A Cowichan Valley runner is ranked number one in two separate categories, which could warrant an appearance on the international stage.
Alexa Dow has made a name for herself as one of the up-and-coming mid-to-long distance runners in the country.
In a release, SD79 boasts about the runner who attends Frances Kelsey Secondary. The district says Dow is days away from being named to a Canadian National Team.
“Alexa is ranked third on a list of 17 athletes who will be chosen to represent Canada in the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, scheduled to take place in Trinidad and Tobago this August,” reads the district’s release.
She is currently ranked first nationally by Athletics Canada in the under-18 category for both the 800m and 1,500m events.
“Alexa competed for Frances Kelsey in the BC Provincial High School Cross Country Championships in November at Royal Roads where she won the gold medal in the Junior Girls category for the second consecutive year,” says SD79. “Competing for her team, The Prairie Inn Harriers, she also won the BC Provincial Cross Country title.”
Last month, Dow beat an Island record in the 1,500m that had stood since 1979. She bested the record by two seconds, then followed that in a race a couple days later setting a new mark 16 seconds faster than the day before. She also claimed the provincial under-16 records for the 800m and 1,200m events in runs last summer.
It’s one step at a time, though, as next up for the runner is BC High School Track and Field Provincials in Langley this weekend.
The district says, “With her sights set on repeating her past success, she aims to defend her title by securing gold and setting new high school records in both of her events, just as she did last year.”
