May continues to be a busy month for the Vancouver Thunderbirds, as our Midget and Senior athletes across all disciplines prepare for BC High School Provincial Championships, on June 1st, 2017. Below are some recent highlights of our club's progression thus far!

Stan Jang - Head coach of Thunderbirds High-School Endurance Group:

"Thunderbird high school endurance athletes have been very busy this month with their high school zone finals. Most of them have qualified for events at the BC High School Championships in June. Highlights include:

Lyndsey Bryden had the fight of her life in the juvenile girls 400m winning by 0.03s
Ben Ross had an great run in his junior boys 400m victory
Bridgett Baziw had a very busy meet earning silver in the juvenile girls 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 4x400m
Ella Symon made her presence felt in her first high school track season winning the bantam girls aggregate, winning her 800m, 1500m and 3000m races. On Ella's heels, was teammate Skye Higgins who finished 2nd in the bantam girls 800m, 1500m and 3000m.
Manon Plouvier had a busy meet running the 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 4x400m relay highlighted by a 2nd place finish in the 1500m.
Quinton Braziller's junior boys 800m, 1500m and 3000m races all came down to the wire requiring a ferocious kicks. Braziller was successful in two of the races, winning the 1500m andthen the 800m, by just 0.08s over fellow Thunderbird teammate, Ian Robinson.
Dylan Uhrich repeated as the juvenile boys individual aggregate with victories in the 1500m and 3000m, and 2nd in the 800m.
Christian Petersen, coming back from a layoff in the early spring, finished 2nd behind Dylan in the 1500m and 3000m

Thunderbird endurance runner, Dylan Uhrich wins JV Individual Aggregate at Vancouver Public School Zone Championships.

Similar success leaked over to Thunderbirds sprint and hurdle athletes, with numerous personal best performances and podium finishes at their respective Zone Championships.

Sprints and Hurdle coach, Andrew Cooke, credits the following athletes for their recent performance highlights:

Grade 11, Alex Pescitelli placed second in the both the Senior Men's 100m(11.30) and 200m (22.19, personal best) at Vancouver Private School's Zone Championships, qualifying him for BC Provincial Championships on June 1st.
Grade 11, Logan Fung also won the women's 100 (13.18) and 200m events at the Private School Zone Championships. Fung raced to a personal best time in the 200m, clocking 26.38 and qualifying her for both events.
Grade 11, Sam Prevost ran a 400m PB of 51.60 at Vancouver Public School Zone Championships, also qualifying him for Provincial Championships.
Grade 12, Danielle Miller qualified for Provincials after winning gold at Public Zone Championships in the 200m (26.98 PB), and Long Jump (5.13m).
Grade 8, Terence Cheung earned gold in the 100mH race, punching his ticket to Provincials, while also running a large PB in the 200m (24.98) to capture double gold. Cheung's previous PB was 25.90.

Rounding out Cooke's athlete success is first year SFU sprinter, Katherine Lucas. Katherine ran a 11.82 PB in the 100m, which is the second fastest time run in GNAC history. In the 200m, another PB was earned in 22.41 seconds. In just her first year with SFU, the freshman qualified for NCAA Division II indoor nationals in the 200m, won the GNAC 100m and 200m outdoor championships, and holds current PBs of 12.13 (100) and 24.68 (200).

Finally, coach Don Alleemersch highlights Thunderbird thrower, Michelle Dadson's performance at the High Performance Langley Mustang's throws competition, back in April. On April 30th, Dadson threw a PB and Thunderbird's Club record of 13.05m in the shot put, followed by 30.70m in the discus, and 32.31m in the hammer throw.

Congratulations to all athletes on their recent success. We wish all Thunderbirds the best of luck heading into Provincial Championships, and look forward to continued success throughout the summer track and field club season! Go Thunderbirds Go!!

Thunderbirds poised for success at BC High School Provincial Championships