UNITY — The three Unity schools once again hosted the annual cross-country meet on Sept. 25. With elementary and high school teams coming from Wilkie, Biggar, the Battlefords, Maidstone, Luseland and surrounding communities, the Unity Golf Course proved an ideal backdrop for the autumn sport.
At the Unity meet, the Novice boys’ heat saw a large number of runners at the start line. Although first and second went to two students from the Battlefords, Finley Clark and Karter Stark of Unity Public School and Sam N. of St. Peter’s all placed in the top five. The Novice girls’ heat was similar, with students from École Monseigneur Blaise Morand (EMBM) and Battleford Central School taking first and second, and Stella Holman of Luseland District School placing third.
EMBM students also hit their stride in the Peewee heats. Frank Acaster and Tye Kardynal placed first and second for the boys, and Ellie Russell took first in the girls. Jyles Poletz of Biggar placed third among the boys, while Maidstone girls Presley Franks and Eisley Telenga placed second and third. St. Peter’s Burke G. and UPS’ Christian Cristobal placed 17th and 18th, respectively.
Five students from Unity Composite High School (UCHS) ran in the Bantam heat: Liam Close, Blake Lanegraff, Tyrin Leclerc, Alex Raputin and Helena Tisado. Tisado, the only Bantam girl for the UCHS team, placed eighth in her heat, with two North Battleford Comprehensive High School students taking the top two spots. In the boys’ heat, 19 runners navigated the hills of the golf course, with Close taking first place. Raputin, Lanegraff and Leclerc placed 12th to 14th, respectively.
In the Intermediate heat, Alexa Goring and Kingston Meredith of UCHS placed ninth and tenth, with Gabrielle Greter of Luseland taking third for the girls. NBCHS runners Callie and Sidney Oborowsky, Danny Carlson and Easton Schneider all placed in the top two for both boys and girls. Thorin Jedlicka of UCHS placed 10th for Intermediate boys.
In the Junior heat, the distance increased to four kilometres, requiring the course to be run twice. Macklin’s Everett Garmann, Maidstone’s Ben Foster and NBCHS’ Daygen Oborowsky were the top three runners, with UCHS’ Christian Neigum coming in fifth and Jimmy Starchief placing eighth. The girls had only four runners in the Junior race: first was Emma Harder, Maymont; followed by Lily Holman, Luseland; Chantelle Kern, NBCHS; and Ellie Kraft, Maidstone.
In the Senior heat, Katarina Radchenko of NBCHS placed first, followed by Gabby Murray of Maidstone and Jorja Geddes of NBCHS. For the boys, Preston Knapton of Luseland placed second, Ty Sieben placed fourth and Jeremy Gallant of McLurg took 11th.
Districts will be held Oct. 2 at Little Loon, and provincials will take place the following week in Yorkton on Oct. 11.
