There were many highlights to 2015 in sports, so to limit it to a list of four was exceedingly difficult. But try we did.
Here are some of the bigger highlights and sports personalities that established new records and headed to new goals in an amazing year in sports.
Faithful Record readers know that the majority of these accomplishments were chronicled with care by longtime New West Record sports editor Tom Berridge. While Tom has retired from the reporting game, his work continues to glow in the form of clippings and tales that cover the past 20 years. He shined a light on the community's up-and-comers and storied teams during a lengthy career, and reflected what is great about sports in New Westminster. It's with great appreciation that we tip our hat to him and borrow from his 2015 library to unveil a shortlist of what stood out in our annual recap. Now, as they say, on with the show:
Nina Schultz is not your average ‘Hep’ cat.
The New Westminster teenager dominated the difficult art of the heptathlon at the provincial and national level, en route to a monster year.
As a Grade 11 New Westminster Secondary athlete, she repeated as the B.C. high school senior girls track and field Most Outstanding Female last spring, thanks to dominating the seven-sport heptathlon.
When the final race was held at the provincials, Schultz piled up gold wins in long jump, high jump and triple jump, as well as the heptathlon title two weeks prior.
Schultz tallied more than 5,000 points over seven events to become just the fourth high school female to reach the five-grand milestone since the competition was added to the B.C. championship lineup in 1982.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” said Schultz. “I personally don’t care about the winning. It’s all about the results and getting better.”
Her heptathlon total of 5,046 points came from victories in the 100-metre hurdles, with a personal best time of 14.82 seconds, the high jump in 1.74 metres, the 200m in a personal best of 26.35, the long jump in 5.38m, and the javelin with a personal top toss of 36.37m. Schultz finished third overall in the 800m, with a PB of 2:29.61, and the shotput, with a throw of 10.30m.
Just six weeks later, the 16-year-old established a new B.C. and Canadian record in the heptathlon at the World youth track and field championships in Cali, Colombia.
Schultz racked up a personal best 5,406 total points to place 11th overall, shattering the previous provincial mark by nearly 40 points. She set personal bests in the 100m hurdles, the 200m, and high jump.
Hyacks’ perfect season
Perfection often looks too easy in its acquisition.
The New Westminster junior Hyacks football team know that it never comes easy. The gridiron group rode a perfect record to the program’s first-ever B.C. High School football title, knocking off the formidable Mount Douglas Rams 48-29 at BC Place in early December.
Powered by a four-touchdown performance from Sammy Sidhu, New West shook off an early challenge from the Victoria team to steamroll to the provincial banner. Sidhu finished with 264 yards rushing, but pointed to the lumbering linemen as to the reason behind the team’s success this season.
“My line is everything. Without them I wouldn’t be here,” said the Grade 10 Sidhu. “They are the ones that got us here.”
Yanni Angelopolous, like Sidhu, did double-duty this year as starters on the senior team and tasted bitter defeat a week earlier when that squad fell in the semifinals. That was a motivating force, said Angelopolous. “I know the feelling of how we lost and I didn’t want that feeling. I played my best so we wouldn’t have that feeling,” he said.
New West entered the final off a huge 66-38 triumph over Seaquam in what was billed as the battle of the undefeated. The Hyacks would truly be the last team standing in that category as B.C. champions.
New West tops in midget
Superstition has its place. But for Peter Kaulfuss, it was more about just doing it right.
The midget Tier 2 hockey coach put on a lucky tie and retailored his grandfather’s lucky suit. The hockey team did the rest.
For just the second time in New Westminster Minor Hockey Association’s history, a provincial banner was claimed.
The New West A1 Royals, coached by Kaulfuss, trumped Trail 5-2 to skate off with the B.C. Tier 2 title. Ben Manville and Taylor Seganfreddo counted a goal and an assist each in the win, with other tallies by Miller Cressman, Ryan Heaven and Jordan Smith. The championship decision came on the heels of a dramatic 5-4 overtime win over Delta in the semifinals.
The lucky tie was a link to the association’s other provincial win – a peewee title from a handful of years earlier. Playing on both teams were goalie Dominic Von Schoenberg, Josh Lauener, Sam Stevens and Ryan Wilkinson.
“Right from the get-go we believed we were going to come back,” said Kaulfuss.
Tjernagel off to Texas
Personal bests may be highlights of a minute or two, but are actually built on months, even years, of work.
Raquel Tjernagel established a handful of PBs in one weekend.
The New Westminster Secondary track star put on a show in April that ended up securing the next step in her athletic career, posting a 52.52-second 400-metre world record for an under-20 female sprinter at the Brian Clay Invitational in California.
She also set a new personal mark in the 200m, at 23.34, which qualified her for the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
A day later, Tjernagel dashed off another top time of 11.58 in the 100m at a different California meet. It was all topped by her commitment to the University of Texas on a track scholarship.
“When she ran a ‘52’ in California from lane 8, she ran her first 200 (metres) like she was running for her life,” Tjernagel’s coach Sara Self said. “When she came down the last 200m, she wasn’t going to let anyone by.”
That weekend proved to be a very powerful experience for the soft-spoken New West runner.
“I committed to Texas after (California) – it all became clear,” she said. “It’s definitely a gift that I have. I feel very blessed.”
Tjernagel also repeated as B.C. High School 200m champion for a third straight year, while completing a two-year run in the 100m.
The running game has fit her like a glove.
“I always liked running. It’s like a stress release or a break – a fun break,” Tjernagel said.
