Every single athlete that competes at the high school level has a goal of becoming a Provincial Champion. Not that many athletes achieve that goal, but Ste. Rose's Eric Preston sure did. He won the Junior Varsity Javelin Throw at the provincials in Winnipeg.

Eric placed in first with some authority as well. His 43.95m final throw was more than 4m better than the second place finisher. The big toss also beat his prior personal best of 42.5m which he also threw at the event.

"The second place competitor was high-fiving me and everything and all the guys were congratulating me on all of my throws," said Preston. "It was a pretty special feeling."

The Ste. Rose native didn't enter the final round as the favourite, however. He was in second place, and that's when he turned things up a notch.

"I knew I had a good chance of placing because no one was really hitting the marks that I was," said Preston. "When I got to the second last throw I knew I had a good chance of getting first because no one even hit the 40m mark. I was pretty excited at that point. It was a pretty cool experience overall, and it's great that I got first in the province."

Next up for Eric is decision time. He's thinking of trying out for Team Manitoba this summer. He's eligible to compete at the U16 level, or he can make the jump up to U18 level. When it comes to next year's school season, Preston will compete at the Varsity level. 

Whatever he does decide to do this summer, placing first this year has him feeling good moving forward.

"I'm definitely feeling good and I feel more comfortable competing with the best," added Preston. "I also have more confidence in other sports that I'll play as well."