CANORA - Cross-country season has ended at Canora Junior Elementary School, with participating students having some outdoor fun while improving their physical fitness.
On Oct. 13, Canora Junior Elementary School held its third annual cross-country meet.
The course was marked out around the playground and runners had to complete a total of 2.25km. Participants earned an invitation to compete in the home tournament by persistently attending practice and completing nine laps consistently.
Runners younger than Grade 3 are not included in divisional meets, so coaches Kerrie Steciuk and Jennifer Prychak decided to hold their own local event once again “after seeing the perseverance and dedication” of their runners.
Classes came out at a variety of different times during the day to help cheer on their classmates.
In the U7 Boys category, Lachlan Baillie was the winner, followed by Gunnar Dutchak in second place and Jax McLeod in third. In U7 Girls, Chloee Abbott came out on top ahead of Silver Brass in second.
Chance Unick finished first in the U8 Boys race, only a second ahead of Lowell Rice in second place. Third went to Anikin Nordin. The U8 Girls race winner was Keira Owchar, with Emily Mentanko second and Mae McTavish third.
In U9 Boys, Jacob Prychak was first across the finish line, ahead of Trevor Keyowski in second. Riley Drobot finished a solid third. Aliannah Herriges finished first in U9 Girls with Riley Roberts in second, ahead of third-place Ashton Lamb.
The winner of the U10 Boys division top spot went to Coy Kraynick, a clear winner ahead of Connor Pozniak in second place and Lukas Woicichowski in third. Olivia Owchar was first in the U10 Girls race, followed by Skylar Sciliberto in second.
The U9 and U10 runners had a successful season competing in various division meets.
CJES had 22 runners participate in the Deer Park Cross country meet held on Sept. 18 at Yorkton’s Deer Park Golf Course.
In the U9 Boys category, in a race with 88 runners, Liam Scwartz finished 24th; Jacob Prychak, 28th; Trevor Keyowski, 42nd; Tyler Menton, 50th and Riley Drobot, 60th.
The U9 Girls category included 79 runner and the top CJES finishers were: Aliannah Herriges in 14th; Keira Owchar, 18th; Ashton Lamb, 40th; Riley Roberts, 45th with Kaydence Goulet close behind in 46th.
In the U10 Girls category, in a race with 47 runners, Olivia Owchar finished 13th and Skylar Sciliberto placed 22nd.
In U10 Boys, the top CJES finishers in a field of 88 runners were: Coy Kraynick, 12th; Braden Skibinsky, 69th; Van Kwas, 77th; Lukas Woicichowski, 78th and Connor Pozniak, 85th.
On Sept. 29, the CJES Cross Country Team attended a run at Saltcoats Regional Park. The morning started with meeting of all the runners in their orange shirts on the hill to listen to Robert Severight speak of his mother’s journey through residential schools.
CJES had 20 runners participate in the Saltcoats Autumn Summit.
In the U9 Boys category, in a race with 97 runners, the top CJES finishers were: Liam Schwartz, 22nd; Jacob Prychak, 42nd; Trevor Keyowski, 56th; Riley Drobot, 63rd and Tyler Menton, 79th.
The U9 Girls race involved 90 runners: Aliannah Herriges, ninth; Keira Owchar, 13th; Riley Roberts, 59th; Jolene Wegner, 61st and Ashton Lamb, 83rd.
In U10 Boys, out of a field of 90 runners: Connor Pozniak, 60th; Coy Kraynick, 61st; Braden Skibinsky, 74th and Lukas Woicichowski, 77th.
The U10 Girls category resulted in a race with 52 runners. Top Canora finishers were Oliva Owchar, 29th and Skylar Sciliberto, 41st.
Districts were held on Oct. 11 at Carlton Regional Park near Langenburg. Despite a chilly start to the morning, “the conditions were perfect by the time runners were set to race,” according to the coaches, with 13 runners from CJES participating.
In the U9 Boys category, in a race involving 42 runners, Jacob Prychak finished 16th, only a second ahead of Liam Schwartz in 17th. Trevor Keyowski placed 24th and Tyler Mention came in 41st. There were 35 runners in the U9 Girls section: Keira Owchar, 15th; Aliannah Herriges 23rd and Riley Roberts, 25th.
In the U10 Boys race with 44 runners, the results were: Coy Kraynick, 18th; Connor Pozniak, 34th; Braden Skibinsky, 36th and Lukas Woicichowski, 38th
Practices for the past season began on Sept. 8 for Grades 3 and 4 students, and Sept. 20 for Grades 1 and 2 students. The coaches had students run 2.25km at practices, which were held most days of the week. Some runners chose to come out for the sole purpose of physical fitness. Other runners chose to set their sights on tournament competition.
The coaches agreed that a highlight of the season was that “most runners set a new personal best time by the end of the season.”
The CJES home meet course record of 10:20 set by Karter Shukin in 2021 has remained unbroken since then.
“The pride and excitement we feel when we see our young athletes round the last corner of a course and make a final push to the end is indescribable,” concluded Prychak and Steciuk. “These young athletes push their minds and their bodies to the limit in the pursuit of their best times. We hope to see new and returning runners back next season and to meet up with our Grade 4s next year on the course with Canora Composite School.
“We want to thank CCS for letting us borrow singlets and our CJES School Community Council for deciding to purchase singlets this season.”
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