Runners Splash to Cross Country Titles at Rain Soaked Kent Championships
Runners prepare for a splash at Kent Cross Country
It was a wet day in Blenheim as the downpour that rolled across Chatham-Kent soaked the over 100 runners that competed in the Kent Cross Country Championships Wednesday.
UCC grabbed the overall team title winning the Midget girls and midget boys division, while coming second in senior boys and senior girls. Wallaceburg captured the senior girls and senior boys titles, while CKSS won junior boys. The senior girls division was particularly close, coming down to a tie breaker between Wallaceburg and UCC, but the Tartans girls team of Erinn Lee, Alyssa Kraayenbrink, Lauren MacTavish, and Erin MacTavish came home with the title. The Wallaceburg senior boys team was comprised of Bobby Zenick, Evan Murphy, Dan Dykema, and Mike Foster.
Individually, Taylor McArthur and Breanne Nicholas continued their dominance of the senior circuit winning the boys and girls divisions respectively. McArthur, a Wallaceburg resident who attends UCC, and Nicholas, a Blenheim student, have each won multiple races this year including the Bobcat Run and Tartans Invitational.
At the junior ranks, Steven Taekema of Chatham Christian ran away from the competition winning the boys division, while CKSS runner Riley Johnson won the junior girls division.
In midget girls, Kelly Baggio beat UCC teammate Catherine Thompson by 1 second to win the Kent title, while Chatham Christian runner Justin McNamara passed Wallaceburg’s Nathan Outridge in the final metres to win midget boys.
The rain poured down on runners throughout the day, with runners trudging through several deep pools of water along the course.
Advancing runners will now compete at SWOSSAA Wednesday, October 26 at Canatara Park in Sarnia.