Connor Clerke Photo by Jon Murray
By Howard Tsumura, The Vancouver Province
SURREY — By the very nature of its November date, it’s normally wet and mucky conditions and its virtual stampede of humanity, the Subway B.C. High School Cross Country championships always manage to provide storylines galore.
The 2009 edition, run Saturday morning at Surrey’s Crescent Park, was just such a race.
From the absolute dominance shown by Vancouver’s St. George’s Saints in the boys team event, to the duel between top boys runners Justin Kent and Connor Clerke, to the potential emergence of B.C.’s next great middle distance star in the girls race.
Like we said, Saturday’s race had it all.
see ace photographer Jon Murray’s picture gallery by clicking here.
BOYS TEAM
The Saints not only arrived quicker to the finish line than the rest of their competition, they arrived beyond their years on Saturday.
St. George’s placed four runners in the top 15, finishing a full 64 points ahead of second-place Oak Bay of Victoria.
Grade 11 Will Cliff finished the 6.5-kilometre race in 22:20.6 to take third overall. Grade 10 Christian Gravel was seventh (22.57.4), Grade 11 Dennis Brown 13th (23.08.5) and senior Azar Chatur 14th (23.13.3). Grade 11 Max Douglas was 41st.
“Will and Christian both have the ability to deliver on a big day and it’s great to know that they will both be back next year,” said Saints’ head coach Chris Johnson. “The guys delivered today. The understood the importance of what we were trying to do and it means a lot to me that they all pushed through the pain and came through.”
Kwantlen Park of Surrey finished third.
Connor Clerke is congratulated by David Ling PHOTO BY JON MURRAY
BOYS INDIVIDUAL
It was the second head-to-head duel in a week for Surrey-Kwantlen Park’s Justin Kent and Kelowna’s Connor Clerke.
Last Saturday at the B.C. junior men’s cross country championships on Saturday at Stanley Park, Kent (22:24.60) topped Clerke (22.27.05) as the pair finished second and third respectively over seven kilometres as juvenile-age runners competing against older competition.
On Saturday, Clerke (21.41.8) found the kick he needed over the latter stages of the race to edge Kent (22.01.1) for the high school title.
“He ended up taking a bit of a lead,” said Clerke of Kent, the Fraser Valley champ. “And then with a lap to go I slowly started to reel him in. Coming into the last kilometre we were neck and neck but with about 400 metres to go to the finish line, I just took off. I didn’t look back. I just ran as hard as I could to the finish.”
Clerke admitted that his pre-race No. 2 ranking versus Kent’s No. 1 was to his advantage.
“It inspired me,” Clerke continued. “It made me look like the underdog. I was able to come in with no expectations and that worked perfectly for me. Right now, this feels pretty unbelievable. I couldn;t be happier winning this race in my last year of high school.”
Oak Bay ninth grade Lehm McGuire was 12th (23.05.8).
GIRLS TEAM
The Oak Bay girls repeated as B.C. champs with Vancouver’s West Point Grey Academy finishing second for the second straight year.
Once again, quality throughout its ranks lifted the Bays to the team title.
Oak Bay’s highest finisher was Grade 11 Courtney Roskelly who finished 16th. Ninth grader Elise Butler was 29th, 10th grader Bree Neale 42nd, Grade 11 Erin Haight 50th and Grade 10 Heather Van Tassel 51st.
Van Tassel wound up being the story of the day for the Bays.
When Grade 10 Maddie Secco, the team’s third runner, was forced to stay in Victoria with a bout of the flu, Van Tassel helped her team score some important points.
“She collapsed, then crawled over the finish line,” said Butler.
ALEX SIEMENS number 215 winnner of women's title PHOTO BY JON MURRAY
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL
Abbotsford-W.J. Mouat Grade 9 phenom Alex Siemens gave notice that she may be treading on some pretty hallowed ground over the next four years.
Siemens was four second faster than second-place Tanya Humeniuk of Vancouver’s Killarney Secondary, winning the 4.4-kilometre race in 17.07.1.
Oak Bay’s Justine Johnson placed second in the race in 2004 and 2005 in her eighth and ninth grade years, then won it three straight years.
Is there a similar story line brewing with Siemens?
Girls Team
1. Oak Bay 86
2. West Point Grey Academy 101
3. Semiahmoo 159
Boys Team
1. St. George’s 36
2. Oak Bay 100
3. Kwantlen Park 126
Individual Girls
1 Siemens Alex WJ Mouat 17:07.1
2 Humeniuk Tanya Killarney 17:11.3
3 Ridenour Christine Cowichan 17:13.4
4 Hooper Allison Claremont 17:26.7
5 Benson Fiona Electronic ED 17:37.8
6 Butterworth Lindsey Handsworth 17:43.8
7 Williams Allison Semiahmoo 17:44.6
8 DeSchiffart Erica Nanaimo Christian 17:49.1
9 Balaze Emma Kelly Road 17:51.2
10 Regan Leah Maple Ridge 18:00.2
11 Butterworth Alycia Ballenas 18:04.4
12 Schoch Sasha Kelowna Secondary 18:04.4
13 Regan Jacqueline Little Flower Academy 18:05.5
14 DeSchiffart Marita Nanaimo Christian 18:07.7
15 Wille Hilary Claremont 18:10.5
16 Roskelley Courtney Oak Bay 18:12.6
17 Carruthers Tessni Vernon Secondary 18:16.1
18 Sim Emilyn Shuswap Middle 18:16.4
19 Mackenzie Kansas Prince of Wales 18:20.7
20 McInnis Shauna Stelly’s 18:22.3
21 McCulloch Kaileen Smithers 18:25.4
22 Wiebe Devon Lord Byng 18:26.1
23 Cho Rachel Semiahmoo 18:26.6
24 Stone Kala South Kamloops 18:29.5
25 Potter Erin West Point Grey Academy-T 18:29.7
Individual Boys
1 Clerke Connor Kelowna Secondary 21:41.8
2 Kent Justin Kwantlen Park 22:01.1
3 Cliff William St. Georges-T 22:20.6
4 Riva Thomas Kwalikum 22:22.6
5 Lawrence Mo Howe Sound 22:30.9
6 Palmer David Lakes District 22:32.6
7 Gravel Christian St. Georges-T 22:57.4
8 Powell Brook Claremont 22:59.2
9 Hall Evan Westsyde Secondary 23:01.0
10 Therrien Cody St Andrews Regional 23:01.7
11 Minaker Gord Mt Boucherie 23:01.7
12 McGuire Lehm Oak Bay 23:05.8
13 Brown Dennis St. Georges-T 23:08.5
14 Chatur Azar St. Georges-T 23:13.3
15 Miles Austin West Van 23:15.5
16 Humeniuk Anton Killarney 23:18.1
17 DeSchiffart Joel Nanaimo Christian 23:18.8
18 Van Woerden Jeremy Abbotsford Christian 23:20.1
19 MacLean Nicholas Correlieu 23:24.0
20 Roots Logan Shawnigan Lake 23:27.2
21 McDougall Robby DP Todd 23:28.5
22 Bruchet Jake Elgin Park 23:29.3
23 Slade Alex Elgin Park 23:29.5
24 Zosiak Kyle Oak Bay 23:29.7
25 Bancroft Nathan Nechako Valley 23:31.8
