Staff
On Saturday, October 20, the Etobicoke Huskies hosted the final MTA cross country meet for the Provincial XC Championships being held in Meaford on Saturday, October 27.
The Georgian Bay Coyotes Track Club sent a group of 20 of their ‘Grade 8-and-Under’ members down as a tune up race and to make final selections for their provincial team.
The Mite Girls [Grade 2-3] started the day of with a bang. Freja Kulakowsky [Gr.3] led the pack of 17 girls from start to finish over the 1km course. She took the gold medal in a time of 3:40.53. Teammate Micah Abbott [Gr.3] was only 11 seconds behind to capture a silver medal. The Mite Girls also won the first place team medal.
The Mite Boys [Grade 2-3] were also impressive, as Liam Law [Gr.2] was nipped at the finish line by 0.53 seconds to settle for a silver medal. Nathan Leary [Gr.2] was not far behind as he stopped the clock at 4:06.34 to take 5th spot.
Olivia Latham [Gr.5] led her team as she finished with a very strong 5th spot in the Tyke Girls [Grade 4-5] over the 1500m loop. Her time of 5:29.53 was only 16 seconds behind the leader. Rimyelle Grady [Gr.4] grabbed 20th spot in 6:04.15, and Taryn Weppler [Gr.4] finished only 1 second later to capture 21st. Their team placed a solid 4th of 6.
The Tyke Boys [Grade 4-5] 1500m race had the Coyotes grabbing the 2nd team spot overall of 6. Kaj Kulakowsky [Gr.5] finished in 5:08.00, good enough for 3rd place. Emmett Leary [Gr. 4] outsprinted his competitor to grab 7th position in 5:21.31, and team mate Brennan Law [Gr. 4] took 12th place in 5:32.24.
The Atom [Grade 6-7] kids ran 2000m – two laps around the smaller grassed 1km loop laced with a couple nice hills. In the Girls race, Chantel Abbott [Gr.7] got off to her usual slower start and then reeled in the pack on the 2nd lap. Her strong effort placed her 4th overall in a time of 8:13.81 – only 4 seconds away from the podium. The Atom Boys were led by Luke House [Gr.6] as he ran a very solid race to capture 8th spot in a time of 8:41.41. The Atom Boys team ran strong overall to a 4th place overall of 6 teams.
In the Senior Girls 3000m race [Grade 8-9], Payton Weppler [Gr.8] was the Coyotes’ lone competitor. She ran a very solid race and crossed the line in 11th spot with a time of 13:18.00.
Grade-8-and-Under runners have their provincial team of 32 runners competing in Meaford on Saturday, October 27 at the Minor Track Association Provincial Championships. The first race gets underway at 9:50 a.m. at the GBCS athletic field, with over 400 competitors participating.
For more information about the Team, check out the website at www.georgianbaycoyotes.com.
[photo: From left to right, Brennan Law, Emmett Leary, Edmund McPherson, Jack Farmus, Kaj Kulakowsky, and Graeme Manwell of the Georgian Bay Coyotes Track Club, ran to a 2nd place Tyke Boys team finish in Etobicoke on Saturday, October 20]
