Gimli track and field star Jencie Henry cleaned up at the Athletics Manitoba Awards Banquet on Nov. 15 in Winnipeg.
Henry, 15, was awarded the Outstanding Female Throws Award, the Chuck Sigfusson Memorial Discus Award, and the Most Improved Female Award based on her incredible breakout season in throws.
In addition, Henry was also honoured for having the furthest throw in female discus across all age categories this season.
“This year I wanted to win something,” said Henry on Friday afternoon. “I wanted to improve myself and do better and it worked.”
In just her second season of ‘taking the sport seriously,’ Henry has been on the fast track to stardom.
This season, she has won in discus and shot put at the high school, provincial, and Western Canada Team Challenge levels.
Now up to number five nationally in the indoor and outdoor shot put and hammer throw rankings, Henry credits the support of her peers for her ability to go out and perform when the stakes are the highest.
In July, she competed in the Western Canada Team Challenge in Winnipeg, setting personal bests in all her events.
“I was feeling really good about it because it’s kind of the preparation for Nationals,” said Henry. “I knew that I had been working so hard and that’s what I wanted to do. The goal was to win and I did. The fact that I was seeing some improvement made me happy.”
As the track and field season has slowed, Henry is still practicing once a week with her high school team in Gimli to prepare for next season.
As a grade 11 student, Henry still has two more seasons to rule the Manitoba circuit before potentially moving on to the university level.
