It took a couple a high fences and a water hazard or two but Emma Balazs finally found a way to distance herself from Regan Yee.
Balazs, a Grade 10 student at Kelly Road secondary school, found out about Yee's capabilities in distance races a few weeks ago at the B.C. high school provincial track and field championships in Burnaby.
It was there that Yee, a resident of South Hazelton, held Balazs off the provincial medal podium in the 1,500-metre steeplechase and she was one step ahead of Balazs in the 1,500m and 3,000m races. But on Saturday, on her home track at Masich Place Stadium in the Spruce Capital Invitational meet, Balazs put an end to Yee's streak with a win in the 2,000m steeplechase.
Balazs, a 16-year-old member of the Prince George Track and Field Club, had no trouble with the 30-inch barriers and held Yee off from start to finish, winning in seven minutes 9.63 seconds, comfortably ahead of the Yee, who claimed silver in 7:15.24.
"That was the first time either of us have run that [distance]," said Balazs. "She beat me in the steeplechase at provincials but for this race I got ahead of her at the start and just stayed in front if her the whole race. It's my favourite event."
For good reason. Last year she won the silver medal in the 1,500 steeplechase at the Legion national championships in Ottawa. Her time in Saturday's race qualified Balazs for the Legion event in Ottawa, Aug. 5-7. She'll find out if she's on the B.C. team following the B.C. Jamboree meet in Abbotsford, July 15-17.
Yee and Balazs finished 1-2 respectively at the finish in the 16-17-year-old girls 1,500m and 3,000m events at the Spruce Capital meet. Yee clocked 4:45.78 in the 1,500, 10 seconds ahead of Balazs, who clocked 4:56.00. Yee had a 12-second margin of victory in the 3,000, finishing in 10:34.52.
"There are 7 1/2 laps in the 3,000 and I was leading up until the last lap and she just went by me," said Balazs. "I tried to keep up but I couldn't."
"I got second again in the 1,500 but it was a pretty good time, close to my personal best [4:51]."
n To nobody's surprise, Sean Gaiesky, 15, helped his brothers claim gold Sunday in the 4 X 100m family relay. Gaiesky has been running after them all his life.
Like Sean, his brothers Kevin, 18, Kristopher, 20, and Ryan, 13 are medal magnets as track and field runners and they proved that again at the Spruce Capital meet, winning a combined 17 medals, including the relay.
'It's helped me quite a bit growing up with my brothers, I'm, probably more competitive than most people," said Sean. "We always have competitions and try to one-up each other."
Long distance or sprint, it didn't seem to matter to Sean Gaiesky. He found ways to win the 200m, 300m, 800m and 1,200m events.
"The 200 was probably the hardest for me, there are sprinters doing that," said Sean, who won his age group in 25.64 seconds.
He used senior runner and PGTFC training partner Joshua Hewitt as a jackrabbit to set the pace and edged 14-year-old Alexandre Nemethy of Vanderhoof in the 800m run, finishing in 2:14.67.
In between his time at the track, Sean helped the Prince George under-16 Kodiaks win two zone playoff games on the soccer field to qualify for the provincial championship.
The 1,200 is a new event for junior-aged athletes at the club level. Athletics B.C. shortened the 1,500m race to 1,200m for athletes 15-and-younger to reduce the risk of injuries. For Sean, it took away a measuring gauge of his progress this summer in the 1,500 -- his favourite event -- but he'll run whatever distance the rules tell him he can.
"Usually in high school meets you run a 1,500 but they've changed the rules [for club competitions]," he said. "I've always enjoyed doing the 1,500, so I really liked doing the 1,200.
"I'm feeling better this year than I have in other years."
n Next up for PGTFC members is the Jack Brow meet in Kelowna, July 2-3.
