Tate and Zach Wyatt may be off to Tennessee this fall, but the twins will still be giving ’er this weekend in their last big track and field contest at home.
Langley Mustangs Track & Field Club is hosting the 39th annual Pacific Invitational and BC Masters Championships at McLeod Athletic Park Friday through Sunday, and the Wyatt boys are among about a thousand athletes registered to participate.
They’ll be running in the steeplechase and 1,500 m dash, confirmed Brent Dolfo, the meet director and president of the Mustangs for the past 12 years.
The Grade 12 R.E. Mountain students just signed to the University of Memphis, where they’re expected to continue their running careers as Memphis Tigers while earning their degrees in physics.
In addition to signing for the university’s track and field team – because of their successes on the track – they’re standing as top academic performers has also earned them acceptance into the university’s elite Helen Hardin Honors College.
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Action gets underway Friday
Action begins late Friday afternoon at MAP, with the steeplechase and 800 m, but most of the events run Saturday and Sunday, between 8:30 a.m. and about 5 p.m.
There are close to 1,000 athletes, ranging in age from six to 91, participating in this annual Father’s Day joint competition – about 120 of them are from Langley, Dolfo explained.
Other athletes are coming from throughout the B.C. Interior, Vancouver Island, Alberta, and as far away as the Yukon to compete.
Athletes will be competing in 60 through 3,000m runs, 400m hurdles, long, triple, and high jumps, pole vaulting, discus, shot put, steeplechase, hammer, and javelin.
While athletes 35 years and older are registered in the masters provincial championships, those age six through 34 years will compete in the invitational component, Dolfo said, including about eight to 10 wheelchair competitors and possibly a few with visual impairments.
Canadian college coaches will undoubtedly be on-hand this weekend, scouting talent, Dolfo said. They typically are present.
Langley Mustangs have hosted this event every years for almost four decades. In recent years they also hosted the Legion National Youth Championships, and will be playing host at MAP in 2021 and 2022 to the Canadian National Track and Field Championships – it will be the first time hosted in B.C. since 1995, Dolfo said, excited for the up-and-coming athletes from Langley who will get a chance to participate too.
This track and field competition comes on the heels of the BC High School Track and Field Championships held at MAP two weekends ago that brought about 2,400 athletes and 400 coaches to Langley.
Langley Mustangs were involved in helping coordinate that large track event, too.
Related: BC High school track championships keep coming back to Langley