Chris Nelissen (grey shirt) leads out the elementary school runners in the 2 km race at the 2019 Steve Burgess Memorial XC Running Races

Over 220 runners from across the province convened at Muskoseepi Park on Saturday for the 18th running of the Steve Burgess Memorial XC Running Race.  While Edmonton area athletes took the top places, a number of local runners managed top 10 placings in the featured 6.2 km and 8.25 km races.

Leonard Cheeso from Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) scorched the field in the men’s 8.25 km race recording a time of 26:18, nearly 3 minutes ahead of second place Micho Green of the University of Alberta – Augustana Campus (UAA).  Local runners Hayden Hollowell and Brandon Wladyko were the next two runners across the finish line. Beaverlodge’s Kobe Grocholski (7th), GPRC’s Chris Nelissen (8th), and Jordan Lundstrom (10th) were the other the Peace Country athletes finishing in the top 10.

GPRC and PWAC runners approach the start line at the 2019 Steve Burgess Memorial XC Running Race

In the men’s team standings, the UAA came out on top.  The Peace Country Wolves Athletics Club (PWAC) was second.

The women’s 6.2 km race was won by former ACAC XC Running Champion Vanessa Trofimenkoff.  Local runners Faith Blanchette (PWAC) and Anna van der Geissen (GPRC) placed 5th and 6th respectively.

CUE won the women’s team title, while GPRC placed second and PWAC finished third.

Other category winners included

HS Boys 6 km    Landon McKechnie   Dawson Creek

HS Girls 4 km   Sydney Kinderwater  Charles Spencer

JH Boys 4 km  Dylan Leadley   Peace River

JH Girls 4 km Reese Holman   Charles Spencer

Elm Boys 2 km Brian Becker  St Mary’s Beaverlodge

Elm Girls 2 km Taylor Waslychew  Bezanson

The Steve Burgess race served as a trial run for the 2019 CCAA Nationals XC Running Championship race to be held in Grande Prairie on November 9.  Feedback from the athletes who competed on Saturday indicated that the course was both challenging and interesting.

Full results are posted at the Race Pro Results site.