Morning Star Staff
VSS Panther sisters Hannah and Mia Bennison are off to the B.C. Cross Country Running Championships, Nov. 5 at West Kelowna’s Telemark Ski Area.
Hannah won the senior girls race, while Mia took the junior event in the Okanagan Valley finals Tuesday at Telemark. Hannah, in Grade 12, finished the 4,600-metre run in 17 minutes and 33 seconds, 1:25 ahead of runner-up Taryn O’Neill of George Elliot Coyotes in Lake Country.
Mia was third overall in 19:03, topping the junior girls category by 61 seconds in front of runner-up Annika Ariano of the Seaton Sonics.
Approximately 250 athletes from 31 schools, from Princeton to Revelstoke, competed in the North Zones.
Hannah will be seeking her third consecutive provincial title. Samantha Loewen of VSS was 12th in the senior group at 23:43 and also qualified for the B.C. race.
Ariano’s twin sister Natalya was 12th in the junior race in 21:42. Natalya had a breakthrough race, running about two minutes faster than the last time she ran the same course at the all-comers pre-provincials event earlier in the season.
In the senior boys race, Braden Kersey of Seaton had an off day and finished sixth in 24:24. Brock Hoel (online school) won in 22:58. Kersey moves to the provincials.
Logan Hwang of Westsyde Whundas in Kamloops was second in 22:23.
Ian Oliphant of Seaton finished 14th (25:19) but declined his qualifying spot for provincials.
The Seaton junior boys team finished second at the Valleys so all qualify for provincials. Running for Seaton along with Kersey and Oliphant were Gage Stoll (25:48), Ty Barten (28:49) and Ethan Northcott (29:01).
Grade 8 Brooke Lawlor of Seaton placed 23rd in the junior girls run in 22:41.