Blessed with a superb fall afternoon, the Richmond High School Cross-Country Championships at Garry Point last week brought out the best in the city’s high school teams, capping a season that saw 125 athletes competing weekly.
While McMath ended up claiming the team title, both Richmond Christian and Steveston-London continued to improve and served notice that the Wildcat supremacy may not be the same next year.
After a see-saw battle all season long, Nate Loewen of McMath got the better of Richmond Christian’s Daniel Wilkinson over the rolling 6 km course to claim the Senior Boy’s crown with Sam Loewen getting the Bronze.
The Senior Girl’s podium was swept by McMath’s Hannah Pieritz, Samantha Maika and Georgia Booker. McNair’s Brodie Baily, a season-long contender, finished the race running with a broken bone in her foot and toughed out a remarkable fourth place finish.
In Junior Boy’s action, Josh Woolgar of Richmond Christian and Wesley Huang of MacNeill pushed the strong McMath trio of Carson Bradley and the Araki-Young brothers — Michael and Bradley. Woolgar managed to nip Grade 8 Bradley over the last few meters to grab the Bronze.
The Wildcats continued to dominate the Junior Girls as they have all season, placing seven runners in the Top 10. Tylere Morin outsprinted Grade 8 Elizabeth Kennedy and a fast-closing Morgan Flynn to win the Division.
This week, a large etam from all the Richmond schools will travel to Burnaby’s Central Park to compete in the Burnaby/New West/Richmond Zone Championships, the last step before the Provincials at Jericho Park in Vancouver.
Other top runners from Richmond High, Burnett, MacNeill and McRoberts will join the Richmond Champion teams to earn the right to advance to November’s Finals.
Here is rundown of the top finishers from each race:
Senior Boys: 1. Nate Loewen (McMath) 2. Daniel Wilkinson (Richmond Christian) 3. Sam Loewen (McMath) 4. Mathias Melaku (McMath) 5. Brandon Jao (Richmond Christian) 6. Marcus Lau (Steveston-London) 7. Brian Fabula (Richmond High) 8. Tegan Syho (Richmond High) 9. Richie Chan (Steveston-London) 10. Louis Zhao (McMath).
Senior Girls: 1. Hannah Pieritz (McMath) 2. Samantha Maika (McMath) 3. Georgia Booker (McMath) 4. Brodie Bailey (McNair) 5. Hannah Frazer (Richmond Christian) 6. Olivia Rossner (McMath) 7. Wendy Xu (McRoberts) 8. Crystal Ma (Steveston-London) 9. Asa Lau (Steveston-London) 10. Anna M (MacNeill).
Junior Boys: 1. Carson Bradley (McMath) 2. Michael Araki-Young (McMath) 3. Josh Woolgar (Richmond Christian) 4. Bradley Araki-Young (McMath) 5. Weslwy Huang (MacNeill) 6. Evan Desouza (Steveston-London) 7. Dru Jao (Richmond Christian) 8. Weslwy Chen (Richmond Christian) 9. Michael Munk (McNair) 10. James Chan (MacNeill).
Junior Girls: 1. Tylere Morin (McMath) 2. Elizabeth Kennedy (McMath) 3. Morgan Flynn (McMath) 4. Dakota Chan (McMath) 5. Danielle Cosco (McMath) 6. Mackenzie Morton (McMath) 7. Alison Marsh (Burnett) 8. Nicola Wigboldus (Steveston-London) 9. Alyssa Bhandal (McMath) 10. Klara Marsh (Burnett).
Team results
Overall: 1. McMath 2. Richmond Christian 3. Steveston-London
Senior Boys: 1. McMath 2. Richmond Christian 3. Steveston-London.
Senior Girls: 1. McMath 2. McNair 3. Richmond Christian.
Junior Boys: 1. McMath 2. Richmond Christian 3. Steveston-London
Junior Girls: 1. McMath 2. Burnett 3. Steveston-London
