Students from the South Okanagan earned back-to-back medals, top-10 finishes and numerous personal best performances at the BC Championships in Langley.
The championships were held June 4 to 7, with 35 students from Penticton and Summerland participating.
Penticton High Grade 10 student Tyler Hvidston led the charge as he claimed three gold medals first in the 100 metre hurdles (13.96) and 300 metre hurdles (39.92) in dominating fashion.
He then went on to break the BC High School pole vault record he had previously set with a 3.80 metres clearance.
Hvidston was the top junior athlete in the meet, scoring 30 points.
This total, combined with the five points earned by Penticton Secondary School Grade 9 Sebastion Osiowy from his fourth-place finish in the junior boys 1,500 metre, put the school in first place in the junior boys team competition.
Osiowy乌鸦传媒檚 personal best time of 4:10.10 placed him as the top Grade 9 in the junior (Grade 9 and 10) race and narrowly out of the bronze medal position.
Summerland Secondary School乌鸦传媒檚 distance runner Peter Kunka blazed to two personal bests and a gold medal in the senior boys 3,000 metre, winning in a time of 8:31.52.
Kunka was a close fourth in the senior boys 1,500 metre where his time of 3:51.99 was not only a personal best, but would have won the championship in almost any other year.
The race was won in a BC Championship record time of 3:50.08 by Riley Simmonds of Sardis Secondary School.
Kunka will attend Simon Fraser University on an athletic scholarship in September.
Devan Kozak won two medals, running outstanding races in his hurdle specialties and also ran on two relay teams for Penticton Secondary School to complete a total of seven races over the three-day competition.
The Grade 11 student sprinted to a 55.19 time in claiming the silver medal in the 400 metre hurdles on Saturday after wining the bronze medal in the 110 metre hurdles in a personal best time of 15.39 on Friday.
He ran on both the 4X100 (John Zobel Bolodo, Saiva Brar, Logan McWhirter) and 4X400 relays where he led his teammates Alex Schilter, Miles Hayden, and Maverik Rahkola to an eighth place finish in the 4X400 relay.
Graduating Penticton Secondary School senior Maverik Rahkola wrapped up his high school track career with a silver medal in the 800 metre, where his personal best time of 1:54.94 narrowly missed out on first place.
Earlier in the meet, Rahkola ran to a seventh place finish in the 1,500 metre.
Rahkola will be a scholarship student at Simon Fraser University in September, competing on the cross country and track teams.
Grade 11 student Miles Hayden finished eighth in the senior boys 800 metre and 10th in the 1,500 metre final and helped Penticton Secondary School to a seventh place aggregate finish in the senior boys team competition.
On the senior girls side, Penticton Secondary School乌鸦传媒檚 Jordis Hickie ran to an eighth place in the 3,000 metre and also competed on the 4X400 metre team along with Anna Hatch, Alexis Duncan and Leah Evans.
Hickie will suit up for the University of Calgary Dinos cross country team in the fall.
Sprinter Baylee Leduc also recorded an eighth-place finish in the 100 metre and anchored the 4X100 Relay Team of Anna Hatch, Alexis Duncan and Raina Chala.
Leduc is the fourth track and field scholarship-winning senior this year and will be heading to Saskatoon in September to compete for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies track team.
Presley Hickie had a strong meet for Penticton Secondary in the distance running events with two personal bests and eighth place in the Junior Girls 3,000 metre and 10th in the 1,500 metre.
She was closely followed to the finish by Grade 10 teammate Leah Evans who claimed 11th place in the 1,500 metre final.
Grade 10 Penticton Secondary School student Sophia Carleton-Palanio ran a blistering 12.60 in the 80 metre hurdles to knock almost a full second off her previous best time and finished just outside of the final in ninth place.
She looked poised to advance to the 300 metre hurdle final, but fell on a hurdle in the qualifying heat and unfortunately did not advance.
Carleton-Palanio also led the junior girls 4X100 relay team with Ruby Hauber, Leah Evans and Annabel Rohloff, as well as the 4X400 team with Jessica Wilkie, Ella Walker and Presley Hickie.
A pair of Grade 8 athletes had a very strong Championships with Ruby Hauber of Penticton Secondary School racing to fifth place in the 80 metre hurdles in 13.53 and Gabriel Cardoso of Holy Cross School leaping to personal bests of 1.60 metres in high jump (sixth place) and 5.09 metre in long jump (10th place.)
