St. Timothy High School bantam girls ran their way to a silver finish last weekend, and the coach said he’s proud the juniors can hold their own against club teams from around Alberta.
“How they perform with just a school program is impressive,” said Travis Cummings. “I was pretty happy with how they did.”
Canmore Park in northwest Calgary was filled with runners from across the province for the Athletics Alberta Cross Country Provincial Championships Saturday.
The Thunder brought 10 girls and two boys from Grades 7 and 8 to the competition. Running mates Darci Petersen, Sofia Preece, Holly Moores and Grace Boston each placed in the top 15 to collect a medal-winning team score of 30 points.
“All had really good times,” Cummings said.
The team beat out the University of Calgary Athletic Club, the Athabasca Nordic Ski Club and others to earn the silver. The Edmonton Harriers Track Club took home the gold. St. Tim’s student Sophia Nowicki ran under the U of C banner and came in ninth place overall in the youth girls category.
Cumming said the medal performance wasn’t the only exciting event that capped off a strong season – Jessica O’Connell, who competed in the 5000-metre event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer, also surprised the team with a visit at this weekend’s meet.
“The girls were stoked,” said Cummings, a former teammate of O’Connell’s. “She’s a really awesome ambassador for the sport. It was a pretty cool thing for them.”
With the cross-country season now at its end, some team members will move on to other sports, while others will take part in regular fitness training. Cummings said he’s excited to see how his junior runners will develop as they continue through the program in the years to come.
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