A trio of Tri-Cities athletes hucked down steep terrain in the Kootenays last weekend to bring home some provincials hardware — and made some gnarly history while doing so.
For the first time ever, School District 43 (SD43) won multiple individual titles from a single B.C. high school mountain bike championships.
Coquitlam's Natasha Miller won gold in the senior girls' enduro competition last Saturday (May 27) at RED Mountain Resort in Rossland.
The Grade 11 Gleneagle Secondary student mastered the downhill obstacle course with concentration and focus for one of the smoothest rides of her young career.
She clocked a time of 8:10 — a full 25 seconds faster than the first runner-up.
"Stoked to get first in enduro at B.C. high-school mountain bike championships," said Miller in a social media post about her provincials efforts.
"Thanks SD43 mountain bike team for the great season."
Meanwhile, Lucas Yorke mustered all his strength to put his pedals to the ground in the junior boys' cross-country contest.
The Grade 10 student, also from Gleneagle Secondary, pulled away to claim gold for his age group and crossed the finish line with a time of 25:09.
That was nearly two minutes ahead of second place.
The third Tri-Cities medal was a bronze courtesy of Riverside Secondary's Kirra Whitehead (Grade 10).
The Port Coquitlam product prevailed in the junior girls' enduro challenge, keeping up with the front of the pack to reach the podium.
She finished with a time of 8:44, which was 22 seconds behind first and a full 30 seconds ahead of fourth.
A total of 24 athletes represented SD43 in Rossland — located 600 km east of the Tri-Cities — recording five top 10 finishes, nine top 15s, and 15 top 30s.
The local competitors and their results are as follows:
Enduro
- Senior girls 11/12
1) Natasha Miller, Gleneagle = 8:10
- Junior girls 10
3) Kirra Whitehead, Riverside = 8:44
12) Ellie Johnson, Gleneagle = 10:35
- Grade 9 girls
12) Samara Gorby, Heritage Woods = 10:36
- Senior boys 11/12
28) Ronan Rickson, Gleneagle = 7:41
30) Nathaniel Raabe, Dr. Charles Best = 7:42
60) Ben Glezos, Pinetree = 8:12
61) Matthew Kahle, Dr. Charles Best = 8:13
68) Erik Haggith, Terry Fox = 8:17
83) Isac Bryson, Port Moody = 8:28
97) James Griffiths, Dr. Charles Best = 8:45
99) Tanner Irvine, Terry Fox = 8:51
104) Tristan Dalke, Terry Fox = 9:01
- Junior boys 10
11) Jadon Raabe, Dr. Charles Best = 7:32
23) Max Bourgaize, Heritage Woods = 7:53
30) Lucas Yorke, Gleneagle = 7:57
32) Aiton Wong, Heritage Woods = 8:00
54) Connor Kennedy, Terry Fox = 8:24
71) Owen Connell, Heritage Woods = 8:56
82) Mattias Korpus, Gleneagle = 9:25
89) Aidan Mastrianni, Heritage Woods = 9:57
- Grade 9 boys
40) Maximo Moudet, Heritage Woods = 8:34
61) Jude Hemphill, Gleneagle = 9:23
Cross-country
- Senior girls 11/12
7) Kyla Deas, Dr. Charles Best = 1:10:57 (+18:25)
- Junior girls 10
5) Kirra Whitehead, Riverside = 36:02 (+3:33)
- Grade 9 girls
12) Samara Gorby, Heritage Woods = 41:02 (+10:12)
- Senior boys 11/12
47) Nathaniel Raabe, Dr. Charles Best = 1:01:33 (+21:38)
49) Matthew Kahle, Dr. Charles Best = 1:01:40 (+21:44)
50) Ben Glazos, Pinetree = 1:01:47 (+21:52)
61) Ronan Dickson, Gleneagle = 1:03:38 (+23:43)
78) Tanner Irvine, Terry Fox = 1:07:10 (+27:15)
83) Erik Haggith, Terry Fox = 1:08:20 (+28:25)
101) James Griffiths, Dr. Charles Best = 1:16:12 (+36:17)
106) Isac Bryson, Port Moody = 1:20:27 (+40:32)
- Junior boys 10
1) Lucas Yorke, Gleneagle = 25:09
28) Jadon Rabbe, Dr. Charles Best = 31:59 (+6:51)
29) Aiton Wong, Heritage Woods = 32:04 (+6:56)
44) Max Bourgaize, Heritage Woods = 34:21 (+9:13)
57) Connor Kennedy, Terry Fox = 35:53 (+10:45)
63) Aidan Mastrianni, Heritage Woods = 37:06 (+11:58)
64) Owen Connell, Heritage Woods = 37:16 (+12:08)
73) Mattias Korpus, Gleneagle = 39:42 (+14:34)
- Grade 9 boys
44) Maximo Moudet, Heritage Woods = 34:47 (+8:42)
45) Jude Hemphill, Gleneagle = 34:49 (+8:44)
