Looking for the fastest elementary cross-country runners within the Rainbow District School Board?
Perhaps start at the nearest pool, or ball diamond, or local hockey rink - or maybe even the various nordic ski trails that will surface again locally this winter (although that sport has at least always enjoyed a very strong cross-correlation to the XC crew).
The truth is that multi-sport athletes were front and centre at the RDSB Cross-Country Championships last week, notably with Intermediate race winners Dax Hester of Algonquin (SLSC swimmer) and Daviy Dale of Lo-Ellen (baseball/hockey).
Even in their wake, however, you could find the likes of Ryan Pineau (Lo-Ellen), a baseball and hockey talent whose older sisters (Lauren/Megan) have both enjoyed X-C success at the high-school level but are even more in their element in nordic ski competitions.
"We trained a lot at our school, like three times a week - and then over the summer, I trained a lot," noted Pineau, the top finisher among grade 7 athletes, second overall to Hester and just out-kicking Nick Rice of Lasalle in the sprint.
"I run for my nordic training and then when the snow comes, I will train for skiing - but I also play hockey (Copper Cliff U13 A Reds)," added Pineau.
With all of this family involvement in racing of various kinds, the payoff in terms of a race strategy for the articulate 12 year-old.
"I focus on the runners in front of me and try and draft them," said Pineau. "If I draft them, I can pass them at the very end when I sprint. And on the uphills and downhills, I get a lot of speed to pass them too."
With Lauren recently named to the Female Athlete Bridge Program through Cross-Country Ski Ontario, younger brother has been more than happy to soak up the knowledge.
"My big sister helps me a lot," said Ryan. "When she was in grade 9 and 10, she trained a lot. Then when she got older, she trained a little less and slowed down a little."
"Now she trains a lot mroe to get to where she was when she was younger."
Following are the top ten finishers in each of the six different race groupings:
Intermediate Girls (grades 7/8)1st - Daviy Dale (LEP) - 13:37
2nd - Violet Sutherland (A.B. Ellis) - 13:48
3rd - Sofia Kalviainen (LEP) - 14:17
4th - McLaren Gieselman (LEP) - 14:29
5th - Sophie Raincourt (Lasalle) - 15:01
6th - Zoe Morin (Valley View) - 15:01
7th - Eliza Rybiak (Lasalle) - 15:03
8th - Kylan Batchelor (Valley View) - 15:11
9th - Callianne Mallek (Alexander) - 15:12
10th - Georgia McShane (LEP) - 15:13
Intermediate Boys (grades 7/8)
1st - Dax Hester (Algonquin) - 12:23
2nd - Ryan Pineau (LEP) - 12:45
3rd - Nick Rice (Lasalle) - 12:47
4th - Andrew Polack (LEP) - 13:03
5th - Henry MacDonald (Valley View) - 13:08
6th - Chidube Elendu (LEP) - 13:21
7th - Ewan Huang (LEP) - 13:22
8th - Tommy Fitzmaurice (LEP) - 13:22
9th - Ben Case (MacLeod) - 13:22
10th - Owen Kolari (LEP) - 13:36
Junior Girls (grades 5/6)
1st - Mara Saaramets (R.L. Beattie) - 10:07
2nd - Blake Lyle (Lasalle) - 10:20
3rd - Jill Ferguson (R.L. Beattie) - 10:24
4th - Jane Hanley (R.L. Beattie) - 10:46
5th - Ciara Hanley (R.L. Beattie) - 10:48
6th - Kae Maki (Copper Cliff) - 10:50
7th - Lauren Westby (Northeastern) - 10:52
8th - Olive Simon (R.L. Beattie) - 10:53
9th - Katherine Wallace (R.L. Beattie) - 10:54
10th - Sophie Stott (R.L. Beattie) - 11:06
Junior Boys (grades 5/6)
1st - Fathiu Arjie (Churchill) - 9:20
2nd - Jaxon Rocca (Walden) - 9:23
3rd - Weston Chevrier (Valley View) - 9:38
4th - Tyce Cousineau (Walden) - 9:39
5th - Fotis Evangelatos (R.L. Beattie) - 9:39
6th - Wesley Lavigne (MacLeod) - 9:43
7th - Brody Larochelle (Walden) - 9:53
8th - Thomas Gemmell (Valley View) - 9:54
9th - Owen Dixon (Valley View) - 9:55
10th - William Saaramets (R.L. Beattie) - 10:00
Tyke Girls (grades 3/4)
1st - Rebecca Lafortune (R.L. Beattie) - 8:05
2nd - Victoria Battistoni (Algonquin) - 8:31
3rd - Lauren Waller (Algonquin) - 8:37
4th - Sylvia Jaskiewicz (Monetville) - 8:41
5th - Kaydyn Campbell (C.R. Judd) - 8:57
6th - Harper Orser (Alexander) - 8:59
7th - Gabriella Hodgins (R.L. Beattie) - 9:00
8th - Briar Vanderydt (R.L. Beattie) - 9:01
9th - Zoey Grigsby (MacLeod) - 9:13
10th - Anna Charbonneau (Chelmsford) - 9:14
Tyke Boys (grades 3/4)
1st - Bryson Chaudry (R.L. Beattie) - 7:32
2nd - Arlo Menzies (C.C. McLean) - 7:34
3rd - Alex Watson (Lasalle) - 7:44
4th - Malachi Dawson (R.L. Beattie) - 7:52
5th - Raleigh Hysen (R.L. Beattie) - 7:54
6th - Hunter Hardy (S. Geiger PS) - 7:55
7th - Henry Lonsdale (R.L. Beattie) - 7:59
8th - Owen Asunmaa (R.L. Beattie) - 8:00
9th - Bo Michelutti (MacLeod) - 8:24
10th - Finn DeNoble (MacLeod) - 8:26