If an air of nostalgia hung over Centennial Stadium on Thursday, there was a reason.
The facility, built to commemorate sa国际传媒鈥檚 100th anniversary in 1967, is celebrating its 50th year.
The Island high school track and field championships have been taking place at the stadium since its opening.
Some great names 鈥� including Olympians Murray Keating, Phil Olsen, Debbie Bowker, Dave Campbell, Harold Willers, Zach Whitmarsh, Mike Mason and Cam Levins 鈥� have come out of the Island school meet.
But in its half century at the Gordon Head stadium, there has never been a dynasty in the Island meet like that of Oak Bay. The Bays won their 25th consecutive team championship and have literally owned the last half of the meet鈥檚 history at Centennial Stadium.
Oak Bay won the Island high school team title with 398 points. The Ballenas Whalers of Parksville were second with 87 points and Parkland Panthers of Sidney third with 68.5.
The Bays juggernaut now sets its sights on a potential 12th provincial title in 16 years at the sa国际传媒 high school track and field championships, June 1-3 at Langley.
鈥淚t will come down to us and Vancouver College,鈥� predicted Oak Bay sprinter Liam Gatensby, who won three medals Thursday, in the boys鈥� 100 and 200 metres and 4x100.
Hassy Fashina-Bombata of the Wellington Wildcats, a UBC Thunderbirds-bound sprinter, swept the girls鈥� 100 metres in 12.40 seconds and the 200 metres in 25.59 to be named female track athlete of the Island meet. She came to Nanaimo with her family from Nigeria when she was 10 and will be a name to watch.
Tyler Dozzi of Oak Bay, who relocated to the Island from Terrace last year to race with the Prairie Inn Harriers under coach and two-time Olympian Bruce Deacon, added the boys鈥� 1,500 metres title Thursday to the 3,000 metres he won Wednesday in record time and was named male athlete of the meet.
Dozzi, also headed to the UBC Thunderbirds, was the sa国际传媒 high school cross-country champion in the fall.
Desirae Ridenour of the Cowichan Thunderbirds broke a 41-year-old record in winning the girls鈥� 1,500 metres in 4:33.41.
The former record of 4:34.60 was set by Olympian Bowker at the height of the disco era in 1976.
Ridenour, an all-rounder who trains at the Triathlon sa国际传媒 national centre in Victoria, also won the girls鈥� 3,000 metres Thursday.
In the junior high category, Oak Bay led the team standings with 270 points, followed by St. Michaels University School with 148.5 and St. Andrew鈥檚 with 105.
