Runners flock to Laurentian for x-country race

Runners from near and far, 1,566 of them in all, converged on Laurentian University on Sept. 29, site of the 2015 LU Elementary School Cross-Country Challenge.

In the end, it was those from outside the city proper that seemed most motivated to make their lengthy trek worthwhile, as visitors to Sudbury captured more than their fair share of races.

The trend was set early, as Birch Island resident Avery Sutherland, the sole participant representing Shawanosowe School, took first place in the Junior Girls "Blue" Race, posting a time of 7:49 over the 1.9 kilometre course.

"I have never liked track," said Sutherland. "I'm not really a speed runner. I'm just like the long, peaceful runner. I never liked putting it out to the max for a short distance."

"A normal training run would be either seven kilometres, or just like an easy run, going up and down this big hill that we have, and then back again, going back to the house," said the 11 year old grade six student.

Little surprise that her father was close by her side upon completion of the race, he himself an avid marathon runner.

"My dad trains me a special way," said Sutherland with a smile. "We do a lot of mile runs, to get ready for most races in my age category, which are shorter distances."

Still, the talkative youngster was not even close to holding the honour of a race winner coming from the further distance. That honour would be shared by Alexa Caron and Théo Laforest, part of a 10-athlete contingent who travelled from Timmins to attend the event.

Taking the Junior Boys "Blue" Race in a time of 7:31, Laforest clipped through 22 seconds ahead of Cale Bast of Northeastern, making good use of a new set of spiked shoes that he had unveiled this past summer as a member of the Timmins-Porcupine Track and Field Club.

"I find it gives you more of a push, because in the sand, it helps to push the sand back, so that you don't slip," said the grade six student at Ecole Anicet-Morin. "It gives you more traction."

Though it was his first ever visit to Sudbury, Laforest found the trails of L.U. very much to his liking.

"It was more of a wide open trail, not the little skinny trails, when you're falling all over the branches and stuff," he said. "I find this is one of the best courses."

A little closer to home, White Woods Public School from Sturgeon Falls arrived with a delegation roughly fifty strong, including Senior Girls silver medallist Janae Hardware, only in grade seven.

"We have a running club at school, and we do lots of training, at least four times a week," said Hardware.

Striding through 14 seconds back of Alexa Caron of Timmins, Hardware was pleased with the manner in which she executed her pre-race game plan.

"I wanted to start off fast, then go down to my pace, and hold that for the race," she said. "Then slowly add speed and start to go past people. At three quarters of the race, I was just behind her (Caron), but she's pretty quick."

Following is a listing of the top ten finishers in all six races (note - names and spelling are taken directly from the link provided by race organizers. Please feel free to email [email protected] to note any necessary corrections):

Junior Girls - Blue Race
1 - Avery Sutherland (Shawanosowe) - 7:49
2 - Morgan Rickard (Timmins) - 8:05
3 - Makayla Papineau (St-Pierre) - 8:16
4 - Alexi Dupuis (Timmins) - 8:42
5 - Alexa Rice (Timmins) - 8:44
6 - Meghan Papineau (St-Pierre) - 8:52
7 - Emma Dawson (Nesbitt) - 8:54
8 - Fiona Simser (Nesbitt) - 9:01
9 - Brooklyn Tullco (Nesbitt) - 9:02
10 - Macy Allen (Northeastern) - 9:11

Junior Girls - Yellow Race
1 - Kelly Clark (Ste-Marie) - 8:23
2 - Alexandra Bertrim (Hélène-Gravel) - 8:27
3 - Alison Symington (Holy Cross) - 8:36
4 - Amanda Symington (Holy Cross) - 8;46
5 - Chandra Poirier (Pavillon de l'Avenir) - 9:02
6 - Danika Lalonde (Foyer-Jeunesse) - 9:06
7 - Emily Levesque (Holy Cross) - 9:09
8 - Aoife Mahaffy (R.L.Beattie) - 9:09
9 - Lexi Johnson (R.L. Beattie) - 9:10
10 - Arijana Tuttle (St-Denis) - 9:12

Junior Boys - Blue Race
1 - Theo Laforest (Timmins) - 7:31
2 - Cale Bast (Northeastern) - 7:53
3 - Matthew Vehkala (St John) - 8:03
4 - Christian Munch (Félix-Ricard) - 8:07
5 - Alex Pharand (Alliance St-Joseph) - 8:09
6 - Tyler Thibodeau (Alliance St-Joseph) - 8:13
7 - Kole Fowler (Alliance St-Joseph) - 8:14
8 - Kalan Payzant (Alliance St-Joseph) - 8:14
9 - Christopher Depoli (St-James) - 8:21
10 - Owen Parsons (St John) - 8:27

Junior Boys - Yellow Race
1 - Ian Mackenzie (Pinecrest) - 7:29
2 - Dax Mazzuchin (MacLeod) - 7:32
3 - Xander Roy (Jean-Paul II) - 7:33
4 - Scott Rienguette (Foyer-Jeunesse) - 7:38
5 - Pierson Sobush (St-Denis) - 7:45
6 - Owen Visentin (Pinecrest) - 7:55
7 - Abdallah Koulbou (Hélène-Gravel) - 7:59
8 - Connor Heffern (Walden) - 8:02
9 - Sam McCue (MacLeod) - 8:05
10 - Calen Jutila (Holy Cross) - 8:05

Senior Girls
1 - Alexa Caron (Timmins) - 12:15
2 - Janae Hardware (White Woods) - 12:29
3 - Ophélie Bruneau (Ste-Marie) - 12:37
4 - Dylann Mazzuchin (MacLeod) - 12:45
5 - Isabella Mastroianni (St Benedict) - 12:54
6 - Alex Murmilo (White Woods) - 12:57
7 - Fiona Symington (Marymount) - 13:05
8 - Katie Chomiak (Lively) - 13:19
9 - Victoria Adams (R.L. Beattie) - 13:23
10 - Tessa Favero (R.L. Beattie) - 13:38

Senior Boys
1 - André Larocque (Alliance St-Joseph) - 11:01
2 - Kendyn Mashinter (MacLeod) - 11:12
3 - Austin Mashinter (MacLeod) - 11:24
4 - Jack Heaphy (St Benedict) - 11:26
5 - Justin Dauphinais (Jean-Paul II) - 11:28
6 - Calum Passi (Churchill) - 11:30
7 - Max Villano (St Benedict) - 11:32
8 - Darrion Baston (Félix-Ricard) - 11:43
9 - Giordano Biondi (MacLeod) - 11:46
10 - Max Caron (Timmins) - 11:47