Joey Payeur
The veterans put their best foot forward while the rookies were just happy to be running down their dream.
A healthy mix of experience and fresh faces propelled the Muskies’ cross-country team to an impressive start to the NorWOSSA season at an invitational meet hosted by Fort High on the Rocky Inlet Road ski trails last Thursday.
Tory Beaudry topped the Muskie contingent with a second-place finish in the Grade 10 girls’ 4.4-km race with a time of 27:25, trailing only Monica Tourand of Dryden, who crossed first in 24:07.
Two-time OFSAA participant Hailey Beaudry, meanwhile, ran to a third-place showing in the senior girls’ five-km event, clocking in at 26:16 to land behind only Andie Wood of Dryden (23:39) and Lisle Compton of the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (25:57).
Just as important a story for the Muskies in their first home meet in recent memory, however, was the performances of the rookies.
Jenny Hammond, who captured NWOSSAA gold in the senior girls’ 800m this past spring, didn’t look out of place moving from the track to the trails—pushing her way to a fifth-place result in the senior girls’ division with a time of 26:58.
“It was fun and I’m glad I got to compete,” said Hammond.
“My goal was to be under 30 minutes and I got that.
“I enjoy being on trails like this because there are a little more obstacles you have to get through,” she added.
Teammate Emily Bird came in ninth in her debut race with a clocking of 35:56 and was all smiles afterwards.
“I just wanted to complete the course without having to walk and I did it,” beamed Bird.
“Sometimes, it was really slow going but it was good.
“I had a little bit of nerves having never raced,” she admitted. “But I’m just happy to be here.”
The Grade 10 girls also had a Muskie newcomer make some noise as Gabi Peters dashed to a third-place finish with a time of 28:20.
Right behind her in fourth was Fort High veteran Kennedi Handberg, although she was more than another five minutes back (33:30).
But that was for good reason as Handberg proved to be the ultimate team player.
Making her way around the first lap, Handberg came upon the crumpled form of teammate Jessica Steele, the reigning Muskie female rookie-of-the-year.
“I was going down a hill and took a wide stride, and thought I heard something crack,” recounted Steele.
“Then I rolled my ankle and got a bruise.”
Handberg said there was no thought of her own placement when she found Steele in pain.
“It was just natural to stop and help my teammate,” shrugged a modest Handberg.
Steele was one of three Muskies who never made it to the finish line Thursday.
Senior girls’ veteran Sydney Radigan was felled by a previous case of shin splints, which she re-aggravated climbing the first hill she encountered.
“l came down the hill and it hurt so bad,” she recalled.
“Then, on a really crappy part of the trail, I fell something like five times and I just gave up.”
Janelle Ball, another Muskie rookie, also was sidelined when her asthma acted up at the end of the first lap of the Grade 10 girls’ event and forced her to withdraw.
Sydney Beck, the Muskies’ lone participant in the Grade 9 girls’ division, also experienced her first NorWOSSA race and responded with a seventh-place result (16:30.3) over the three-km course.
“I felt good out there but I think I need to train more,” admitted Beck.
“I like testing myself against the course.”
Amy Wickstrom of Dryden won the Grade 9 girls’ event in 15:26, beating teammate Sarah Urquhart to the finish line by 10 seconds.
It was no ordinary triumph, though, as Wickstrom ran more than half the race without her right shoe after losing it midway through the first lap, but refusing to stop for even a moment to reclaim it.
Alexa Veldhuisen, of the Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program Knights, battled her way to third place (15:45) while teammate Mika Kooistra passed Beck in the homestretch to grab sixth a heartbeat ahead (16:30).
In the Grade 9 boys’ race, Joseph Brubacher from the S.C.A.P. Knights left his only opponent in the dust—claiming top spot in the five-km race in a time of 30:15, more than 5:40 ahead of runner-up Adam Burke from Dryden (35:57).
Last Thursday’s meet also featured a three-km run for Grade 7-8 girls and Grade 7-8 boys.
The J.W. Walker trio of Tori Toriseva (16:44), Shaelynn Jordan (17:24), and Jillian Calder (17:47) finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, in the girls’ category behind winner Sadie McCallum of St. Thomas Aquinas (16:10).
Alex Spuzak in seventh (19:58) and Grace Petsnick in eighth (19:58.4) were other Walker runners to crack the top 10.
S.C.A.P. runner Isaac Dykstra recorded the best local finish in the boys’ race, zooming home in third spot in 14:41 behind winner Evan Waller from Dryden (13:54) and silver-medalist JC Drugasuk of St. Thomas Aquinas (14:16).
Fellow Knight Blake Ferris was eighth (16:03).
Among J.W. Walker runners, Kaleb Bruyere rose to the top with a seventh-place showing (15:19).
The Muskies were in Kenora today for their next NorWOSSA action.
