Hundreds of students from around
the region converged on the Westlock
Golf Club Sept. 20 to take part
in a local sporting tradition that goes
back decades.
St. Mary School hosted the annual
Westlock and Area Regional Cross
Country Run which saw students
from Grades 4-9 put on their running
shoes and run, walk and sprint
the two kilometres around the first
half of the golf course. Junior high
students with the fastest times were
eligible for the zone competition being
held Oct. 10 in Athabasca, depending
on their coaches’ discretion,
while the younger kids were just in
it for the fresh air and the time away
from the classroom.
“We didn’t get rained on, which
was good, no one got wet, so I think
if you take the weather out of the
picture, I think it was a great day,”
said St. Mary School cross country
coach Darcy Romanuik, who has
been taking part in the event for 30
years and organizing it for the last
10 to 12 years.
“It’s quite the extravaganza.”
The addition of the elementary
students about seven years ago, was
a way to get the younger kids more
active, he said.
“We want to get kids as active as
we can and this is a small step to do
that. It’s good for the younger kids to
run. It’s kind of a lost art nowadays.”
Romanuik said he was proud of
his relatively small group of runners,
many of whom placed high in
the standings.
R.F. Staples athletic director Kyle
Beattie expressed the same feeling
about his athletes as Romanuik.
“We did OK, we had a few second
place finishes, a couple thirds and
quite a few top 10 finishes,” he said.
“We’ll probably bring about 20 kids
and a few more high school kids to
zones in Athabasca on Oct. 10.”
In the Jr. Boys category, Josh
Garbier, from Pembina North Community
School (PNCS) finished first
with a time of 11:12 while schoolmate
Corbin Brenneis’ time of 11:27
was good enough for third. R.F. Staples’
Owen Carter finished sixth and
St. Marys’ Steven Andrusiak and
Thamir Kiss placed eighth and ninth
while Nic Barrett from R.F. Staples
rounded out the top 10.
Emma Van Dijk and Elizabeth
Cornell, from R.F. Staples, were
the highest placing locals in the Jr.
Girls category, finishing fourth and
fifth with times of 12:41 and 12:45.
Ruby Kubinec and Addison Hoglander,
also from R.F. Staples, finished
eighth and tenth, respectively.
St. Mary School’s Janelle Romanuik
blew away the competition
in the Intermediate Girls event, running
the course in 11:45, well over
a minute faster than her nearest
competition, Kaitlan Menzies and
Phaedra Breuns, Abby Forbes and
Dannie Schoentnecht of R.F Staples,
who finished second, third, sixth and
tenth among local competitors.
In the Intermediate Boys category,
R.F. Staples’ Kale Meinczinger
placed second with a time of 13:05
while schoolmates Glen Robinson,
Owen Jespersen and Evan Kostiw
finished seventh, eighth and ninth.
Eleanor Hall’s Noah Rigney rounded
out the top 10 runners.
The Senior Boys competition saw
R.F. Staples’ Justin Bondy-Jennings
place second with a time of 12:15,
ahead of schoolmate Riley Barabash
in fourth, PNCS’ Winton Brandl in
sixth, Eleanor Hall’s Ben Ewasiw
in eighth, Sean Kaliel of PNCS in
ninth and Ty White of R.F. Staples
in tenth.
The Senior Girls top local runner
was Amber Chapotelle of PNCS, in
second with a time of 12:15. Kayla
Nadeau of St. Mary School finished
just seconds behind in third, while
Olivia Carlson of PNCS placed
fourth. Madilyn Carter of R.F. Staples
placed sixth and Faith Vinney
and Heidi Huppertz placed eighth
and ninth, while PNCS’ Georgia
Sawchuk placed tenth.
