Six athletes from Lloydminster Comprehensive took home medals after making the five-hour trip to Moose Jaw for the Saskatchewan high school track and field provincials.
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Armed with 29 representatives at the two-day provincial meet, the Barons captured one gold, three silver and two bronze during Friday and Saturday action at Gutheridge Field.
“Overall, very strong performances by not just the Comp, but also Northwest (district) as a whole,” said Barons coach Cole Bloxam.
“Obviously, going down there, you’re competing against the bigger schools, so you’re going up against the best competition the province has to offer.
“I’m so proud of the athletes from the Comp for the way they represented the school, the way they represented the community. They gave it everything they had, so it was an absolutely great experience. Every year, track provincials is a very fun experience for those that qualify, and obviously those that
compete at a very high level.”
Leading the Comp charge was senior girls’ high-jumper Sofia Simpson, who finished tied for first after multiple rounds of jump-offs.
The silver-medallists from the Barons were Jasmine Kohlman in junior girls’ 80m hurdles, Kyle Graf in senior boys’ javelin and Joseph Kelly in intermediate boys’ quadrathlon, a cumulative-points competition that involves the
100 metres, 800 metres, shot put and long jump.
The Comp’s bronze-medallists were Lexia Chambers in senior girls’ javelin and Lincoln Kvill in intermediate boys’ javelin.
Overall, half of the Barons’ medals came in javelin.
“Javelin performances were strong across the board,” Bloxam said. “But, overall, I think it was very well-balanced performances from everybody.”
Those efforts — especially against challenging winds and smoky air Saturday — made the trip to Moose Jaw that much more rewarding.
“It’s a bit of a trip, but Gutheridge Field is a very nice facility,” Bloxam reported. “They had it laid out very well. It was very well-organized. They’ve done it before. It might be a bit of a trip, but at the end of the day, the
experience is worth the trip.”
Friday’s opening-day weather was decidedly warmer than the windy and smoky conditions that factored into Saturday’s action.
“Overall, it’s the same for every athlete that competes, so you just kind of have to deal with it,” Bloxam said. “But, yes, the wind was definitely stronger on the second day. It played some havoc with some of the throws and also was a bit of a mental challenge for some of the athletes running on the track,
running into the wind and whatnot.”
In the senior girls’ high jump Friday, the Barons’ Simpson and Gravelbourg’s Madeleine Simonsen emerged as the gold-medallists after multiple athletes reached the 1.50-metre mark. An extended jump-off ensued as the number was whittled down to the two finalists.
“They went back and forth several times,” Bloxam said. “I can’t remember exactly how many rounds of the jump-off there were, but there were quite a few.
“And then the decision was made by the official to basically ask, ‘Do you guys want to share the gold?’ As long as both athletes agree to do it, then they
follow through on that.”
Regardless of the school season, jumping is the operative word for Simpson, best known as a talented basketball player.
Another multi-sport athlete, hockey’s Kvill, was one of the Comp’s biggest surprises with his bronze medal in a personal-best javelin performance, said the Barons’ head coach.
“Lincoln had a huge PB in the intermediate boys’ javelin, I think by eight or nine metres,” Bloxam said of Kvill’s 48.26-metre throw in the opening event Friday morning.
“It was one of those situations where he got really into the competition.
Cole Fry, who’s the javelin coach, was doing a great job of coaching him up and telling him to fix some little things.
“Lincoln got hit with that adrenaline bug and he just hit it. That’s sometimes what happens at those big meets. You get some huge performances, you get people where it all comes together for them, and that’s exactly what happened with Lincoln. He was shocked but very happy, and everyone was very happy for him.”
In a competitive 28-man field, Kvill finished ahead of everyone but gold-medallist Sawyer Sawchuk (49.52m) of Churchbridge and runner-up Bryan Carr (48.73m) of Edam.
Kvill’s older brother Graydon also had a solid showing last weekend while representing Holy Rosary at the Alberta high school track and field provincials in Calgary. He placed seventh in his junior boys’ 800-metre race.
Among the notable results from the junior boys’ division, Neilburg’s Jace Newport earned high-jump silver to medal at the Saskatchewan provincials for a second straight year.
Newport, who plays Rustlers club volleyball and Border Brutes lacrosse in Lloydminster, jumped 1.79 metres.
Another Northwest district athlete, Lashburn’s Carter Churn, won that event with a 1.85-metre jump.
Lexia Chambers (right).
Kyle Graf (left).
Joseph Kelly (left).
Jasmine Kohlman (left).
Lincoln Kvill (right).
Sofia Simpson (middle).
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