Runners from Valley schools took the first and third spots in the Grade 11/12 girls race at the Vancouver Island cross-country running championships at Beaver Lake in Victoria on Oct. 28.
Cowichan Secondary’s Desirae Ridenour finished first in the race, while Madison Heisterman of Queen Margaret’s School placed third. A Grade 10 student, Heisterman opted to move up a level for the Island championships.
In the same race, Renee Lafreniere and Sarah Lundy of Brentwood College School placed 14th and 15th, respectively. Brentwood finished second in the team competition.
Frances Kelsey’s Katie Farley won gold in the Grade 10 girls race, with her teammates Emerald White and Robyn Zinkan not far behind, in fifth and sixth, leading Kelsey to a first-place team finish. Brentwood had two top-10 finishers, with Morgan Woodbridge in seventh and Hannah Richards in 10th.
Also from Kelsey, Robin deValk Zaiss placed seventh in the Grade 9 girls race.
Three runners from the Cowichan Valley finished in consecutive places in the Grade 11/12 boys event: Luke Armstrong of Cowichan Secondary in 13th, Jeremy Kissack of Kelsey in 14th and Kaali Allan of Brentwood in 15th.
Qualifying runners will compete at the provincial cross-country championships at Jericho Beach Park in Vancouver this Saturday.
