Junior Development Thunderbirds reclaim the team title at the BC Athletics 2017 XC Provincial Championships in Abbotsford, BC.

Vancouver Thunderbirds JD’s impressed all those present at the BC Cross-
Country Championships with their strong aggressive running. TBirds easily
retained the club title beating out Ocean’s Athletics 57 points to 20.

In the Boys 9 race Harris Boomer finished second, only two seconds down on
the winner, with Elijach Clarke close behind in 5th . Massimo Valiante, in his
first club race ran well for 25th spot.

Miller Dabbs broke away from the field coming off the big hill to take top
spot in the Boys 10 year old race, followed only 4 seconds back in second place, by
Michael Caddick. Luc Primeau, 9th, and Griffin Cole, 13th, rounded out some good
team running. In the girls 10 year old race the Tbirds packed really well: Gabriella
Barton taking 2nd , Chloe Symon 3rd, Kate Logan 6th, Ruby Forsyth 8th and Hazel
Prentice, in her first race as a TBird in 27th.

Kai Martland took 3rd , only 5 seconds back from the winner, in the Boys 11
race, with Mason Van Raamsdonk, 22nd and Liam Dawes-Forster, 23rd following him
home. Libby Dabbs, took 3rd in the girls’ division, Anna Kruk 5th, Nyla
Tukker 8th, and Coco Clement 12th, all giving there all at the finish.

Kai Martland charges to a podium finish in the 11 year old boys race at BC XC Championships.

Maya Baechler finished her season unbeaten, with teammates Clare
Logan, 4th,and Eva Kriebel in 7th both running strongly behind her. Adam
Rentz was 8th to lead teammates, Justin Verbanic, 11th, and Brayden
Horlock, 14th home, in the Boys 12 year old race.

Paul Van Raamsdonk, sprinted into a photo finish, just missing out on third
place in the Boys 13 year old race. Edward Marsh, 9th, had a strong run; Francis
Sadleir, 17th, and Renaldo Miya, 19th, ran well as a team. In the Girls’ race
Sophie Forsyth, ran a great race to pick up the silver medal for 13 year old girls.

In the High-school and Senior Competitions, the Thunderbirds continued to litter the results pages with top 10 performances in many categories.

High-school Thunderbird Results from Stan Jang + Sean Dawson included:
F13
2nd - Sophie Forsyth

M13
2nd - Paul Van Raamsdonk
9th - Edward Marsh
17th - Francis Sadleir
19th - Renaldo Miya

Midget Girls
14th - Paige Ingram
16th - Skye Higgins
17th - Ella Symon
33rd - Makenna Baechler

Midget Boys
6th - Dylan Uhrich
18th - Christian Peteren
20th - Riordan Miya
21st - Marcus Britnell

Youth Girls
3rd - Annika Austin
23rd - Sydney Desbrisay
25th - Emily MacGowan
26th - Taylor Williams

Youth Boys
28th - Quinton Braziller

Junior Boys
26th - Eero Gaffney

Senior Thunderbird athlete and 2016 Olympian, Lucas Bruchet who trains with the British Columbia Endurance Project took the overall men's title, winning the race by a large margin. He will represent team BC next month at the Canadian XC Championships in Kingston, Ontario where he will fight for another podium finish. Thunderbirds teammate, and 23 year old Chris Taylor placed 36th.

Senior Women's Thunderbirds included Natalia Hawthorn (Ontario) in 7th, followed by training partner, Erica Digby in 8th, Robyn Mildren in 11th, and Honor Walmsley in 34th.

For a full list of results and team points compliments of Race Day Timing, click here.

Race Recap videos, compliments of Canadian Running can be viewed here.

Congratulations to all the athletes who competed, and a big thank you to BC Athletics and Valley Royals Track Club for all your hard work in organizing!

JD Thunderbirds Successfully Defend Team Title at BC XC Provincial Championships!