The St. Timothy's Thunder High School cross country team capped off a productive season on Oct. 21 at the ASAA Provincial Cross Country team at Rundle Park in Edmonton.
The team came home with a fourth place finish in the 2A school in a very competitive scoring race. They were just 50 points out of second, which has been the result the past three years.
Leading the way for the Thunder was Josh Novak, who improved on his 10th place finish last year with an eighth place finish in the Senior Boys race. He will be representing Cochrane at the National Cross Country Championships Nov. 25 in Kingston, Ont.
Novak relishes the opportunity to represent his school and town at the national tournament.
“Obviously, it is a huge honour to be able to compete against the top athletes in the country,” Novak said.
“I also have the opportunity to run with the University of Calgary Athletics Club (UCAC) for the event and I think I have a legitimate shot at medalling as a team but, regardless, I am excited to have the opportunity to race at such a high level.”
Maggie Brolsma finished in 33rd place in the junior girls race. Scott Delsing and Eric Swedlo placed 33rd and 45th respectively in the Intermediate Boys race. Brenek Spademan had a tough but spirited race in the Junior Boys race, placing 106th.
Cross Country head coach Travis Cummings said he was proud of his younger runners.
“The weather was great but the course was tough, for Brenek, Maggie and Scott, this was their first provincial championship and they gained lots of valuable experience going into their senior season next year. Overall, very strong showing for the Thunder, and I would like to congratulate them on a fine season,” Cummings said.
Novak reiterated that the Thunder were very competitive this season.
“Overall, I would say the season was a success. I would’ve liked to come home with a medal from cities, but I was happy with my performance, as well as the team’s performance,” Novak said.
“I think I set a good foundation for Nationals. Definitely looking forward to the spring and hopefully carry some momentum over to the track season.”
