SPORTS

Eleven school athietes heading te Victoria

Jan-Chsistian Sorensen
News Reporter
Sorensen @nsntws.com
WHEN the provincial
high school cross coun-
try championships take
place this weekend at
Beaver Lake, Victoria,

‘ nobody will be giving
Argyle short shrift.

‘The school is hoping to
a successful climb to the Upper
echelons of the B.C. cross
country circuit with a first-place
finish on Saturday.

Four years ago there were
three people on the Argyle
team.

Now there are 40.

Two the team fin-

ished tenth in the province.
Last year they finished third.
” "Pihis year, said head coach
Greg Hockley, the school’s
two-team contngeni is looking
"to escort the championship tro-
phy —~- and B.C. bragging
rights -— back to the mainland_

“We've really been looking
* forward to this year because we
> have. areal shot at number
One,” be said. “I think last year

people were surprised (at the

success).”

Perhaps most surprised
were perennial Island cross
country powerhouse schools
Oak Bay and Lambrick Park,
who finished first and second
last year, ively.

“1 think they were really
surprised how close we were to
them last year. It got them a lit-
tle nervous ... they didn’t know
we had such a strong team.”

In North Shore Secondary
Schools’ Athletic Association
cross country action this year,
Argyle took three of the girls
age categories and came second
in another.

Kirsty Smith won the senior
girls division with four straight
frst-place finishes. Likewise,
Kathrine Stewart swept her
four races to secure first for the
junior girls. Stacey Dennis took

in three races to grab
first in the bantam girls catego-
ry, with teammate Alison
Hudson ing into second
place ahead of Rockridge’s
Claudia Richard.

Collingwood’s Justine
Cobb took the juvenile girls

- honours, but Argyle was close

behind with Lindsay Barrett
and Casey Berardo finishing
one-two to round out the top

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three runners.

And while Bryan Andrews
finished third in the junior boys
category, Hockley said the
Argyle dominance largely has-
n't translated to the boys.

“Our guys team just has
never been as strong. Argyle
has always had good girls.”

During the short cross-
country season the school had
four boys compete in the senior
category, two bantam runners,
five juniors and one juvenile.

Hockley, who teaches law
and humanities at the school,
only took the helm of the neo-
phyte team three years ago.

He’s been pleasantly sur-
prised with the ever-increasing
level of interest in the program.

“People like a successful
program and they want to be a
part of it,” Hockley said. “Pm
surprised that we were so dom-

_ inant this year.”

A large part of that success
is due to senior Kirsty Smith, he
said. .

“She's a really easy person
to build around. She's kind of
like the foundation.”

A scary moment for te
last weekend at the Nee
Shore Zone qualifying meet at
Alice Lake — of the five Argyle

Western Canada’s
largest one of a kind
gift fair since 1972

mf
‘

A Oe ey OE a RE EI he IE PI AO A eel

ARGYLE cross country
team head ceach Greg
Hockley

runners placing in the top ten,
Smith only took seventh. :

A marked change from her

top-of-the-heap performance
all season.

Hockley said the senior was
suffering through 2. slight
injury at the meet, but should
be up and running for’ the
provincials.

“She felt a uvinge in her
knee at the start of the race and
T think she just wasn’t mentally
there for the rest of the race.”
She laid off. It wasn’t the big
race.” .

Smith also claimed the third
overall spot at the BC. dete
Cross Country championshi
held this weekend at Jericho
Beach, which secures her a spot
on the B.C. team heading to
the nationals in Toronto later
this November.
. Another st
said Hockley,

up this season,

been junior

Kathrine Stewart.
“Talent-wise she’s just a real
hard worker. We thought she
could only go so far but she’s
really proven’ us wrong this
year. She gets to a race and
nothing will stop her. She’s a
real warrior.” oo
At Alice Lake, Stewart led

SWIMMING

Resulfs from the . North
Shore/Burnaby/New West regiona).
zone meet held Oct. 29 at William
Griffin Rec Centre in North Van:

Burnaby North
Sentinel

West Vancouver
St Thomas More
Moscrop

Carson Graham

Burnaby Mountain

Burnaby Central

Top three event finishers:
400, free, ralay girls B/G
a :

2 * by
w ar abe

e gears up for cross count

THREE secrets to A
tam giris champ Stacey

Dennis, left, senior champ.

Kirsty Smith and junior champ Kathrine Stewart.

the with a third place fin-
ish, She was followed in fourth
by Dennis, fifth by Barrett, sev-
enth by Smith and. ninth by
Hudson. .
Oak Bay has a particular
advantage in hosting the week-
end event. The course — 4%
km for the girls and 6.7 km for

-Another — ig

Shore schoo! will likely be West

Van, who finished seventh fast

year at the B.C.s. They. will:

send a girls tcam into competi-

SO free ghisB: 1. Kelsey Bai, Argyle: 8

2... Cherie» Wong, Sutherland, 3.
Shirley

2. Andy Andrew, WV, 3. Pat Fonseca,” -
WV; 53 breast girls €::1. Chertine - «
"Chow, Carson, 2." Candice. Birch,
Sent., 3, Kasia: Karolak, Hand.; 58 -

breast boys C: 1. Mani Kashani.
Carson; 2. Slobod Miskovic,:- BS,”
Adam Matthews,. Hani

©
B
NV

50 breast’

tion. : oo
On the boys side, West-Va
will have a. team: alongside:
Handsworth and Collingwood :

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Yeung, Bum. Min.;.50. free .; :

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