Effort pays off for Hat runners at Panthers’ cross country event
By Ryan McCracken on October 20, 2020.
Local runners put their work ethic on display at the Medicine Hat Panthers Track Club’s cross-country event on Saturday at Kin Coulee Park.
Eleven members of the Panthers worked their way on top of the podium in their respective events, while nine more finished in the top three.
Panthers Madison Scrimger and Brannon Sumner won the U18 female and male 5,000-metre races — both of which had the largest fields of the day at 12 runners apiece. Scrimger, who also runs for Crescent Heights High School, closed out her run in 22:29 to beat Medicine Hat High School’s Raya Grover (24:59) and CHHS’s Lucia Van Niekerk (25:48).
Sumner (20:28) managed to narrowly defeat CHHS athlete Harrison Lawson (20:32) by just four seconds, while fellow Panther Gage Smith (23:36.02) took third by edging out Eagle Butte High School’s Justin Jager by just over three-tenths of a second.
Samuel Schick, a member of the Panthers and Eagle Butte Talons, topped the male U16 3,000-metre run in 10:53, besting club teammate and high school rival Tristan Scrimger (12:43), of Crescent Heights, and fellow Talon Sam Judge (13:11).
Hat High’s Jalinda Schoenberger bested a field of 11 in the U16 female 3,000-metre at 13:42, followed by Eagle Butte’s Kassidy Hart (14:02) and Panthers’ Ryann Plaksey (15:06).
Medicine Hat College’s Truman Bartman took first in a two-man U20 male 6,000-metre with a time of 24:37, while Hat High’s Chase Adriaensen finished in 29:36.
Darryl Smith, of EBHS and the Panthers, won the master male 6,000-metre run in 23:42, defeating Mark Pierzchala (28:50) and Bill Corcoran (32:20) for first.
Marlene Corcoran won the master female 6,000-metre in 29:58, defeating CHHS runner Carmine Herzog in the two-participant event.
In the U14 male 2,000-metre run, Grayson Fox bested a field of five in 7:01, while Medicine Hat Bulldogs runner Laine Gauthier (7:24) took second and Panthers athlete Edward Hickey (8:25) finished third.
Panther Eve Mason won the U14 female 2,000-metre in 8:26, followed by Bulldogs Devyn Perrett (8:50) and Lexine Rodriguez Velez (9:14).
Briar Ferris, of the Panthers and Crestwood School, won the U12 female 1,200-metre run in 6:04, followed by fellow Panther Janessa Jackson (6:13) and St. Francis Xavier’s Sadie Lybbert (6:48), while Nolan McLeod (5:16) edged out Ben Large (5:30.40) and Finnegan Paco (5:30.76) to complete an all-Panthers podium in the U12 male 1,200.
Panther Andrew Vis finished the U10 male 1,000-metre course in 4:53 for top spot, followed by St. FX’s Beckett Lybbert (5:15) and fellow Panther Terrance Gould (5:22), while Cannon Hilgendorf (4:59) won the U10 female 1,000 ahead of teammate Sunny Aadland (5:03) and Ross Glen’s Addison Ross (5:20).
Olivia McWilliams, of Redcliff’s IF Cox, clocked in at 5:05 for top spot in the U8 female 1,000-metre ahead of teammate Isabelle McWilliams (6:20) and St. FX’s Leni Lybbert (6:21), while Panther William Weninger won the U8 male 1,000 in 5:10 ahead of Karson Geeno (5:43) and teammate Weston Nixdorf (5:52).
Chelsea Kleckner clocked in at 31:47 as the lone runner in the senior female 6,000-metre run, while MHC’s Chris Jonker finished his solo 6,000-metre senior male run in 22:29.
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