Four Bulkley Valley athletes battled inclement temperatures and stiff competition this past weekend in Kamloops at the provincial track and field competitions. All four set personal bests in at least one discpline.
Leading the charge was 18-year-old Regan Yee, who won both her events with personal best times in the 2,000-metre steeplechase (6:42.33) and the 1,500-metre (4:40.91). It was the third time this year Yee has broken her own B.C. record in the steeplechase.
After qualifying for the Canada Summer Games in June, this was just a tune up for Yee.
She’ll head to Sherbrooke in mid-August for the Canada Games followed shortly by a trip to Colombia for the Pam Am games.
“I’m really excited to be heading down there and representing Canada,” Yee said. “I’m going to try and do my best in Sherbrooke and have fun, but I don’t want to tire myself out before going to Colombia.”
Yee wasn’t the only athlete with an impressive performance over the weekend.
Andrew Schmidt had a personal best time of 11.84 in the 100-metre dash, just missing out on the final with a ninth place finish. In the 200 metres, Schmidt ran another personal best of 23.85, good enough for sixth place in the province.
Ashlynn Jackson ran in both the 100-metre dash and the 100-metre hurdles. She had a personal best time of 13.57 seconds in the 100-metres, which put her in 10th place. More impressive, she placed sixth overall in the 100-metre hurdles in her first ever competitive race.
Rounding out the foursome, Zoe Bizarro placed fifth in the Youth Girls Steeplechase, in a race that featured four of the six fastest competitors in Canada, and eighth in the 1500-metre with a personal best time of 5:15.
Schmidt, Jackson, and Bizzaro are all eligible to return next season.
“It was a great weekend,” Bulkley Valley Athletic Club head coach Neal Currie said. “Everyone did well in at least one of their events despite competing in 35 degree heat, which we are not used to.”
That’s it for the Bulkley Valley Athletic Club for the season. Many of their athletes will continue to train throughout the summer and move on to other sports in the fall, before starting up again next April.
“We have a lot of talented young athletes, some who couldn’t make it this weekend, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone improve next year.”