Swift Current's Megan Rumpel and Shaunavon's Sierra Benesh led the Southwest with a pair of medals each as 10 Southwest athletes combined to bring home 12 medals from the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association provincial track and field meet in Prince Albert.
Rumpel captured gold in the midget girls high jump and added a silver medal in the triple jump to help the Southwest to 12 medals, up from last year's total of eight. The grade 10 student topped the high jump event clearing 1.60 metres, only five centimetres away from tying the provincial record. In the triple jump Rumpel finished only two centimetres out of top spot with a 10.43 metre effort.
Rumpel also finished fourth in both the 80 metre hurdles and the long jump as she accumulated 28 points to finish in a second-place tie in the midget girls aggregate standings, only two points back of Regina's Kaylee Halvorson for top spot.
Benesh easily topped the junior girls javelin with a 34.49 metre toss, 1.05 metres further than the next closest competitor. She added to her medal collection in the 400 metre race with a time of 1:03.47. Benesh earned a total of 21 points to place seventh in the junior girls individual standings.
Frontier's Kaitlyn Heggestad continued the Southwest's success in javelin when she captured a gold medal in the event for the second consecutive year with a 35.93 metre throw in the senior girls division. Last year Heggestad won gold in the junior girls category with a 36.21 metre throw.
Consul's Melissa Manley was another repeat gold medalist as she used a 33.15 metre heave to top the junior girls discus field. Last year Manley topped the midget girls field with a 31.46 metre throw.
Lane Harbor, a native of Val Marie, won gold in the midget boys high jump by clearing 1.81 metres, only two centimetres away from tying the provincial record.
Eastend's Aaron Stenerson lept his way to a gold medal in the junior boys triple jump with a 12.85 metre effort. Last year Stenerson settled for third with an 11.45 metre effort in the midget boys category.
Swift Current's Colton Nelson won a silver medal in the midget boys 100 metre hurdles with a time of 14.53 seconds.
In the junior boys high jump Cabri's Josh Schultz placed third clearing1.80 metres.
Swift Current's Tenille Gering also captured bronze in the midget girls 3000 metre race in a time of 11:41.31.
Kyle's Derek Argue earned a bronze medal in the senior boys javelin with a throw of 50.16 metres.
Overall the South West District finished in 10th with 162 points. Saskatoon topped the event with 689.83 points followed by Regina with 475. Last season SWAC finished in 12th place with 125.33 points.
