RLC's cross country team had its most successful CISAA championships in over a decade last Wednesday at Trinity College School in Port Hope. After a season of racing locally in the Georgian Bay XC series, the runners faced unknown competitors from independent schools across Ontario at the CISAA championships. Without fail, RLC's runners rose to the challenge, most of them running their best race of the season when it counted most.
Linda, Steven, Vivian, Jim, Andy, and Mark ran well-paced races and showed great 'grit' on course. Going into the race, Mark thought he might need to back off on "Mt. Trinity," a steep, long, slippery uphill located on the course about a mile before the finish. However, upon finishing Mark stated that, "someone was right behind me, and he wanted to get by, so I just kept going, even up the hill." That is exactly the kind of tenacity and spirit that true cross country runners are made of. Way to go, Mark!
The CISAA course finishes around a deceptively large open area. Many runners start their kicks too soon, and can't maintain them through the finish. Not the RLC team, though! Jordyn and Lindsay had particularly strong, well-timed, finishes. In fact, Lindsay closed in textbook-style fashion, gradually increasing her pace through the finishing area, and opening up a 100m-plus gap on the runners behind her in the closing half-kilometre of the race. This is the kind of finish runners practice for years to do perfectly, and it was a beautiful thing to see Lindsay pull it off naturally!
June and Will not only ran well, but also played the role of team motivators or cheerleaders. June always made time for lighthearted fun, even when she was running hard, and Will encouraged all team members to get out on the course, cheer loudly, and show their support of one another.
For the second week in a row, Jeff had a breakthrough race. He fought hard throughout the 4000m course and earned himself a 35th place finish. If the past couple of weeks are any indication, Jeff is just starting to find his stride as a cross country runner, and has a huge amount of potential in the sport. We can't wait to see what future seasons bring for him!
The most notable race of the day, however, was Angeline's 7th place finish. She left everything she had on the race course, remarking after her run had finished, that: "I don't think there's anything else I could have done." Well, what she did was enough to qualify her for OFSAA, the provincial championships. That means that this Saturday, November 4th, Angeline will join over 1500 of the best high school runners in Ontario in Petawawa to race again. She is the first RLC runner in over a decade -- and perhaps, ever! -- to represent RLC at OFSAA XC, one of the largest high school cross country meets in North America. We are excited to be sending her to race in Petawawa, and know she will do us proud: she already has!
Congratulations to the whole cross country team on the most successful season in recent history! Each and every one of you made positive, meaningful contributions to the team, and helped to build the momentum and culture that are the foundation for future success. Go 'Wolves!