Barry Wright
Northern Collegiate tied for third at the recent SWOSSA Cross-Country Championships at Canatara Park.
The girls carried the day for the Vikings, finishing second in the Midget Girls and Junior Girls team classifications, and placing fifth in Senior Girls.
St. Patrick’s High School was eighth in Midget Boys and Senior Girls events, while St. Clair's top team finish was eighth in the Junior Girls category.
Individually, several runners from Northern cracked the top ten in their respective categories.
Sarah Scott, Katie Bartwitzki and Sarah Riser placed second, fourth and fifth in the Junior Girls race, Andrew Davies was third in the Midget Boys event, and Lauren Perkins, Caroline Forbes and Taylor Clark finished fourth, sixth and ninth in the Midget Girls race.
The best individual finish for St. Pat's and St. Clair were both in Junior Boys. Stewart McMurtrie of the Irish was 15th and Wes Collins of the Colts placed 24th.
Alexander Mackenzie dominated the Mixed Para event taking the top five spots. Kevin Smit was the first to cross the finish line, followed by teammates Craig MacHan, Sean Welshinski, Nick Vandyke and Tiffany Hillman.
Members of the top two teams in each division from the SWOSSA event, as well as the top four finishers who were not part of the top two teams, qualified for the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Athletic Association (OFSSA) Championships in Kitchener on Nov. 1.