While it’s a short season and the weather can often be unpredictable, this year’s St. Paul Athletics Association (SPAA) cross-country running championship offered athletes an ideal day of running on Sept. 28.
“The day was beautiful, the scenery was good . . . it was a perfect day for running,” said Dustin Dubrule, a Grade 10 student who now holds the course record in the junior boys 4,000m race. The Regional High School student set a time of 15:07 on Thursday.
Dubrule says he trains on his own through the summer months, running nearly every day. Once school gets back in session, he trains alongside his fellow classmates at least three times a week.
“I love being outside and running in the weather,” says Dubrule. Heading into his first senior high cross-country competition, Dubrule says he trained hard, and knew the competition would be fierce.
When he found out on Friday morning that he had set a new record, he admits he “wasn’t expecting it.”
But, Dubrule is just one of many athletes who found success on the trails at Ross Lake, last week. St. Paul Regional High School sent a total of 31 athletes to compete, and brought home both the boys’ and girls’ SPAA banners.
Out of those 31 students, 11 of them earned medals, which was “awesome to see,” according to coach Hank Smid. Working alongside Smid this year training the athletes were staff members Tim Penner and Lisa Starosielski.
Smid says this year’s SPAA group was a little bigger than last year’s, and he’s hoping to send a large group to zones, on Oct. 11, in Bonnyville. Once that competition wraps up, qualifying students will head to provincials on Oct. 21 in Edmonton.
“Zones will be a big test for us,” says Smid.
A second record was also set last week, with DJ Drobot setting a course record of 23:31 in the senior boys 6,000m race.
Junior high athletes also made the trip to Ross Lake on Thursday, to compete in the junior SPAA cross-country event. Racette Junior High School was successful in winning both the boys’ and girls’ banners.
“Everyone put in 110 per cent effort,” says Mandy Palinka, one of this year’s coaches from Racette. Coach Gilles Gervais, and co-coach Kylie Field joined her in coaching the young athletes.
While Racette has won the cross-country banners in the past, it is always humbling to come out on top, knowing there is a lot of competition within SPAA.
“We are very proud of the kids who come out and practice three times a week,” says Palinka. She adds that practices for runners started on the second day of school.
This year, 19 Grade 6 runners took part in the cross-country event on Thursday, which shows the strength of the program at Racette. Technically, the Grade 6 students do no county toward the banner win, and they aren’t allowed to cross the finish line, but “their enthusiasm is amazing.”
The Grade 6 students took part in the 2km run on Thursday, and while the more seasoned athletes know what to expect, the youngest runners go into the competition knowing only that they like to run, says Palinka.
Top three results from the Sept. 28 event include:
C Girls – 2,000 metre
1 - Syndi Fedoruk – Racette
2 - Kyrstin Yaremchuk – Myrnam
3 - Tanille Paradis – Glen Avon
B Girls – 2,000 metre
1 – Brittney Cole – Glen Avon
2 – Madison Leroux – Racette
3 – Cheyenne Leroux – Racette
A Girls – 3,000 metre
1 – Sarah Gill – Ashmont
2 – Taylor Heber – Racette
3 – Denver Graling – Racette
C Boys – 2,000 metre
1 – Jaden Joly – Racette
2 – River Half – Glen Avon
3 – Steven Zacharuk – FG Miller
B Boys – 2,000 metre
1 – Tyler Foote – Racette
2 – Owen Boucher – Racette
3 – Jaden Van Maario – FG Miller
A Boys – 3,000 metre
1 – Cameron Hyshka – Myrnam
2 – Dante Devlin – Mallaig
3 – Treton Moisey - Mallaig
Para 2,000 metre finishers
Gabby Hebert – Mallaig (Grade 6 Para)
Alanna Mounce – Regional High School (Para Sport)
Brannon (?) Lee – Glen Avon (A Boys Para)
Junior Girls 3,000 metre
1 – Hannah Fauchet – Regional High
2 – Brook Kotowich – Regional High
3 – Rhianna Bjorkman – FG Miller
Intermediate girls 4,000 metre
1 – Alycia Cole – Regional High
2 – Taylor Fedoruk – Regional High
3 – Janelle Brost – Regional High
Senior Girls 4,000 metre
1 – Haley Kwan – Mallaig
2 – Hailey Henderson – Regional High
3 – Sydney Dubelt – Regional High
Junior Boys 4,000 metre
1 – Dustin Dubrule – Regional High
2 – Gabe Jackson – Ashmont
3 – Ty Smereka – FG Miller
Intermediate Boys 5,000 metre
1 – Nick Anderson – FG Miller
2 – Samuel Large – Regional High
3 – Daniel Hebert – Regional High
Senior Boys 6,000 metre
1 – DJ Drobot – FG Miller
2 – Alex Hunter – FG Miller
3 – Andrew Jackson – Kihew Asiniy
