The cross-country city championships kick off in two days at Fraserview Golf Course.
Impressively, the Killarney Cougars have chased down a team win in the senior boys race in all four league meets. The senior girls at Killarney came close with three team wins, but were edged out by only four points when Kitsilano won the fourth and final meet Oct. 18.
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Annika Austin and Katia Lumb have been at the top for Kitsilano, winning outright for the Blue Demons each time they have raced alone and trading first and second places the two times they have both raced in the same meet.
Philip Ngo has broken out for the Cougars at the senior boys level and has won the two meets that last year’s B.C. no. 3 Thomas Nobbs of Point Grey has missed.
However, expectations are high for both Austin and Nobbs who are running in a class of their own.
At the junior girls level, Van Tech Talisman Kendra Lewis has won the two meets she entered, and Lord Byng’s Bridgett Baziw has been hot on her heels.
The scoring works like this: Individual athletes are awarded a point for their overall finish, making the winning team the one with the lowest total score. The winner will get one point. The 15th place runner will get 15 points. The top four runners for each school are counted in the team tally.
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Beginning at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, the junior girls event is the first of four races.
The junior girls and boys as well as the senior girls run a single lap of 3.8 km around the park. The senior boys run two laps and cover a distance of 7.6 km.
The top 15 male and top 15 female junior racers advance to provincials. The top 20 senior boys and top 20 senior girls advance. The league’s co-ordinators will also select three school teams.
The B.C. Championships are Nov. 5 in Peachland, with the first race beginning at 10 a.m. The junior and senior girls race 4.6 km, the junior boys race 5 km, and the senior boys race the longest distance of 6.9 km.
