Local track and field athletes prepare for upcoming provincial championships

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Next week’s BC School Sports provincial track and field championships will feature a large influx of talent from Fort St. John.

Athletes from both Bert Bowes Middle School (BBMS)  and North Peace Secondary School (NPSS) will participate in the championships starting on Thursday, June 4th, in Langley, B.C.

With a combined 13 athletes qualifying, a press release suggests it is the largest contingent from Fort St. John in recent memory.

Participants from NPSS include pole vaulter Uriel Vera Herrera, who was described as the first pole vaulter from the North, perhaps ever, to qualify.

Rounding out the school delegation is Liam Caza, who qualified in the 400-metre spring. Samantha Shipley also qualified for provincials but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

BMMS is sending 10 athletes to the Lower Mainland, including a girls’ 4×100-metre relay team consisting of eighth graders Berkley Holmes, Prielle Bergen, Marae Nash and Aliya Moore.

They will be joined by eighth graders Harpreet Raike and Niko Mackay, who both qualified in javelin. Additionally, Mackay qualified for shot put as well for a double chance at success.

They are joined by ninth-grader Diego Lascari Rodriguez, who is going for discus, and eighth-grader Brady Bone, who will participate in the race walk.  Ninth grader Beau Almeida withdrew from the 800 metre sprint due to injury.

However, a story to follow on the trip to Langley will be BBMS athlete Kaleb Stevens-Flemming, who qualified for the long jump, high jump and 200 metres.

The statement reads Stevens-Flemming cleared the high jump by 11 centimetres, which would put him among the best in Canada.

However, not being registered nationally meant his best results were not in the national database. 

Now, with the regulations being cleared, Stevens-Flemming has a shot at contending for the top spot not only in the province but in the nation.

The BC School Sports Track and Field provincial championships take place starting on Thursday, June 4th, in Langley, B.C.

Energeticcity.ca has reached out to BMMS athletic director Megan Bell for further comment.