Cycling BC’s U17 and Junior track cyclists travelled to the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario last weekend to test their limits on the 250-meter indoor cycling track against other U17/Junior riders from across the country and battle it out for the 2022 Canadian U17/Junior Track Cycling Championships. The young athletes were supported by a team of Cycling BC staff, coaches Tim Shertobitoff and Lister Farrar, and parents who cheered loud and proud from the stands.
The Cycling BC team started Day 1 of the championships weekend with a bang as Kelowna’s Noah Rubuliak claimed the national championship title in the Junior Men’s Keirin, edging out Cycling BC teammate, Cam McCallum of Langley, BC, who finished in 2nd. In the U17 Women’s Keirin, Port Moody’s Geza Rodgers took the silver medal and Campbell Parrish of Vancouver claimed the bronze in the Junior Men’s Individual Pursuit. Geza would go on to finish Day 1 with another medal, taking the bronze in the U17 Women’s Scratch Race.
Kimberly Chen of Victoria would take multiple trips to the podium on Day 2 of the competition. Kimberly won bronze medals in the U17 Women’s Points Race & the Elimination Race and a silver in the Sprint. Two more bronze medals would be awarded to Cycling BC riders as Geza finished 3rd in the Sprint, just behind Kimberly, and Noah would take 3rd in the Junior Men’s Sprint.
Day 3 included the Team Pursuit event where the Cycling BC Junior Men’s team of Remy Garrison, Cam McCallum, Noah Rubuliak, and Campbell Parrish went head-to-head for gold versus Team Ontario who had reigning Junior Track World Champion, Carson Mattern, on their team. The Junior men from BC fought hard and would place 2nd. The U17 Women’s Team Pursuit squad of Geza Rodgers, Kimberly Chen, Isla Rendle, and Sidney Swierenga would also face off against Team Ontario and come away with a 2nd place finish. BC riders Oscar Wong and Monty Rigby teamed up with NCCH rider, Antoine Bergeron of Ontario, to claim 2nd place in the U17 Men’s Team Sprint. Sidney Swierenga of Vancouver teamed up with Ontario’s Coryn Baker and Albertan Alexandra Volstad to win a bronze in the U17 Women’s Team Sprint.
Team BC’s U17 women would get their turn on the top podium as Kimberly, Isla, and Geza beat out Team Ontario for 1st place in the Team Sprint to claim BC’s second gold medal of the weekend. The Junior Men also came away with some hardware in the Team Sprint as Remy Garrison, Noah Rubuliak, and Marc Sato took 3rd place.
Victoria’s Oscar Wong won his first medal of the weekend with a bronze in the U17 Men’s 500m Time Trial. Kimberly Chen placed 2nd in the U17 Women’s TT as would Cam McCallum in the Junior Men’s TT.
The final awards of the weekend saw Team BC’s Campbell Parrish team up with Team Ontario’s Carson Mattern on a composite team and win the Junior Men’s Madison while BC’s Noah Rubuliak and Marc Sato finished in 3rd. Oscar Wong and Vancouver’s Monty Rigby would also place 3rd in the U17 Men’s Madison. However, the U17 category was a non-championship, exhibition-only race.
It was a valiant show of skill and hard work from BC’s U17 and Junior track athletes and Cycling BC is extremely proud of the team for representing our province on the national stage. There is definitely more to come from this group of young athletes and we look forward to watching them continue to progress in their development.
Thank you to the coaches, staff, officials, volunteers, parents, sponsors, supporters, and Cycling Canada for putting on a safe and fantastic 2022 U17/Junior Track National Championships event.
Cycling BC Team Athletes:
- Monty Rigby
- Cam McCallum
- Marc Sato
- Campbell Parrish
- Noah Rubuliak
- Geza Rodgers
- Sidney Swierenga
- Oscar Wong
- Remy Garrison
- Isla Rendle
- Kimberly Chen
Cycling BC Team Coaches & Staff: Lister Farrar, Tim Sherstobitoff, Tara Mowat
Photos by: Rob Jones/CanadianCyclist.com
