Staff
Alexa Veldhuisen was at the forefront of a Canadian takeover of U.S. soil yesterday.
The Grade 9 student at the Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program in Emo made her school’s inaugural appearance at a cross-border athletic event a memorable one by earning gold in the junior girls’ division at the annual Hial Pike Invitational cross-country running meet at the Falls golf course.
Veldhuisen held off the hard-charging Ally Wisneski (Dryden Eagles) to complete the 3.2-km course in 13:50.83.
Wisneski was less than a second behind (13:51.63).
Muskie runner Sydney Beck put in an excellent effort to come fourth in 14:16, just behind bronze-medalist Corrin Kuzemchuck of Dryden (14:03).
The S.C.A.P. Knights placed two more runners in the top 10, with Mika Kooistra finishing seventh (14:38) while her sister, Grace, grabbed 10th (15:50).
In the junior boys’ division, Isaac Dykstra led the three-member S.C.A.P. contingent with a 17th-place result (12:57).
Teammate Blake Ferris was 24th (13:30) while fellow Knight Joseph Brubacher was 55th (16:08).
In the senior girls’ division, Jenny Hammond led the Muskies with a 19th-place finish in the four-km distance with a clocking of 17:05.77.
Andie Wood of Dryden captured gold in easy fashion, finishing 18 seconds ahead of her closest pursuer (14:44).
The rest of the Muskie contingent included Hailey Beaudry in 21st (17:11), followed by Gabi Peters in 62nd (19:43), Sydney Radigan in 63rd (19:48), Tory Beaudry in 64th (19:50), Kennedi Handberg in 85th (23:29), and Emily Bird in 86th (23:34).
As a team, the Muskies finished eighth out of 10 in the senior girls’ division with 201 points.
Fort High was without veteran Jessica Steele, who had finished third in the junior girls’ division at the Falls meet last year, and rookie Janelle Ball, who both had prior commitments.
Injured senior boys‘ runner Arthur Van Ael, meanwhile, was on hand to cheer on his black-and-gold teammates and almost entered to compete before deciding not to.
Van Ael still is contending with a hip problem suffered during summer training sessions that has sidelined him for the first three meets of the Muskie season.
The black-and-gold next head to Dryden for the Eagles’ annual “Turkey Trot” meet on Wednesday (Oct. 15).
