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NVSS students shine at Zone championship

9 track and field students off to provincials

Nechako Valley Secondary School (NVSS) has enjoyed another outstanding year in the track and field department, as nine students will be off to the provincial championships in Langley, B.C.

This comes after 18 students from NVSS took part in the Zone Championships, competing against 22 other schools in the district.

Bryan Nemethy, one of the coaches for the NVSS track and field team cites a commitment and drive to stay active showcased by a dedicated group of students.

“We’ve got a really good group of students who are all keen on being active,” says Nemethy. “The culture has just been getting bigger each year. With the grade sevens coming aboard a couple of years ago, we’ve been really able to create a great foundation so that when they come out and join us in grade eight, they already know how it all works.”

Nemethy, who has been involved in cross country and track and field at NVSS for numerous years also believes that additional coaching has been incredibly effective in terms of getting the students to succeed.

“The other reason as to why we are seeing quite a bit of success is because we have more coaches now,” says Nemethy. “We have a coach who is doing sprinting, we have a coach who focuses on throwing, we have a coach doing middle distance and then two other coaches who are helping out in kind of all of the areas.”

Growing the track and field community and culture around NVSS has always been a goal for Nemethy and he states that the commitment showcased by these additional coaches has transformed the once fledgling program.

“There’s five of us out there now and that makes a huge difference,” says Nemethy. “When I first started dong track and field many years ago, it was just the runners. We slowly got some other people involved, the sprinters, the middle distance runners, the throwers, so it’s been a really good growth.”

This growth was certainly on display at the Zone championships, as 16 medals were brought home by the NVSS team this year, with one gold coming from the junior boys 4 by 400 meter relay team, while the junior girls 4 by 100 meter team secured silver.

Nolan McCleary led the way for NVSS, capturing three gold medals in the 1500 meter, 3000 meter and steeple chase events, respectively. McCleary also managed to nab a silver medal in the 800 meter event, qualifying for the upcoming Provincial championships in Langley on June 1 and 2.

Student Lachlan Pederson came away with two silver medals, courtesy of the 1500 meter and 3000 meter events. Hyatt Verduzco rounded out the podium for NVSS in the 3000 meter event, taking home the bronze medal. Both students will be headed to provincials.

Renessa Margison won gold in the 100 metre event, while Lauren Dyck captured gold in the 400 meter run. The two will also be making the trip to Langley to compete at provincials.

Hunter Floris also secured a spot at provincials, managing to capture a gold medal in both shot put and discus events.

Two school records were also broken by NVSS students Ethan Floris and Nicole McBride. Floris finished his 100 meter run, clocking in at 11.75 seconds. Floris will also be competing at provincials. Not only did McBride break the NVSS record in hammer throw with a toss of 18.73 meters, but she also managed to grab a bronze medal for her efforts. The two other NVSS track and field students making their way to provincials are Reagen Rempel and Geraldine Blake.

Despite a great medal haul and wonderful efforts made by the entire NVSS track and field team, Nemethy says that it really is all about growth and personal success.

“We always want the students to go out and try and get their personal bests,” says Nemethy. “That’s the other big part, because we just want them to get better and better each year.”

Ultimately, Nemethy wants the students to really cherish the experience of going to provincials, rather than just solely focusing on the competition aspect.

“The big part about provincials is just the overall experience” says Nemethy. “A lot of the participants, in most cases, aren’t really excelling until they are in their senior years, because by that point they have the experience and the training, so they can be really strong and powerful by the later years.”

“It really is about the experience,” says Nemethy. “It should be a great time for the students.”