Red Hawk runners raced at the OFSAA cross country championships at Heart Lake Conservation Park in Brampton Nov. 1.
The race includes the two best teams, and top five individual runners, from the 18 associations from across Ontario.
Coach Karen Gervais said, “HHSS runners demonstrated grit and resilience facing challenges like the stampede; starts with 275 runners exploding off the line at once; jostling and elbowing for position; getting boxed in on narrow trails and a good helping of slippery mud after Friday’s rains.”
The top finisher for the Hawks was Junior Girl Annika Gervais in 64th. Gervais shaved a minute and a half off her time on the course earlier in the season, reeling in several runners over the last two kilometres.
Novice Girl Quinn Hamilton used her speed to get ahead of the mob in the mass start, hanging on to finish a strong
76th. Hamilton also improved her time on the 4 km course by a minute and a half despite the cold and muddy conditions.
Novice Boy Alex Lee cracked the top 100 in his debut OFSAA race, finishing 99th. Lee ran consistently throughout
the season, but Gervais said he found the OFSAA race challenging with the many runners on narrow trails making it difficult to pass.
Senior Girls and longtime teammates Violet Humphries and Erika Hoare crossed the finish line together in 174th and 176th in the very competitive field of senior runners. The senior category includes athletes in Grade 11, 12 and sometimes fifth-year runners, like Hoare. The senior 6 km course featured not just extra distance,
but a very hilly loop near the beginning of the race, Gervais said.
She added, “the team will miss the leadership of Humphries, Hoare and senior girls Grace Allder, Ella Gervais and Olivia Gruppe, who will all graduate this year and have been pillars of the distance running program at HHSS.”
