Wednesday’s Fraser Valley Cross-Country Championships in Aldergrove included nearly 250 competitors in the junior divisions alone and it was a pair of South Delta Sun Devils leading the way in both races.
Jonathan Hofer and Madelyn Bonikowsky capped an outstanding day for the Tsawwassen school by capturing their respective races.
Hofer completed the four kilometre course in 13:01.7 — finishing 23 seconds ahead of his nearest rival in a race that featured 146 student athletes.
SDSS teammate Jacob Bonikowsky nearly joined him on the podium, placing fourth in a time of 13:34.0.
Alex Lamyin finished 33rd (14:56), helping the Sun Devils end up fifth in the junior boys team standings. Aiden Turner in 61st (16:23.8) and Oliver Buchanan in 124th (19:54) rounded out the SDSS entries.
It was convincing victory for Madelyn Bonikowsky in the junior girls race. She completed the four kilometre course in 14:56.3 to win by 16 seconds.
Gemma Dumas also enjoyed a terrific showing, placing 16th out of 118 entries in a time of 16:51.8. Cianna Dawydiuk-Clozzza rounded out the top three SDSS finishers in 56th place (18:51.4) to earn her team fifth place.
Leilana Jones (20:01) and Lauren Lamyin (21:20) were 73rd and 92nd respectively.
Meanwhile, Southpointe Academy made plenty of noise in the Grade 8 girls race with two runners in the top 10.
Anka Stefanovic finished fourth, covering the 2.8 km trek in 12:28.9. Alaina Zhang (14:44) was ninth, while Hannah Rashid (16:48.1) was 20th, leaving the Titans second in the team standings.
In the Grade 8 boys race, Southpointe’s Trenton Lau finished seventh in a time of 11:40.7 over the same distance. Teammates Charleston Cao and Ryder Tailor-Hunt were 38th and 49th respectively.
