The Langley Secondary Saints pretty much squashed the saying "strength in numbers" at this past weekend's 44th annual Subway B.C. Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships.

LSS only had five athletes competing at the meet. These mighty five (one girl and four boys) collected two golds, three silvers and three bronzes for a total of eight medals, as they racked up 62 points in team scoring. This placed them fifth overall in team standings. By comparison, first place Oak Bay (Victoria) got 154 points from 37 athletes competing; runner-up Walnut Grove received 67.5 points from 27 athletes; and third place St. George's (Vancouver) got 63 points from 21 athletes.

Only Brookswood Secondary was somewhat comparable, with eight athletes competing.

Georgia Ellenwood, a Grade 9 athlete competing among senior girls, won the long jump while taking silvers in high jump and in the 100m hurdles for a total of three individual medals. With 36 points, including winning gold in heptathlon last week, she singlehandedly placed LSS third in senior girls team scoring, trailing only Oak Bay's 18 girls and Walnut Grove's 14 girls.

Georgia said she has garnered quite a bit of experience competing against girls beyond her years at sites such as the University of Oregon and Simon Fraser University.

"The competition is much stronger but I'm always willing to rise to the occasion," Georgia said. "I don't really think about how much younger I am than these other athletes, I just see them as other competitors. I feel like I fit right in."

Georgia said she had high expectations for this meet, adding she was much more excited than nervous.

"One of my main goals was winning the long jump, knowing I had anxious competitors right with me," she said. "It all came down to the last jump, and a feeling of stress came after the first five jumps because I hadn't yet achieved what I wanted. I knew I really needed confidence if I wanted to pull out with a gold medal."

With the last jump at 5.61 metres, Georgia said she was "so relieved."

"I am usually a very confident girl, though I've had many failures," Georgia said. "Having stronger athletes pushes me to drive myself that much further and take my confidence to another level. My confidence brings me to my success, and I think that's what helped with my long jump win."

EACH OF LSS'S MALE ATHLETES CAME AWAY WITH AT LEAST ONE MEDAL:

- Brennan Gademans won a silver in the 200m and bronze medals in the 100m and the 4 x 100-metre metre relay;

- Stuart Ellenwood won bronze medals in the 400m and 4 x 100-metre relay;

- and Braedon Dolfo and Gabe Marshalok each took home bronze medals in the 4 x 100-metre relay.

LSS's four boys (Dolfo, Gademans, Marshalok, and Ellenwood) placed sixth in boys team scoring.

The future looks bright for LSS's track team. Each member of the school's bronze medal winning senior boys 4 X 100-metre relay team will be back next year. Dolfo and Marshalok are in Grade 10, while Stuart Ellenwood and Gademans are in Grade 11.

LSS teacher, team sponsor, and coach Nicole Purney and team manager Marilyn Richardson have been working with the Saints track athletes since they entered LSS as the nucleus of the school's track and field program.

Purney and Richardson attend all team events and actively support the high school team, and have linked the school program with the local club program to ensure its strength and success.

Of this year's championships, Richardson said: "The two days weren't without anxious moments, and not everything went according to plan, but each of the students should be proud of what they did. From those situations that tested us, I think everyone learned something about their own inner strength."