Amid snowy conditions, the St. Timothy High School cross country team contested the Calgary City Championships on Oct. 10 at Canmore Park in Calgary.
The team had outstanding results, qualifying and tying a school record of eight athletes to provincial championships in Vermilion on Oct. 20. Darci Petersen continued her winning ways with a dominating win in the junior girls race. Peterson has yet to lose a race in her rookie high school season, she will be a medal contender at Provincials in Vermilion. Following Peterson, will be her fellow junior teammates Emily Carvalho and Miranda Hobbs, who ran strong races and placed seventh and 16th respectively. Liam McCullough continued his strong season, finishing eighth overall in the junior boys race. Jack Bentley, also contesting his first season as an XC harrier as a Grade 11 student, qualified for provincials with a 16th place finish in the Intermediate boys race.
Our senior athletes finished the day on a high note, showing strong leadership for the Thunder’s young team. Maggie Brolsma closed out her last City Championship with a seventh place finish in senior girls, setting the tone for her younger teammates with a strong finishing kick. Brolsma has steadily improved throughout her three years on the St. Tim’s High School XC team, this was a stunning performance to cap off her final City Championship cross country race. Eric Swedlo and Scott Delsing have also shown steady improvement, running a smart team race to finish well inside the Top 10. Swedlo and Delsing both had their best showings yet, finishing sixth and seventh overall. The school and the Thunder coaching staff are extremely proud of these significant achievements. The team will now prepare for provincial championships that will take place on Oct. 20.
Brolsma said she was quite pleased with her city championship performance and is looking forward to competing in provincials this weekend. "I was very pleased with my performance at city championships. I surprised myself along with my teammates with my finish ... I thought it was a great reward for all the hard work I've been putting in throughout the season. I couldn't ask for a better team and coaches so I wasn't surprised by the good results the team posted throughout the event ... although St. Tim's is a small school, we have very dedicated athletes who always support one another no matter how they perform during the race. I am so proud of the entire team for qualifying eight athletes and I personally couldn't ask for a better group to go to provincials with," Brolsma said. "At provincials this weekend I am excited to see what the team can achieve. I think we have a very good chance at medalling and bringing home a banner ... whatever the outcome, it should be an exciting race with some excellent results."This race was a welcome reward amid a frustrating season mired with race cancellations due to weather. The junior high team had their City Championships cancelled on Oct. 4 due to snowy conditions and the high school team had a league race cancelled for the same reason on Oct. 3. The team has been braving chilly and snowy weather all season during training and their resiliency surely paid off today. Many of St. Tim’s Junior High athletes will be contesting Athletics Alberta’s Club Provincial XC Championships at the Cochrane Ag Grounds on Nov. 3, racing under the banner of Cochrane’s newest private athletic club, Cochrane Endurance Project.
