The Tri-Cities will be well represented at the Sport BC Athlete of the Year awards, to be held March 13 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver.
Riverside secondary school’s Jarrett Chong is a finalist for the high school male athlete of the year. The javelin and discus thrower achieved a U-18 No. 1 national ranking in the former when a throw he made at a meet in Richmond last summer topped the qualification standard for his age group. He also won the event at the BC provincial high school championships with a throw of the 800-gram javelin of 55.47 metres. A few weeks later he threw the 700g javelin 66.82 metres at the Pacific Invitational meet in Langley to attain the Youth Olympic standard.
The Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs of the BC Junior Lacrosse League are up for team of the year, and their coach, Pat Coyle, is a finalist for male coach of the year.
The Adanacs won their second Minto Cup national junior A lacrosse championship in the past three years when they defeated the Brampton Excelsiors three games to one in the best-of-five final in Calgary last August. They got there by winning 18 of 21 regular season games and then seven of nine games they played in the BCJALL playoffs.
Coyle has guided the team since 2015 after a legendary career as a player that earned him induction into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He won two Mann Cup national senior championships with the Brampton Excelsiors then three more during his 11 seasons playing for the Sr. Adanacs in the Western Lacrosse Association. He also won five championships during his 11 seasons playing in the National Lacrosse League and he’s currently the coach of the Colorado Mammoth in that league.
Sport BC’s Athlete of the Year awards are presented annually in 18 different categories to athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers. The finalists for each award are reviewed by a selection committee, headed by former broadcaster Bernie Pascall, that includes sportswriters, broadcasters and leaders in amateur sport in the province.
“It’s no secret, BC boasts many of the top athletes in Canada,” Pascall said in a press release. “The excellent group of finalists reflects the remarkable degree of sports development in BC.”
• To find out more, or for a link to purchase tickets to the awards gala, go to https://sportbc.com/athlete-of-the-year-awards/.
