A Holy Trinity Academy Knight has joined an exclusive club. Grade 12 student Sophia Clubbe became the first Knight to win a South Central Zone cross-country championship in all three of her high school years.
Clubbe won the 4,000m senior girls championship at the Canmore Nordic Centre when she crossed the finish line at 16:40 on Oct. 3. Despite her past success, the Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) senior didn’t take for granted that she would win this year. She puts the work in. “I think I have matured more than last year and I worked harder this year,” Clubbe said. “I put a lot more practice in this year.” Practice made nearly perfect as she led from wire-to-wire. “There were a few girls behind me and when I came around for the second loop I realized I had a lot of energy left so I just gave it my all, she said. Her training runs in hilly Okotoks and in Ontario in the summer helped her as she was able to scamper up the mountainous terrain in Canmore. As a result of her win she has qualified for provincials on Oct. 20 in Red Deer. Clubbe’s best finish at provincials was sixth place in Medicine Hat in 2011. She is hoping to do better this year. “I think I am a better run than last year, so I would love to make the top five — maybe top three,” Clubbe said. “I will spend the next two weeks running some hills and eating lots of pasta for carbs.” The Knights’ Bethany Bromfield was third at 17:21 in the senior girls race. Sore runners It hurt so good for a pair of foothills runners at the cross-country championships in Canmore. HTA Knight Michael Quick and Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartan Claudia Belanger both won their respective races at the zone championship in Canmore on Oct. 3, despite the fact they were both coming off injuries. Belanger, who was the co-winner in the Intermediate girls 4,000m race with teammate Gillian Ceyhan at 15:45, has been on the shelf for 10 weeks because of a stress facture in her ankle. “I haven’t ran for about three months because of my injury, I just started running a little bit last week,” Belanger said. “I wasn’t worried at zones. I just said to myself to try my best and not to go out too hard because it is a longer race… I was glad to have Gillian with me to push me.” Belanger’s last race was the provincial high school track championships in June, where the 16-year-old Millarville resident won the gold medal in the junior girls 1,500m and set a new provincial record in the 3,000m. Belanger won the zone cross-country championship last year, but was unable to compete at provincials because of other commitments. She is raring to go to the cross-country provincials on Oct. 20 in Red Deer. “I have never ran provincials and I am really excited because there will be different people there,” Belanger said. “I don’t know if I can win. I have two and a half weeks to get going again. I don’t have high expectations at this point.” Belanger and her teammate Ceyhan decided to cross the finish line together after being side-by-side the entire race. “We run very well together, and even though we run different events in track, cross-country really helps us with training,” Belanger said. “But they won’t want us to cross together at provincials.” Holy Trinity Academy Knight Claire Thorimbert was third in the Intermediate girls behind Belanger and Ceyhan with a time of 16:13. A Quick recovery The rest of the pack in the senior boys 5,000m race in Canmore had no idea HTA’s Michael Quick had an injury. Of course, it is hard to see any kind of a limp when you are more than two minutes behind. Quick, who won the high school provincial championship as an Intermediate last year, won his second zone title in a time of 21:11 — more than two minutes ahead of the second-place runner from Bassano. “I had a sore quad and I hadn’t ran for about two weeks,” Quick said. “I felt it at the start of the race, but I was able to run through it and it went away.” Quick took off like a rabbit and led the entire 5 km. “There were a couple of big hills on the course, but I thought I made ground on the hills,” Quick said. “I was able to increase my lead in the second lap.” Quick is cautiously optimistic he can win his second provincial championship. “I think so,” Quick said. “My toughest competition will be Matt Hope from Red Deer. He will be running on his home course.” The top 18 runners at zones qualified for the provincial championships in Red Deer Oct. 20. Foothills runners who qualified are Junior boys (4,000m) — 2. Simon Leslie, HTA, 14:00; 3. Riley Janz, Highwood, 14:08; 5. Cole Perntisky, STS, 14:28; 6. Brandon Piercey, Edison, 14:34; 12. Graham Seasosms, STS, 15:08; 13. Michael Bruhjell, STS, 15:17.
Intermediate boys (5,000m) — 8. Milad Eskander, STS, 20:13; 9. Daniel Livergrant, STS, 20:13; 12. Connor Lainchbury, NDC, 20:25.
Senior boys (6,000m) — 1. Michael Quick, HTA, 21:11; 8. Philip Taylor Smith, Highwood, 25:24; 15. Justin Nadeau, STS, 25:49; 16. Hayden Amundson, STS, 26:00; 18. Benjamin Roskey, STS, 26:26
Junior girls (3,000m) — 5. Brynn McLellan, STS, 13:04; 6. Tiana Ewing, Foothills, 13:18; 10. Lize-Mari Louw, STS, 13:42; 12. Kaylee Bertrad, HTA, 13:52; 14. Juliana Smith, STS, 14:05; 18. Kathryn McLellan, STS, 14:27
Intermediate girls (4,000m) — 1. Claudia Belanger, STS, 15:45; 1. Gillian Ceyhan, STS, 15:43; 3. Claire Thorimbert, HTA, 16:13; 6. Sawera Dhaliwal, STS, 17:51; Maria Golubey, STS, 18:08; 8. McKenzie Walker, STS, 18:08; 10. Mikayla Fredriksen, Highwood, 18:16; 15. Mandi Hofer, Highwood, 19:29; 17. Madison Milne, STS, 19:50
Senior girls (4,000m) — 1. Sophia Clubbe, HTA, 16:40; 3. Bethany Bromfield, HTA, 17:21; 6. Lauren Benn, Highwood, 17:56; 7. Kendall Seasons, STS, 18:33; 14. Erin Bews, Highwood, 19:06; 17. Millicent Brentnall, Highwood, 19:20 18. Georgia Young, STS, 19:24.
