Western Region Championships 2025: Recap

Through more than 25 years of attending track meets as a coach, I have seen a lot of weather – but day one of the 2025 SSNS Western Region Championships in Bridgetown might take the award for the windiest. Even though our tent was tied to a fence at the back and had two 45lb weights on the front legs, when the wind was at its peak, we needed two people holding the tent down the entire time, and I had to tape my laptop to the table. Even worse for the runners, they faced a direct headwind as they came down the final stretch of their races.

Come wind, rain, snow, or sun, the athletes show up to chase personal bests. More importantly for this competition, they aim to finish among the top four to earn a return trip to Bridgetown for the SSNS Provincial Championships, being held today and tomorrow, May 30–31.

Not all athletes had to contend with the wind in the same way. High jump specialist Marlowe Wister Wade ‘29 chose an event that doesn’t end at the finish line. Marlowe had a fantastic day of jumping, clearing the podium in second place and earning her trip to Provincials this weekend.

Lily Williams ‘27 prefers sand in her spikes and showed it by leaping to second place in long jump, also securing her place at Provincials. It was a particularly tight competition – just five centimetres separated the three medalists.

Luciana Zazueta Ibarra ‘27 couldn’t escape the wind as she battled through 1500m to earn a silver medal. Conditions improved on Saturday, where she ran a strong 3000m, earning another silver and a personal best. Luciana will be aiming for gold in both events at Provincials.

More medals came from the intermediate girls 4x100m relay team of Natalia Shaw ‘27, Mielle Lawrence ‘28, Heather Lawton ‘28, and Fedora Asoh ‘27, who took silver. These four furiously fast females featured fantastically for 4x400m, earning bronze and booking their second relay ticket to Provincials.

In addition to her relay contributions, Heather Lawton also demonstrated her middle-distance promise, placing in the top four to secure an individual spot at Provincials.

Chelsea James ‘29 improved on her District 80m hurdle result, moving up four places in the standings. Allie Sangster ‘28 also bettered her District 400m performance. Javelin thrower and rookie Ida Schloglman ‘26 continues to improve weekly, adding a massive 4.21m to her District throw. 2026 Head Girl Adaure Ojinere ‘26 represented KES with pride and is eager to soar even farther in her senior year.

Emmanuel Adaramodu ‘26 continued his successful season with second place in a windy 100m dash. On day two, he followed it up with third place in the 200m along with a big personal best. Manny also helped power the silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team with teammates Jeremy Aigbe ‘25, Ludo Basenez ‘25, and Vinnie Armstrong ‘25. For the 4x400m, Carter Cooling ‘25 stepped in for Vinnie, and the team earned bronze.

Spencer Armstrong ‘30 qualified for Regionals in three events: junior boys long jump, 200m dash, and 80m hurdles. In Friday’s tough conditions, Spencer somehow managed to improve his 200m time by more than a second from Districts.

Our Highlanders are back in action today and tomorrow in Bridgetown, May 30–31, for the SSNS Provincial Championships. Bring a cowbell and come cheer them on!

Phillip Hadley
Senior School Faculty, Coaching XC, Track and Field, Swimming