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South Surrey runners on podium at Crescent Park

Next high-school cross-country event set for Oct. 5 at Bear Creek Park
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Senior runners burst off the start line at Wednesday’s cross-country race at Crescent Park. (Nick Greenizan photo)

South Surrey runners were front and centre at Surrey’s second cross-country race of the fall on Wednesday afternoon at Crescent Park, with athletes of all ages finishing on the podium.

In the senior boys race – a 5.1-km circuit around the park – two Semiahmoo Totems, Mark Potashon and Michael Miller, finished second and third, respectively. Owen Pinto of Holy Cross – also an Ocean Athletics Track Club member – was the first to cross the finish line in the race. Pinto’s Holy Cross teammate, Riley Miller, was fourth and Earl Marriott runner Sajjan Sarai rounded out the top five.

The senior girls run – which ran concurrently with the senior boys race and was also 5.1 km – was won by Princess Margaret Secondary’s Baneet Bains, with Seaquam’s Hanna Hillic taking the silver medal, and Sullivan Heights runner Emma Kramer in the bronze-medal position. White Rock Christian Academy’s Elizabeth Gin finished just shy of the podium, in fourth, followed by Semiahmoo’s Sarah Darby in fifth.

In the four-km junior boys race, Fleetwood Park Secondary’s Jaiveer Tiwana was the fleetest afoot, crossing the line in first place, followed by Southridge’s Jami Chang and Lord Tweedsmuir’s Tyler Wilson. Fourth place went to another Tweedsmuir runner, Jake Taylor, and James Hill, of Earl Marriott, was fifth.

Southridge’s Maya Kobylanski was the top runner in the four-km junior girls race, followed by South Delta’s Madelyne Banikowsky in second and Madison Stoochnoof, from Holy Cross, in third. Tweedsmuir’s Emma Kearns was fifth.

The 2.8-km Grade 8 races – the first of the day – were won by a pair of South Surrey runners. Earl Marriott’s Julia Mackie was first in the girls race, while Elgin Park Secondary’s Isaac Baker took top spot in the boys race.

Behind Mackie was Tweedsmuir’s Emily St. Denis, in second, and EMS runner Sierra Plummer in third. Fraser Heights’ Christine Xu was fourth and Clayton Heights’ Sarah McDonald placed fifth.

The Grade 8 boys’ podium was rounded out by Semiahmoo’s Pavel Potashov in second place and Elgin’s Kaelem Dumont in third. Liam Kobylanski, from Southridge, finished fourth, followed by Semiahmoo’s Taric Somani in fifth.

The next event on the Surrey cross-country calendar is Thursday, Oct. 5 at Bear Creek Park. Runners will return to Crescent Park Oct. 11 for a pre-Fraser Valley meet, and Fraser Valley Championships, also slated for Crescent Park, will be held Oct. 25.