By Jeff Wilson, RSS XC coach
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, 217 students from 21 high schools gathered for the 2011-12 Okanagan Valley Championships for cross-country running.
The race was held at the Larch Hills Cross-Country Ski Area near Salmon Arm, and the Revelstoke team turned in a series of fine performances.
The Junior Boys - featuring John and Luke Yakielashek, Bryce Molder, Joseph Harper and Gordon Mason - placed third in the Junior category and seventh overall for a strong finish to a great season.
The big story of the day for Revelstoke was the strength and endurance of the RSS girls. In a field of 110 runners, Britt and Megan Evans both made it to the podium in second and third place respectively. Delyth Harper was 9th, Leslie Opatril was 13th, and Tayla Koerber was 17th overall.
Not only did these girls qualify for Provincials as individuals, their point total as a team made them the Okanagan Valley Champions.
In the Junior Girls' category, Emily Unterberger, Jayda Park, and Maxine Opatril added their strong finishes to Megan and Tayla's scores to become the Junior Valley Champions as well.
The whole team performed extremely well at this competition, and there were plenty of smiles as they hopped off the bus with the first Valley pennants and a big trophy to decorate the new walls of a beautiful high school.
Well done, RSS runners.
The provincials for cross-country running will be held on November 5th, 2011 in Kelowna, BC.