Arnyek golden at provincials

Stiff competition and cold weather didn't stop Moose Jaw's track and field athletes in the first day of high school provincial championship competition.
The local competitors picked up four medals - three of them thanks to Vanier - and had an all-around solid showing Friday in Prince Albert.
One athlete stood out above the rest, however. Vanier's Keegan Arnyek won two medals including the South Central district's only gold.
"He was pretty dominant out there," said Vanier coach Lianne Meili.
Arnyek's gold came in the midget boys 100 metres, and he also won bronze in long jump. Even he had to modestly admit that he was far ahead of the field on the track.
"I think I was a couple steps ahead of everyone," he said. "I kind of did (expect it) after the first two heats, because my times were better.
"I knew I'd do good, I didn't know if I'd get first. But I knew I had a good chance."
Arnyek crossed the line in 11.56 seconds to claim the sprint medal and cleared 5.67m in the long jump. West Central's Taran Robinson won gold by clearing 6.03m.
Arnyek is no stranger to medals, but winning at the provincial level is on a different level than anything else.
"It was really cool because those are the top athletes," he said. "There were a lot of kids there, so it was a lot of fun to win it in front of everybody."
Vanier's Mitch Boucher also earned some hardware, winning silver in the junior boys 100 m in 11.79 seconds. Humboldt's Ryan Graf won gold in 11.43.
Peacock, meanwhile, had an excellent day as well. Of their 11 athletes competing Friday, 10 finished in the top eight.
"It was amazing, I'm so proud of them," said Peacock coach Renee Verge. "I said a whole bunch of them would get to the finals."
Peacock's only medal came courtesy of Regan Silversides, who earned bronze in the junior boys 1500 m in 4:27.28. Silversides was nipped at the line in the final sprint, with Regina's Dustin Erbach winning gold in 4:26.63 and Prince Albert's Kyle Boettcher silver in 4:27.09
Other noteables included Vanier's Kendra Froehlich, who placed fourth in the midget girls 1500 m; Vanier's Linnea Smith (fourth, junior girls 1500 m), Central's Zach Johnson (fourth, junior boys javelin) and Vanier's Kaitlin Thiessen (fourth, midget girls triple jump).
"A really good day for South Central," said Verge.
Meili was impressed with the focus of some of the younger athletes.
"For a lot of kids, this was their first provincials and they didn't know what to expect," she said. "But they stepped it up and had a lot of confidence and they did well."
Central coach Colin Belsher pointed out that standing around in the cold doesn't exactly help any of the athletes.
"It was a tough day, it was long and it was cold," he said. "It was hard for the athletes to get up for their events, especially for the ones competing later in the afternoon."
Due to a hotel mix-up, many South Central athletes are staying in Melfort, an hour's drive from Prince Albert, which only adds to the strain of their busy day.
The competition continues today, with many athletes still waiting to take part in their first event of the weekend.
Arnyek isn't done with his ambition. He tries his hand at the relay, the 200 m and the triple jump events today.
"The 200, I think I have a good chance at winning that," he said, adding that the all-time record for the triple jump is just eight centimetres off of his personal best.
"I'm going to be trying for that."