For the second year in a row Reynolds Roadrunner Brendan Hoff is the Vancouver Island high school senior boys cross-country champion. Mount Douglas Rams runner Hannah Henry finished second overall among the senior girls.
Hoff defeated the boys field at last week’s Island championship at Beaver Lake Park with a time of 20 minutes and 54 seconds, well ahead of the star Oak Bay High duo of Jack Stanley (21:23) and Max McCulloch (21:30.16).
They’ll race once again at the B.C. High School Cross Country Championships, Saturday at Vancouver’s Jericho Beach Park.
Oak Bay won the Island XC senior boys team category as Vlad Lyesin and Marcel Petruzelli came in seventh and eighth, respectively, amongst individuals in the team category. Reynolds was second in the team category with short-track specialist Taylor Lyman in fifth (seventh overall), JJ Carr-Cannings in 10th (14th overall) and Jonah Smith in 11th (15th overall). Claremont was fourth, St. Michaels in fifth, and Mount Douglas in sixth.
Runners with no team run independent from the team competition, such as Desiree Ridenour of Cowichan secondary, winner of the senior girls race. Ridenour’s time of 15:46 was 26 seconds ahead of Henry’s 16:12. But Hannah (Grade 11) was first amongst the individuals competing for teams, with big sister Holly (Grade 12) in 10th overall but sixth among team participants.
The Henry sisters led Mount Doug to second overall in the senior girls team standings with the help of Riley Tesch (20th) and Celeste Loganhume (26th). Wellington finished first in the senior girls standings, with Alyssa Mousseau, Amy Morris, Hannah Pow and Grade 8 Karly Dickinson coming second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively, amongst all team participants.
Saanich’s Spectrum secondary was seventh in senior girls standings with Gina Kirker (17th), Erica Ferrero (25th), Gina Lalev (29th) and Lara Cannito (30th). Seventh place Chrissa Tromp led St. Michaels University School to eighth.
Despite not being able to field a complete Reynolds junior boys team, the school had two in the top six as Kalum Delaney was first among all junior boys with a time of 14:31, and Evan Wills was sixth (15:39).
Delaney’s pace of 3:28 per kilometre put him with the very best per-km paces of the senior boys though the seniors raced six kilometres to the junior boys’ four kilometres.
Reynolds teacher Brad Cunningham believes both Delaney and Hoff are favourites to win at the upcoming B.C. High School Cross Country Championships.
St. Andrew’s Bridget Mateyko (Grade 10) was second overall in the junior girls category and first among team participants.