There was a distinct chill in the air, including a bit of seasonal flurries, as a large contingent of runners from across the province converged on Vancouver’s Jericho Park.
Members of the Royal City Track and Field Club made sure to make the 2017 B.C. High School cross country championships a success.
Grace Fetherstonhaugh withstood a crowded field and was strong in finishing second, trailing just Oak Bay’s Justine Stecko.
Fetherstonhaugh, a Grade 12 athlete at New Westminster Secondary, kept pace with Stecko over the first half of the 4.6-kilometre course, but the Island runner gained some distance down the stretch to win it in 17:01 minutes. Fetherstonhaugh’s time was 17:23.
Coming in 30th was Burnaby Central’s Ashlynne Stairs, with a time of 19:08.
RCTFC’s Alex Romero of Burnaby Mountain put down a strong performance in placing 18th in senior boys, with a time of 24:21 minutes, just 1:03 behind R.E. Mountain’s Zack Wyatt.
Finishing 33rd overall was Burnaby South’s and Royal City’s Shea Janke, with a closing time of 25:02.
Royal City also saw a bronze medal result for junior girls’ and New West native Katie Stewart-Barnett, with a time of 18:08 minutes. The St. Thomas More student’s final time was among the top-10 best times by any female on the day.
In seventh spot was Royal City’s Isabella Brunoro, for Burnaby Mountain.
Glenbrook just shy of top-10
The Glenbrook Middle School’s cross country runners showed strength in small numbers, with their four runners propelling the team to 11th place at the B.C. High School cross country championships last week in Vancouver.
Competing in the junior girls division against runners up to Grade 10, the Glenbrook Grade 8 team got standout efforts, with Sophie Crowther placing 26th, Monika Arcadi 103rd, Kaitlyn Long at 106th, and Max Macinnes-Cann in 199th out of 249 runners.
