Kickstarting the 2024 Cross-Country Season with Our Annual KES Meet

Although we have been logging many kilometres and training hard leading up to this week, Tuesday, September 24, marked the official start of the competitive cross-country season with our annual home meet. We were fortunate with the weather this month, and I can confidently say that the racecourse, spanning our campus, the Dill Family Farm, and the Gladys M. Manning Memorial Home trail system, has never been better. A big thank you to Mr. Danny Dill and Mrs. Teresa Sanford for their continued support of this race.

We are thrilled that our junior cross-country running program has grown significantly over the past few years. Junior cross-country running is alive and well across our region, as evidenced by the record breaking 122 runners in the three-kilometre race. Our seven eager junior girls raced hard, led by Chelsea James '29, who placed second overall, shaving 15 seconds off her time from last year. Laura Napier-Whale '30, no stranger to racing in the pool, took to the trails and was our second girl across the line, securing her spot in the top 20. Right behind her were first-time racers Alethea Cheng '29 and Farrah Webber '30, who, in her third time racing this course, shared her best advice with teammates before the race. Another veteran of this course, Shylah Parsons '29, was our next finisher, followed closely by Penny Hopgood '31, Lily Dow '31, and Victoria Siu-Porter '29, who all made their running debut on what is arguably one of the hardest courses in the region. We couldn’t be happier with the efforts we saw from these young ladies.

Our junior boys were led by Link Choo '29, who placed fifth in his first cross-country race in a competitive field of 61 runners. Not far behind him was the experienced Spencer Armstrong '30, who gave it his all, securing a top ten finish. Joshua Oyebanji '29 made his racing debut on this course and should be very pleased with his performance.

The second race of the day featured the intermediates and seniors together on our five-kilometre course. Our girls were led by intermediate runner Georgia Murphy '27, who placed second overall in her KES debut. Following her was Heather Lawton '28, also in her first race as a Highlander. It’s worth noting that the top three finishers in this race were all intermediate runners. Emma Lawton '26 competed in her first race as a senior runner, finishing eighth overall and fourth among senior girls. Julia Farina '26 made her racing debut with a strong effort, placing just outside the top ten overall and fifth among senior girls. Luisa Salazar López '27 and Valeria del Villar García '27 really pushed themselves, rounding out our finishers on the girls’ side. Maria Solana Abelleyra '26 set out determined to excel in this race, but an unfortunate ankle injury forced her to withdraw despite her determination to continue.

Brin Lloyd '27 was our first boy across the finish line in the five-kilometre event, finishing fourth overall, narrowly missing out on third by just one second, but still securing second place among intermediate runners. He left the race motivated to build on this effort, and his coaches couldn’t be more pleased. Alex Graham '25, who has been battling illness for the past two weeks, raced to an impressive seventh overall and fourth among seniors. Just outside the top ten was Andre Karabu '25, who finished with a sprint to overtake another runner. After training primarily with the juniors as a Grade 9 runner, Nicholas Smith '28 took on the five-kilometre without hesitation and ran an exceptional race. He deserves an extra shoutout for this performance, as this will be the longest race he competes in this season, with the intermediate distance set to four kilometres. The same goes for our final racer, Jack Cosgrove '27, who had an outstanding race in his debut and, like his fellow intermediate runners, is eager to continue pushing himself.

A meet with nearly 200 runners cannot happen without the support of our KES community. There are many to thank, and my sincere apologies if I miss anyone. A big thank you goes out to Mr. Brandon Jodrey and his maintenance crew for their help in setting up the course. Special thanks to Mr. John MacKay for his hard work mowing our trail and to Mr. Ryan Reynolds for his late heroics in cutting a new path for our junior race. Many thanks to our large group of student volunteers who helped marshal the course and keep our runners safe. Thank you to our finish line staff and helpers: Mrs. Sandie Armstrong, Mr. Ken Cheung, Mrs. Shari Hadley, Ms. Karen Brierley, Mr. Ian Shaw, Mrs. Paula James, and Mr. Ed James, as well as our support and traffic monitors out on the course, Mrs. Aynsley Sasaki and Ms. Karen Jones. Thank you to Mrs. Shelley Skedden for sweeping the course and being first on the scene for our runners in need. A big thank you to Mr. Alan Dick for his help with the volunteers and support on the trails, and to Ms. Carolyn Andrews for coaching the athletes ahead of their races and assisting at the results table. Thank you to Ms. Judy DesRoches for preparing the race slips, and to our Head of School, Mr. Joe Seagram, for his help restoring the trails and his continued support of our program.

Lastly, a massive thank you to Mr. Phillip Hadley for all the hours he dedicated to setting up the course, leading the runners through it, and tearing it all down. This race would not have been possible without his help and support.

Our next district meet will take place in Hantsport on October 1 for our junior runners, followed by another at Northeast Kings Education Centre (NKEC) on October 8. Western Regionals will be hosted by AWEC on October 21, and Provincials will be held on Monday, October 28 at Trenton Park in Trenton, NS.