St. Timothy Thunder cross-country runners are repeat champions of the Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association City title.
Travis Cummings’s crew won gold in the Intermediate (Grade 11) B boy’s x-country team event, reclaiming the title they won last year as juniors. Alex Howells led Thunder boys, finishing third out of 110 entrants in his division.
On the girl’s side, Thunder runner Sophia Nowicki won individual gold in the junior (Grade 10) girl’s event
“Wicked results. I can’t complain.” elated coach Cummings said of his runners. “They really came through.”
The St. Timothy runners conquered Canada Olympic Park, running a challenging five-kilometre course at the Calgary ski facility Oct. 8. Featuring 10 runners, the Thunder boy’s team finished 150 points clear (685-535) of silver-medallists Crescent Heights of Calgary.
“The goal this year was to repeat and repeat convincingly so we knew last year wasn’t a fluke,” Cummings, an accomplished cross-country and mountain runner, continued. “They went out and did it.”
Joining Howells on the boy’s team were Rory O’Donnell (8th), Kain Simmer (18th), Charles Cook (19th), Murray Huck (26th), Isaac Amsing (28th), Noah Wttewall-Arteaga (35th), Graeme Murphy (38th), Duncan Swedlo (69th) and Thomas Mackenzie (92nd). Thunder’s Eve Hebert finished 23rd in the girl’s junior event.
The strong finish ensures several of Cummings’s runners move on to provincials this weekend (Oct. 18) at Strathcona Tweedsmuir in Okotoks.
“We’ve been building them up for the last five years,” Cummings said of his X-C runners.
“This year we have three boys going to provincials.”
And he was quick to laud his junior-girl’s qualifier as well.
“She’s got a really good chance of winning at provincials,” Cummings assessed of girl’s City-champ Nowicki.
