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Surrey and White Rock athletes shine at Canadian Legion championships

Plenty of medals won by Semiahmoo Peninsula athletes at Brandon, Man. meet last week
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Ethan Foster clears the pole vault bar during the U18 boys decathlon at Canadian Legion Championships. (Contributed photo)

The summer of success for Semiahmoo Peninsula track-and-field athletes continued last week, at 2017 Canadian Legion Championships in Brandon, Man.

The medal haul was led by a trio of gold medallists – Ocean Athletics’ Tyler Wilson, who took top spot in the under-16 boys racewalk; Alexa Porpaczy, a Semiahmoo Secondary student and member of the Valley Royals track club, who won gold in women’s youth high jump; and Ethan Foster, who won gold in the under-18 boys decathlon, setting two new meet records in the process – for overall points, as well as in the pole vault, where he cleared 4.15 m.

For Porpaczy, the gold medal was her third straight at nationals, and adds to what has been a remarkable competitive season. The young high-jumper won gold at the U20 national championships in Ottawa in July; competed at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas earlier this summer; and in the spring, won gold at the prestigious Mount Sac Relays event in California; and in June, also captured high-jump gold at B.C. High School Track and Field Championships for a fourth straight year.

There were plenty of other notable finishes in Brandon last weekend.

Ocean Athletics member Owen Pinto won two bronze medals, in the U16 boys 800- and 1,200-m, while teammates Maya Kobylanski and Olivia van Ryswyk also won bronze, in 1,500-m steeplechase and pole vault, respectively.

Rounding out the Ocean Athletics’ contingent was Aneel Gillian, who was fourth in the U16 boys pentathlon, and Cayla Smith, who was sixth in the U18 girls 800-m.

Sullivan Heights Secondary’s Dolly Gabri – a member of the Coastal Track and Field Club – also found herself on the podium twice at the Legion meet, claiming silver medals in both shotput and discus.