Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Kayla does Hoërskool Brackenfell proud
HOËRSKOOL Brackenfell’s Kayla Smit stole the show at the Western Cape High Schools Championships in Paarl last weekend. Kayla, from Bellville, powered her way to a new provincial schools record with a throw of 51.48m in the girls’ Under-19 hammer throw event.
She went on to finish in second and fourth place in the girls U/19 shot put and javelin events respectively.
Although Boland dominated the competition, which included South Western Districts (SWD), Kayla kept the flag flying high for Western Province schools.
The former Laërskool Bellville Noord pupil now has her eyes set on the South African Schools Championships in Port Elizabeth next week.
An accomplished athlete since primary school, Kayla, 17, will compete in her fifth National Schools Championships.
She is now on a mission to win the gold medal after she took the silver medal in the girls U/17 hammer throw with a distance of 57.43m at last year’s Championships in Potchefstroom.
However, Kayla, a member of Bellville Athletics Club, first has to take care of business at the Western Province Athletics (WPA) Junior Championships at the Parow Athletics Track which started on Thursday and ends today.
If she performs well, Kayla will go on to represent WPA at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Youth and Junior Championships in Paarl later this month.
The youngster will also hope to represent the country at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) African Youth and Junior Championships in Ivory Coast next month and CAA Southern Region Youth and Junior Championships in Boksburg in May.
However, she will need to do well at the ASA Youth and Junior Championships and take it one competition at a time to reach her goals.
Leading up to the SA Schools Championships, Kayla is unbeaten in the hammer throw event this season.
She was crowned champion at the Western Province Schools Championships and the Northern Zone High Schools Championships. At club level, she is also unbeaten
‘I am pleased with
the way my season
is going thus far. The
plan is to work hard,
stay positive and
motivated’
this year.
“I am pleased with the way my season is going thus far. What makes this season a bit difficult is that I shifted weight with the hammer.
“Moving from 3kg to 4kg makes a big difference. However, the plan is to work hard, stay positive and motivated,” said Kayla, who got into the hammer throw event in 2015.
“At training, I would always watch the hammer throw guys practise. Then I decided to join them as I found it interesting, ” she added.
Meanwhile, Western Province schools dominated the boys U/15 and girls U/19 hurdles events. Portland High School’s Mujaahid Ismail claimed gold in the boys U/15 100m and 300m hurdles events.