Heard the name Bazil Spencer yet? You will.
Spencer, 16, is one of Quesnel’s premier track and field athletes. He has trained with the Prince George Track and Field Club for the last year and excelled in 400 metre and 800m dash.
It was only by happenstance that he discovered his greatest talent was for thrusting his frame as high as possible with the aim of clearing a bar.
At the B.C. High School Track and Field Championships in Langley at the beginning of June, Spencer won a silver medal for his efforts in high jump.
As the meet was wrapping up, one of the organizers noticed Spencer’s footwear and approached him to say, “If you’re jumping that high in running shoes, you need to get yourself some high jump spikes.”
He also suggested Spencer contact Dylan Armstrong, a former Olympic shot putter who coaches for the Kamloops Track and Field Club.
With the help of Janet Barker, Correlieu Secondary School’s track coach, Spencer managed to get in touch with Armstrong and they arranged for a training session in Kamloops.
“He started to see where I was at and saw some videos of me at provincials,” says Spencer.
“And he told me a whole bunch of things I can do to improve.”
In addition to the training tips, Armstrong opened Spencer’s eyes to all the opportunities available to high-level track and field athletes.
“He said he thought I could make the legion team, which is basically the B.C. team that would go to nationals,” he says.
Armstrong also told Spencer about the extensive world travelling he’s been able to do thanks to track and field, as well as all the scholarship opportunities that are available to top athletes.
On their last day together, he offered to help get Spencer invited to the Harry Jerome International Track Classic, which pitted Canadian athletes against competitors from China.
Jumping at the opportunity, figuratively and literally, Spencer got the chance to see what it’s like to compete against the highest level of competition in the country.
He even managed to briefly chat with track star Andre De Grasse while he was doing his warm up.
While he was unable to perform at his best at the meet due to some back stiffness, Spencer realized what he wanted to do with the next few years of his life.
“When we were with the school I thought, ‘Oh I’m going to go out and train for fun and have fun with my friends,’ but now it’s like I need to do this and do it right.”
On June 15 at the B.C. Athletics Track and Field Championships/ B.C. & Yukon Command Legion Youth Team Selection Trials, Spencer took first place in the U18 division, with a personal best jump of 2.00 metres.
It tied him for the highest jump country wide for the U18 division this year.
As a result of the jump, Spencer was selected as one of the 25 athletes for the 2018 B.C./ Yukon Command Legion Youth team, which will participate in the National Youth Track and Field Championship in Brandon, Manitoba on August 10-12.
If his constant improvement since spring is any indication, the meet might be a coming out party for the young Quesnel athlete.
Spencer’s father Chris says the summer has been overwhelming but exciting.
“He’s always been a good athlete, but I never put him in hockey because of the concussions I went though because of the full-contact sport,” he says.
“All my friends would ask me, ‘Why he isn’t he playing hockey?’ and I’d say, ‘Because I didn’t want him risking his brain.’
“Now it making me so happy that he has so many opportunities that aren’t hockey related, so he can go get an education and the door will be wide open for him to move on to bigger and better things.”
sports@quesnelobserver.com
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