300-m, and bronze in 80-m hurdles, 100-m dash and long jump. Turner won gold in 12-year-old boys 80-m and 200-m hurdles, and bronze in three events: 300-m dash, high jump and javelin.
Taylor Kleinschmidt won gold in the 12-year-old girls 300-m race – teammate Leah Peters won bronze – and also the long jump, and added two bronze medals, in the 100-m and 200-m dashes.
Peters also won bronze in 80-m hurdles and long jump.
Eve Antscherl, in the 10-year-old girls division, won bronze in 60-m hurdles, silver in discus and was fourth in the 60-m dash. Oscar Antscherl also managed a podium finish, winning bronze in the nine-year-old boys 60-m race.
Other winners included: Caiden Lee (gold, 12-year-old boys 1,200-m; silver, 800-m); Tommaso Fronteddu (bronze, nine-year-0ld boys 600-m); Campbell Kinsman (bronze, 13-year-old boys 200-m); Maella Hodgson (silver, 11-year-old girls 1,000-m); Natalie Selvage (bronze, 11-year-old girls 1,000-m); James Hodgson (silver, 11-year-old boys, 1,000-m and javelin); Austin Selvage (silver, nine-year-old boys 1,000-m); Lindsay Cyr (gold, 12-year-old girls 200-m hurdles, shotput and discus); Kelsa Kempf (gold, 12-year-old girls high jump; Benn Carr (gold, 12-year-old boys high jump); Connor Nichol (gold, 11-year-old boys high jump, silver in long jump); Marcos Marrero (silver, nine-year-old boys high jump); Natalie Pinto (bronze, 12-year-old girls discus); Mia Sage (gold, 11-year-old girls discus, silver in shotput); Meagan McKay (gold, 10-year-old girls discus, silver in javelin); Kailey McKay (bronze, 10-year-old girls discus and javelin); Natalie Pinto (bronze, 12-year-old girls hammer throw); Deven Marrero (silver, 12-year-old boys hammer and javelin); Thomas Cizmol (silver, 13-year-old boys javelin); Mackenzie Hack (silver, 12-year-old girls javelin); Ryan Cyr (gold, 12-year-old boys shotput); Arjan Gillan (gold, 11-year-old boys shotput); and Rhys Dobson (bronze, 10-year-old boys shotput).