A large and boisterous crowd of parents and peers gathered at the Estevan Collegiate Institute (ECI) monument at Cactus Park last Thursday to cheer on a group of cross-country runners competing in their first event of the season.
Hundreds of kids from grades 3 to 8 in schools from Estevan, Lampman, Bienfait and Macoun participated in the race which had the Grade 3 athletes run a mapped one-kilometre route from the bottom of the hill leading up to the ECI monument around Cactus Park and back up to their adoring fans. The grades 4 to 8 runners completed the same task, but had to do it twice making for a two-kilometre trek.
Kelly Phillipchuk, organizer of the race and coach of the Estevan Comprehensive School cross-country team, said mini meets have been run in the city before. He said the energy created by the Estevan 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games meant now would be a good time to get them started up again.
“There is room at the beginning of the year for three or four good mini meets,” said Phillipchuk. “That little school competition gets kids running against each other. You get a fun practice time. Today was a great practice time and they ran, they competed, they had a good time and they enjoyed themselves. They’ll come back again.”
Philllipchuk said the hope is a few high school teams from the southeast join future meets allowing the ECS athletes a chance to compete at a higher race level before district competition begins in October. He said a second mini meet is scheduled for this Thursday at Woodlawn Park, which will be hosted by Sacred Heart School, and a final race will be going on Sept. 29 at Torgelson Park with Spruce Ridge School acting as the organizers.
“We’ve had a good track program at ECS the last couple years and I’d like to see it continue with cross country,” he said. “I’d like to build that program…and I’m selfishly hoping that a lot of these elementary kids are going to keep running when they hit the high school.”
The top-three finishers of the ECI cross-country meet in order of placement are: Hunter Wagstaff, Deegan LeMoine and Jaxon Kuchinka, Grade 3; Blake Andrist, Payton Phillips and Aiden Wrigley, Grade 4; Shaun Von Sprecken, John Greenwood and Matty Fornwald, Grade 5/6; and Clark Cabiluna, Mason Fichter and Khenan Colbow, Grade 7/8.
