On October 9, St. Anthony’s School sent 16 Junior/Senior High Cross-Country runners to the South Central Zone Championships on a sunny day in Diamond Valley.
The team trained weekly in Midland Provincial Park along the gravel and dirt terrain in preparation for Zones.
At the Junior High level, St. Anthony’s School placed 5th overall in the 2J category and had two top-10 performances. Adam Beal placed 7th overall with a Midget Boys time of 7:30 in the 2-kilometre race and Weston Christianson placed 8th overall with a Juvenile Girls time of 14:37 in the 3-kilometre race.
The Senior High Cross-Country placed 2nd at the 1A level, only 2 points away from winning the Zone Banner. Highlights included Paige Swain finishing 28th with a time of 20:30 and Ryah Sutcliffe 36th with a time of 20:44 in the Junior Girls category out of 64 total runners.
Head Coach Gavin Makse was impressed with how almost every athlete ran a personal best at Zones and attributed this to the dedication that all team members exemplified with their training throughout the season. He also appreciates the support of Veronique Ram for her assistance in training the team at Midland Provincial Park this year.
Preparations are already being made to participate in runs or Cross-Country Meets prior to Zones.