qathet School District’s recent spring cross country race attracted a record number of students to participate in an elementary school meet, with 374 students running.
The race took place at Oceanview Education Centre on April 11 and was hosted by Partners in Education (PIE), which did a fantastic job, according to school district director of communications Kristy Payne.
“There was a wonderful mix of students running competitively, as well as those who were there to experience a fun and healthy activity,” said Payne.
Dean Thorsell, Westview Elementary School vice-principal, who helps organize school district sporting events, said it was wonderful to see the Oceanview field full of kids.
“The kids were all cheering for one another, bouncing up and down, and it was amazing to see how many kids had shown up for a great run,” said Thorsell. “They weren’t just cheering for students from their own schools, they were cheering for all the participants there.”
Thorsell said an outstanding hosting job was done by Hillary Marciniak and Ian Landy from PIE.
“They were the ones setting it up and they did an awesome job,” said Thorsell, adding that field conditions were great for the cross country run.
Thorsell said it appeared in the morning that it would be a cold, wet day and it was a bit windy, so the route was altered slightly. Runners left the field and went through a trail system and everything was great, he added.
“We don’t have too many of our cross country races go through cross country terrain,” said Thorsell. “We’ve only done that at Sunset Park, so it was great to get another school that went through a trail system.”
All runners received ribbons for their participation and the students loved getting them, said Thorsell.
“For some of them, it doesn’t matter what place they come in; they are just happy to get out there, be healthy and get a good run,” he added. “Others are gunning for their best run, so there is a little sense of competition with some of them.”
Results:
Top five finishers in grade two and three girls, in order of placement, included: Hazel Barfoot, James Thomson Elementary School; River Barfoot, James Thomson; Georgia Clarke, James Thomson; Ellie Klompas, James Thomson; and Chloe Hillier, École Côte-du-Soleil.
In the grade two and three boys competition, top six finishes included: Micah Culos, Westview Elementary School; Leif Amundsen, Edgehill Elementary School; Harrison Kollar, Henderson Elementary School; Ollie Bourcier, Edgehill; Anson Skinner, James Thomson; and Brennan Somerville, Westview.
In the grade four girls race, top six finishers included: Meekwan Blaney, James Thomson; Chloe Carta, Assumption School; Sydney Kosloski, Assumption; Asha Van Wiltenburg, PIE; Marley Kernohan, Assumption; and Pearl Van Proyen, Kelly Creek Community School.
Grade four boys top six finishers included: Nelson Bratseth, École Côte-du-Soleil; Rowan Leblanc, James Thomson; Ted Barfoot, James Thomson; Fraser Blacklaws, Westview; Elliott Dickson, Westview; and Holden Hill, Westview.
In the grade five girls competition, top six finishers included: Mikenna Engman, James Thomson; Ayla Ciarnello, Kelly Creek; Cora Parsons, Edgehill; Molly Culos, Westview; Hunter Larkin, Edgehill; and Genevieve Hull, James Thomson.
Grade five boys top six finishers included: Ewan Sawchuk, Kelly Creek; Luke Gerhart, Assumption; Alex Devlin, Westview; James Boettger, Powell River Christian School; Carmello Demonis, Westview; and Brayden Boettger, Powell River Christian School.
In the grade six girls race, the top six finishers included: Sophie Green, Kelly Creek; Amethyst Bergeron, Henderson; Paige Wilson, Westview; Azalee Banks, James Thomson; Peggy Lui, Assumption; and Frankie Calder-Williams, École Côte-du-Soleil.
Grade six boys competition featured the following top six finishers: Jasper Street, Edgehill; Zach Labree, Westview; Tye Doxsee, Westview; Owen Lang, Kelly Creek; Linden Calderone, Henderson; Neddy Hender, Westview.
In the grade seven girls race, top six finishers included: Izzy Coatta, Powell River Christian School, Tilly Cocksedge-Hamilton, James Thomson; Molly Hillier, James Thomson; Alison Shannon, Powell River Christian School; Charlotte Wallace, James Thomson; and Simone Herman, PIE.
Top six finishers in grade seven boys included: Tiernan Vasseur, Westview; Alex Dowding, Westview; Abraham Kachaluba, James Thomson; Robbie, whose surname was not listed, from Kelly Creek; Tanner Ciarnello, Kelly Creek; and Shunsei Kita, École Côte-du-Soleil.
There will also be a cross country run at Sunset Park on April 25, the final one of the year, and this year’s school district track meet will be taking place on May 31 at Timberlane Park.
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