The Fraser Valley Track and Field Championships is the toughest meet outside of the provincials, and athletes from the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School district won gold in 13 different events last week.
The Maple Ridge Ramblers qualified 24 athletes for the Valleys, and they competed in 44 individual events and 10 relays.
Monique Lisek led the way, as one of the most impressive athletes at the event.
She ran the 400m in a time of 56.80. The only other girl to break a minute was second-place Jasmine Gill of Sullivan Heights at 58.25.
She also dominated the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:01.55 – second place was more than eight seconds behind her. Then Lisek finished second in the long jump at 5.25 m.
Junior girls sprinter Ajibike Abisayo won the 100m dash in 12.94, and took third in the 200m.
Jorrin Lenton won the Grade 8 boys javelin, and also finished third in the 400m.
Claire Liversidge ran the senior girls 100m hurdles in 17.31, to take second place.
Senior girls high jumper Natalie Rycroft took third with a leap of 1.5 m.
Rambler Relays accounted for another six medals – four bronze a silver and a gold.
The Grade 8 boys relay of Lenton, Cole Deakin Nolan Varga and Nick Kerschbaum won their event.
Pitt Meadows secondary sent a large team of 26 athletes, who competed in 49 individual events.
Thrower Olivia Moriconi was a double gold winners. She won senior girls shot put with a throw of 11.97m, a full meter ahead of second place. She also took the senior girls discus with a throw of 40.92 m, almost four meters in front of the field.
Reid Muller was second in the senior boys 800m race, , right behind Nathan Wadhwani, who lives in Maple Ridge and attends Terry Fox Secondary. Their times were 1:55.82 and 1:55.88.
Muller took the 1,500m race, running the “mile” in a time of 4:00.11, compared with Wadhwani’s third-place time of 4:05.69.
Wadhwani won the 3,000m in a time of 8.39.71, and his brother Isaac was third in 9:04.41.
Nick Stetsiak was second in the senior boys shot put at 14.78m
Brianna Dallyn placed third in the junior girls long jump at 4.93m
In the Grade 8 400m Jade Krieser finished third.
Natasha Crawford was third in the junior girls hammer.
Jacob Gowler was third in the senior boys javelin at 49.83m
Zach Hetherington was third in the 400m senior boys.
Jordan Jones finished the 1500m racewalk in a time of 8:12.79, which was good for third.
Thomas Haney sent 10 athletes who competed in 23 events.
In the Grade 8 boys 200m dash Jayden Brown took first, and he also won the long jump at 5.57m.
Erick Villanueva won the junior boys long jump with a leap of 6.03m.
Darian Smerdal won the Grade 8 boys high jump at 1.60m
Kate Meredith took second in the Grade 8 girls shot put.
Westview had seven athletes qualify in 10 events. Graeme Roberts finished third in both the Grade 8 boys 800m, and in the high jump. Sean Whiteside finished second in the Grade 8 boys 400m dash.
Garibaldi’s Natasha Akbarizadeh won the senior girls hammer throw at 51.81 m.
Jordan Ellingson of Maple Ridge Christian school won the senior boys javelin.
These athletes and other qualifiers will move on to the B.C. Championships, coming up on May 29-31 at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley.