Quesnel Junior School (QJS) and Correlieu Secondary School (CSS) cross-country runners competed in the 2017 Provincial Cross-country Championships at Jericho Beach in Vancouver Nov. 4.
In the junior girls’ race (grade 8-10), Ruby Nicholas from QJS finished 43rd, running the 4.6 km race in 19:59 min.
“This is a superb result for a grade 8 competitor,” says high school cross-country running coach Scott Trueman.
In the junior boys’ race, the largest category, Christopher Henderson from Correlieu was 170th in a field of 270 runners.
Aleesha Bautista from Correlieu was 54th in the senior girls’ race, finishing a mere second behind her Prince George rival, Robyn Barwise from Prince George Secondary School.
Bazil Spencer from Correlieu ran through a snowy blizzard against a competitive senior boys field, finishing 80th.
The junior girls’ team from QJS was 20th overall, and the senior girls’ team from CSS placed 22nd overall.
“This was a building year, and I am looking forward to what both QJS and CSS teams can do at the 2018 Provincial High School Cross-country Championships in Nanaimo,” commented Coach Trueman.
He noted that the senior girls will face a new challenge as the organizing body for BC High School Cross-country has decided to increase their distance from 4.0-4.5 km to 5.5-6.5 km, equal to the distance run by senior boys, as is becoming the norm in cross-country races across Canada at various levels.
Check out the full results at www.bcxc.ca, and don’t forget to read our student writer Abby Fisher’s account of provincials.