The senior boys line up at the starting line. Photo by: Alex M.
The cross-country season has officially started for the St. Joseph’s cross-country team. On Thursday, the Lasers laced up their sneakers for their first meet of the year, Thrill on the Hill. The race took place at Malden Park and featured many challenging hills that runners navigated in either four, five, or six kilometer races, depending on their grade level.
The grade nine girls of St. Joe’s showed amazing determination during the first race of the day, running a longer course due to a planning error.
Congratulations goes to all of the midget girls: Grace Vinuya, Isabella Petrucci, Reagan Anger, Abigail Trinca, and Celeste Goulard, and midget boys: Ryan Chauvin, and Dimitri Popovic.
Midget girls Grace Vinuya (left) and Isabella Petrucci (far right) sprint towards the finish line. Photo by: Alex M.
Despite some pre-race nerves, the junior girls, Alexandria MacLellan and Daina Moro pushed through and demonstrated a solid start to their season. When asked about her performance, Moro said, “Thrill on the Hill most definitely put my legs through an emotional roller coaster, but I’m happy that I finished the race with a positive attitude.”
The junior boys, Jackson Dollar, Simon Edmonson, Michael Flay, Rory Sullivan and Adam McDonald also showed amazing perseverance through the treacherous 5k course.
Nicole Larue (Grade 11), had the best St. Joe’s results of the day, with an amazing second place finish.
Congratulations to the other senior girls: Iarid Gomes and Zoe Kepran, and to the senior boys: Mateo Aleksic, Ismael Frances, Tinnon Luong, and Seth Chambers.
Grade 10 Laser, Jackson Dollar (middle), runs at the end of his 5k race. Photo by: Alex M.
When asked about the Lasers performance, the coach, Mr. Strong, replied, “As the first meet as a St. Joe’s coach, I think it went awesome. The runners were tough, they fought it out and had good results. I was very, very happy with the way it went.” He could be found at the very edge of the course during each race, cheering on every St. Joseph runner. Ms. Flynn, another member of the cross-country coaching team, helped organize runners and ensure each had their race numbers at the start and was at the finish line to congratulate all of the Lasers.