PASSTRAK ATHLETES PREVAIL AT THE ALBERTA PROVINCIAL CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS The 2022 Alberta Provincial Cross Country Running Championships were staged in Calgary on Saturday November 5th. In spite of the cold weather, ankle deep snow & blustery wind conditions, 20 Passtrak athletes braved the elements to stand toe to toe with the powerhouse big city clubs from around the province. Their tenacity in the face of adversity earned them some outstanding accolades for their efforts. Ellie Vandersteen & Norah Smith represented the club in the U10 girls 1 km race. Ellie placed 6th in 6 minutes 44 seconds & Norah was close behind in 9th clocking 7 minutes & 6 seconds. Three Passtrak boys contested the U10, 1 km race. Tristen McKerracher finished 12th in 9 minutes 24 seconds, Finnley Hay finished 11th in 8 minutes 18 seconds & Holden Lach grabbed 8th place crossing the finish line in 6 minutes 51 seconds. The distance for the U12 girls race was 1.2 km. Nellie Cockrell finished the race in 10 minutes 20 seconds to earn 13 place while Tammy Hay claimed 11th with a time of 8 minutes 49 seconds. The U12 boys also ran the 1.2 km course. Passtrak had 4 boys entered in this event which was the minimum number required to qualify for the team event. With all 4 of the Passtrak athletes placing in the top 10, they scored enough points to earn themselves the Provincial Championship silver medal. Their individual results reflected why they did so well as a team. William Vandersteen placed 10th in 7 minutes 45 seconds. Jasper Smith placed 9th in 7 minutes 35 seconds. Declan Sutherland placed 8th in 7 minutes 10 seconds & Aiden Aasen crossed the finish line in first place stopping the clock at 6 minutes 28 seconds. Ella Peebles was Passtrak’s sole entry in the U14 girls 2 km race. She represented the club well by finishing in 19th place in 12 minutes 54 seconds. The U14 boys division had Passtrak’s largest contingent with 5 runners in the 2 km event. Their commitment to the team earned them the Provincial Championship gold medal. Eli Bailey & Carson Hay finished in 15th & 16th respectively both clocking 11 minutes & 34 seconds in a photo finish. Nate Lach crossed the finish line 12th in 10 minutes 42 seconds. Cohen Folkard was 6th place in 9 minutes 40 seconds & Colton Sutherland picked up an individual silver medal by finishing 2nd in 9 minutes 13 seconds. For the U16 girls event the distance was bumped up to 4 km. Bella Moller represented Passtrak & completed the course in 26 minutes 27 seconds for 19th place. Jack Bailey ran 6 km in the U18 boys category. He finished in 28th recording a result of 31 minutes 19 seconds. Rosanne Vandersteen braved the elements for the longest period of time. The Master Women’s, (35+ years), course covered an 8 km distance. In near white out conditions she persevered finishing the race in 1 hour 2 minutes & 27 seconds for 4th place.