Canora Junior Elementary School held its inaugural Cross-Country Meet on Friday, October 8. The course was marked out around the playground and runners had to complete nine laps for a total of 2.25km to finish the race, according to Jennifer Prychak, coach.
“Participants earned a ‘golden ticket’ to complete in the race by attending every practice and completing nine laps consistently,” said Prychak.
Runners younger than Grade 5 were not included in divisional tournaments this year so coaches Prychak and Roc Steciuk decided to hold their own local event after seeing the perseverance and dedication of their runners.
“Classes came out at different times to help cheer on their classmates,” reported Prychak.
The tournament course record was set and broken three times.
Keira Owchar set a new record in the 6-and-under girls race in a time of 11 minutes, 40 seconds.
In the 8-year-old boys race, Drew Kitchen finished with a record time of 11:15. Karter Shukin won the 9-year-old boys race with a record time of 10:20.
Another highlight was that every runner set a new personal best time.
In the 6-and-under girls race, Keira Owchar was followed by Klelia Alimerkaj in second place with a time of 14:41, barely edging out Jolene Wegner in third place at 14:42.
In the race for 6-and-under boys, first place went to Jacob Prychak in 11:52. Trevor Keyowski placed second with a time of 13:26, followed by Riley Drobot in third at 17:20.
Cora Tomcala won the 7-year-old girls race in a time of 13:12, with Olivia Owchar in second place at 13:45.
The top spot in the 7-year-old boys race went to Coy Kraynick at 12:24. Connor Pozniak finished second with a time of 15:39.
In the 8-year-old girls race, Hannah Dutchak won the gold medal in a time of 11:51. Talia Collingridge placed second at 12:11, followed by third-place finisher Helen Stergio with a time of 14:27.
Drew Kitchen’s winning time of 11:15 in the 8-year-old boys race was followed by second-place runner Camryn Burym in 12:30. Jayden Dergusoff finished third in 13:05.
In the 9-year-old girls race, Courtlyn Heshka was the winner in 11:19, with Angel Sliva close behind in second place at 11:38. Taryn Tratch placed third in a time of 12:54.
Karter Shukin’s first-place time of 10:20 in the 9-year-old boys race placed him ahead of Aidyn Tratch, who finished second with a time of 12:43. Kolton Unick’s time of 13:16 resulted in a third-place finish.
The Cross-Country Team began the season with close to 100 runners, reported Prychak.
“Some runners chose to come out for the sole purpose of physical fitness. Other runners chose to set their sight on tournament competition. As the season carried on approximately 30 runners consistently came to practice,” she concluded.
