Six win races, 13 qualify for provincial meet

By David McIver

Thirteen local and area students finished well enough—including winning three races—to qualify for the provincial cross-country meet, thanks to their showings at the district meet in Kyle on Wednesday.

PHOTO COURTESY ROSETOWN CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Three younger runners also won races at the meet.

The top 10 in each event can advance to the provincial meet, scheduled for Saturday at the Deer Park Golf Course on the outskirts of Yorkton.

Jordan Merrifield of Rosetown Central High won the four-kilometre senior girls race in 17 minutes, 53.62 seconds. Sage Gilroy of North West Central School placed fifth among seven runners.

Absent at Kyle was the senior boys district winner from 2024, Corbin Wiens of Rosetown Central. He had prior obligations, said Royals coach Krista Wenaas. Teammate Luke Harrington finished seventh in that race.

Matthew Christofides, also of North West Central, finished fifth among eight senior boys.

Makenzie Crofts of Dinsmore Composite placed second in the junior girls race. Fellow Wildcat Harlie McNeely finished fourth of five runners.

Sam Ellis, also of Dinsmore Composite, placed sixth among that many junior boys.

Harper Kampen of Rosetown Central High outran 11 other intermediate girls over three kilometres to win their race, finishing in 12:23. Jana Duvenage of Elrose Composite finished second. Arabella Gilroy placed seventh.

Oscar Minogue, another Elrose Eagle, won the three-kilometre intermediate boys race in 12:20.84. Naim Robertson of Rosetown Central High finished second. Caelum Shipman of North West Central placed seventh among 10.

Intermediate-age runners must be in Grade 9 to attend the provincial meet, and that information for these six students wasn’t available at press time.

Eva Wiens of Rosetown Central High finished fourth in the two-kilometre under-13 girls race. Heili Duvenage of Elrose Composite placed eighth among 18 runners. Fellow Eagles Leandre van Zyl and Wilmien Schutte also took part, as did Edie Toner, Audyn Gilroy, and Hanna Weese of North West Central.

Felix Minogue of Elrose Composite won the three-kilometre under-13 boys race in 12:33.94. Teammate Julian Lehmkuhl placed 10th among a field of 22.

Mareike Duvenage, also of that school, finished fifth in a field of 30 under-11 girls. Marline Duvenage placed 10th. Dinsmore runners Riley Broom, Wyatt Noonan, Hallie James, Emree Blumer, and Harley Watt, and Ruby Robbie of North West Central likewise competed.

Five area runners placed in the top 10 of 31 runners in the under-11 boys race. Parker Billett of Dinsmore Composite won the two-kilometre race in 8:13.72. Matthew Crofts, another Wildcat, finished less than three seconds behind. Grover Minogue of Elrose Composite placed third. Hudson Weese of North West Central finished fifth. Teammates Everett Laturnus and Benson Hilderman, Elrose Eagles Cliff MacDonald, Andries Duvenage, Zandré Jonke, Henrix Parson, and Stian Schutte, and Dinsmore runners Colton Noonan and Britton Billett also ran.