Surrey & White Rock student athletes take 35 medals in track & field provincials

North Surrey Secondary's Talia Phangura and Shaunrie Whynter won five gold medals at this year's Track & Field provincials, part of an impressive districtwide showing that saw 35 trips to the podium for Surrey and White Rock student athletes. (Photo via North Surrey Spartans Athletics)

The district’s track and field athletes had a stellar showing at this year’s provincials, taking the podium 35 times with eight third-place, nine second-place and a whopping 18 first-place finishes.

Students from nine secondary schools took top spots in 32 categories, including hurdles, shot put, hammer throw and numerous lengths of dashes of runs.

North Surrey Secondary’s Shaunrie Whynter and Talia Phangura won five gold medals, with Whynter bolting to the finish line in the senior 100-, 200- and 400-metre dash while Phangura dominated the senior women’s four-kilogram hammer throw and shot put events.

Whynter’s 100-metre win was a photo finish of 11.02 seconds, just 0.04 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Likewise, his 200-metre win saw him only 0.19 seconds ahead of École Salish Secondary’s Enoch Francis in third place, while his 400-metre finish came in at 47.43 seconds with the competition on his heels.

On the field in shot put, Phangura fired ahead of the pack on her sixth and final attempt, placing the shot 14.21 metres out of the throwing circle, nearly two metres farther than second place. She kept that energy in the hammer throw event where she threw an impressive 52.62 metres, a full 3.5 metres past her closest opponent.

Across Surrey, Enver Creek Secondary siblings Anhad and Gursher Gabri represented their school tremendously, taking home five gold medals and one silver in junior and senior shot put, discus and hammer throw events.

Gursher put the men’s senior field judges to work, marking the field at 63.5 metres in the six-kilogram hammer throw, 47 metres in the 1.75-kilogram discus throw and 16.65 metres in the six-kilogram shot put – almost four metres ahead of second place – for first place finishes in all three.

Anhad’s three-kilogram hammer throw was equally impressive, throwing nearly 5.5 metres past second place for 47.73 metres in the women’s junior category. She also secured the top spot in the women’s junior three-kilogram shot put at 11.71 metres, and took second in the women’s junior one-kilogram discus throw at 34.76 metres.

In the Cloverdale/Clayton zone, it was a battle in the men’s senior long-distance track events: Clayton Heights Secondary’s Isaiah Johnston took gold in the 1,500- and 3,000-metre runs with times of 3:52.64 and 8:50.90, staying just a few steps ahead of École Salish’s Arjun Sandhu, who finished third and second, respectively.

Fellow Salish track star Alexia Latore crossed the finish line at 24.07 seconds to win the women’s senior 200-metre dash but fell just a second behind her competition in the 400-metre to take bronze.

Meanwhile, Clayton Heights student Mycahlee Sterling set her own personal record of 12.71 seconds in the prelims of the Grade 8 women’s 80-metre 30” hurdles before nearly matching it in the finals at 12.78 seconds to take gold. Classmate Kylie O’Donnell also brought back a medal, taking bronze in the senior women’s 600-gram javelin throw with a distance of 39.01 metres.

In categories for athletes with disabilities or diverse abilities, Grandview Heights Secondary student Emily Isbister took gold in the AWE-II mixed and senior women’s 400-metre runs and AWE mixed women’s shot put, as well as silver in the AWE-II senior women’s 100-meter dash. Classmate Evelyn Lesage also finished first in the Para AWE-A Grade 8 women’s 400-metre run.

Elsewhere in South Surrey, Elgin Park Secondary students earned five medals: Noah Ansah took bronze in the junior men’s 100-metre dash but outdid himself with a silver in the 200-metre. Daniel Zhang tested his mettle for second in the junior men’s 1,500-metre steeplechase, while Theo Davidson and Caleb Baker took third in the men’s Grade 8 and junior 3,000-metre runs, respectively.

Fleetwood Park Secondary students took silver in three junior events, highlighting the diversity of sport among their athletes. Gurleen Rai hopped, stepped and jumped 11.06 metres for second in the women’s triple jump while Jacob Brown soared 1.85 metres in the men’s high jump. Brown also joined teammates Sam Johnson, Keegan Roth and Finnley Nesdoly in the men’s 4x400-metre relay to take second.

At École Panorama Ridge Secondary, Sasha Dehal finished second in the senior women’s 3,000-metre run while Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary’s Javion Pladley received bronze in the senior men’s 110-metre 36” hurdles.

Congratulations to all of our outstanding track and field athletes!