CANORA — After a very wet start to the cross country season in Yorkton on Sept. 15, student athletes from Canora Composite School were no doubt hoping for a day where the weather didn’t present any problems in Saltcoats at the Autumn Summit on Sept. 27.
Unfortunately, this time they had to deal with a stiff Saskatchewan breeze, said Coaches Leona Kitchen and Thomas Lowes.
“We thought Saltcoats Autumn Summit was going to provide better weather for cross country running but when we woke up, the wind was gusting to 50km/h. The runners enjoyed the wind when it was behind them giving a little boost and then persevered when they had to run straight into it.
“For the U12 students, this is their first time running 3km, so this race gave them an idea of their time and set a goal for how they would like to improve it.
“Quite a few students set a personal best time, which shows that even with obstacles like the wind, they are determined to push themselves and keep improving every time they race.”
In addition to numerous personal bests, CCS athletes posted a total of eight finishes in the top 10.
The top result was Keira Owchar, placing third in the U10 girls 2km race out of 65 runners in a time of nine minutes, 41 seconds.
Aliannah Herriges posted a time of 10:18, good enough for eighth out of 61 runners in the U11 girls race. Other CCS competitors and their times were: Ashton Lamb, 29th (11:38); Riley Roberts, 34th (12:09) and Courtney Pozniak, 55th (14:54).
In the U11 boys, also a 2km race, in a field of 67 runners, Trevor Keyowski finished 14th in nine minutes, 34 seconds. Other CCS competitors included: Jacob Prychak, 48th (11:25), Felix Huang, 49th (11:36) and Tyler Menton, 58th (13:10).
In age groups from U12 up to U15, all races were over a distance of 3km.
In the U12 girls race, Olivia Owchar finished 23rd out of 40 runners with a time of 16 minutes 46 seconds, and Rayna Edison placed 29th in 18:19.
In U12 boys, Logan Menton completed the race in 15 minutes even for 19th place, with Coy Kraynick close behind at 15:05, good for 20th out of 46 competitors.
Hannah Dutchak finished 20th in the U13 girls race with a time of 18:38 in a field of 21 runners.
Drew Kitchen placed fourth in U13 boys out of 33 racers with a personal best time of 12:46.
Maggie Lemaigre came in 20th in U14 girls with a time of 19:18. Unfortunately Karlien De Necker was unable to complete the race due to an ankle injury.
In the U14 boys race, in a field of 23 runners, Karter Shukin came in eighth in a time of 13:10, a personal best.
Madison Dutchak achieved a personal best in the U15 girls race to finish eighth in a time of 15:49 out of 11 runners.
Two Canora athletes achieved personal bests in U15 boys, with a field of 14 runners.
William Sliva placed 11th in 13:56 and Reid Kitchen was close behind with a 13:58 time in 12th place.
In the Over 16 boys age group on a 4km course, in a field of nine competitors, Pierre Rollin and Andrew Sliva each finished in 18 minutes and 32 seconds, with Rollins taking fifth place and Sliva sixth. Not far behind in seventh place was Kayden Harder with a time of 18:42,
The East Central District race was scheduled to run on Oct. 2, where Grade 9-12 students were to compete for a chance to attend SHSAA Provincial Cross Country in Yorkton this year.
“All other runners are pushing to improve their times from last week for a personal best,” said Coaches Kitchen and Lowes.
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