Sardis secondary school’s cross-country teams exceeded expectations this season, finishing on a high note at the B.C. Provincial High School Championships, held Nov. 5 in Westbank.
The goal at the start of the year was to qualify for provincials, a difficult task given a limited number of berths and a significant amount of competing schools.
The Sardis boy’s team punched their ticket by placing sixth at the Fraser Valley Championships.
The girl’s team narrowly missed qualifying, but Grade 11 athlete Ashley Heisler qualified as an individual runner.
Westbank was sunny but cold (minus five degrees) with frozen ground as the runners started their races.
Heisler competed in a field of 280 athletes, traversing the 4.8 kilometre course in 18 minutes and 52 seconds to place 70th overall.
The boys course covered 6.5km of tricky terrain, with plenty of inclines and tricky footing.
The Sardis crew placed 16th out of 30 teams, led by Brad Fitzsimmons.
He placed 92nd out of 300 athletes, clocking in at 27 minutes and one second.
Braedon Brainbridge had the second best time among the locals, placing 133rd overall at 27:50.
Lucas Agagnier and Neall Struwig clocked identical times of 28:26 with Grade 10 athlete Jon Sokolowski crossing the line in 28:51.
Adrian Collins and Jared Les finished sixth and seventh for the Falcons.