Rain, wind, mud, mud, and more mud 14 Elphinstone cross-country runners endured the forces of nature last Saturday, Nov. 7, in White Rock for the provincial high school cross-country championships.
In the junior invitational race, Jackie Morris, Lucy Wilson and Sophie Garmulewicz lined up with approximately 130 other competitors in the first race of the day. Delays forced the field to wait in the frigid rain on the start for more than 10 minutes.
"Racing with cold muscles is not ideal, but the girls raced well," said Elphi coach Lexa Pomfret.
Sophie completed the first two kilometres in the lead pack and settled to the front of the mid-pack. Lucy had a quick start, surging to the head of the pack for the first 200 metres. She finished strongly, with a resolve to refine her start in order to control the pack in future races. First year runner Jackie ran a controlled race, finishing with energy to spare.
The junior girls pounded the course into mud, so the junior boys had a slick starting line. Both Elphi competitors, Michael Corbet and Paul Kosteckyj, slipped on the start, but regained their balance in time to establish their position within the pack. Paul paced himself well, running equal splits over the 4.4 km course and finishing with a definitive sprint kick. The cold affected Michael, who lost his stride after the first kilometre.
The senior girls team finished strongly, with five runners forming a solid pack in the middle pack of the 280-competitor field.
Holly Perrier was the first Elphi girl across the finish line in 135th place, Jennifer Mauel followed in 151st, Alex Cloherty 170th, Jemma Newton-Mason in 182nd,
Selene Rose in 212th, Julie Beadle in 214th, and Robin Maser-Housden in 251st for an overall team placing of 19th out of 26 teams.
"As an indication of how tight the pack was, less than a minute separated Holly and Jemma," said Pomfret. "Only Jennifer graduates this year, so next year's season looks even more promising."
Senior boys Mason Gregory and Clay Brown wore the black and yellow for Elphi in the last and longest 6.4 km race of the day. Large, deep muddy sections combined with a tight and physical pack of 250 racers, made for an exciting race. Many competitors used elbows, shoulders, and blocking tactics to gain placement. Mason fought to a 50th place finish in a time of 24:14.46; while Clay finished 152nd in a time of 26:07.96.
This meet wrapped up the high school cross country season.
