Eager junior high and high school cross-country runners from the St. Paul area competed in the 2010 SPAA Cross-Country Run Championship last Wednesday.
The annual event was held at Westcove Municipal Recreation area, and runners competed in six distance events with twelve categories in total.
The distances for the race range from 1500m to 6000m, with participants given the opportunity to run through different environments, consisting of different elevation and surfaces.
According to Hank Smid, athletic director for St. Paul Regional High School, registrations for this year’s race increased by eight runners from the year before. “I’m very pleased with the turnout we had for this year’s (event),” commented Smid.
Smid went on to say that he was also thankful for the good weather, and the lack of injuries to participants in the race this year.
One of the spectators of the event, who chose to remain unnamed, said he is happy the school children in the area can participate in the healthy sport of cross-country running, with the availability of running trails in the St. Paul area. “There are runners in the neighboring communities who would love to have access to the trails available to (the residents) of St. Paul.”
In the Junior High girls’ category, Racette School came in first, with Glen Avon School following in second, and Mallaig School placing third overall. For the Junior High boys category, Racette came in first, Glendon placed second, and Mallaig rounded out the top three.
For the Senior High Girls’ category, Glendon placed first, followed by Regional in second, and Mallaig in third place. Mallaig also placed first in the Senior High boys category, followed by Regional, with Glendon coming in third.
