All it took was a torrential downpour for Maple Ridge secondary to make school history.
Despite a steady downpour of rain Wednesday for the Fraser Valley cross-country championships at Crescent Park in Surrey, MRSS qualified all four of its teams to compete at the upcoming B.C. finals Nov. 7 at Point Grey in Vancouver.
MRSS head coach Ken Elphick said the weather made running conditions less than ideal.
“A number of our runners forgot their spikes,” said Elphick. “There were spots where I could barely walk across. I couldn’t imagine having to run in those kinds of conditions.”
He said one of the team’s runners fell a number of times, finishing the race covered in mud from head-to-toe.
“It looked like a Halloween costume,” he said.
He was exceptionally pleased with how all four teams placed. Overall, 22 runners from MRSS qualified for the provincials.
The junior girls placed third overall in the 4,700-metre event, led by Grade 8 standout Marquesis Haintz, who finished eighth overall out of 143 runners with a time of 18 minutes and 55:93 seconds. Ilse Rafter rounded out the top 20, finishing 18th overall with a time of 19:44:02.
In the junior boys’ 4,700m, MRSS finished third overall in team standings, led by Marshall Shupe in 10th out of 140 competitors, with a time of 16:58:53. Jorrin Lenton finished 19th in a time of 17:24:92. Graeme Roberts of Westview secondary took home second place, crossing the finish line in a time of 15:58:57.
In the senior girls’ 4,700m event, MRSS placed fifth overall, paced by Jamie Hennessey in fourth out of 134 runners. She finished in a time of 17:27:48, while teammate Mikayla Tinkham placed 11th, with a time of 18:4247.
In the senior boys’ 6,300m event, MRSS finished fourth overall, led by Alex Ross in ninth place with a time of 23:01:65. There were 157 senior boys in the event. Liam Foster of Pitt Meadows placed 13th with a time of 23:25:33.
In the Grade 8 boys, Nicholas Aron won the 3,400m event in a time of 10:34:50. Because there is no provincial event for Grade 8s, Aron will run with the junior boys.
