The South Conference cross country finals were contested a little over a week ago. 35 Boardwalk athletes trained with the hope that the city final on October 27th was in their future. 

It turns out that for a record number of Boardwalk athletes, the city final is the next big race on their schedule. Congrats to all our runners, and especially the 26 athletes in elementary school, and the 4 athletes in high school that have secured spots in the city final races.

Amongst our group, 4 athletes can call themselves South Conference Champions! In Grade 5, both Cole Harmer and Alexandra Mills were crowned champions in the boys and girls races. Jamie Parkin defeated all other grade 7 boys for his title, and Emma Molloy landed on top in the grade 8 girls race.

Here is the breakdown of results:
Top 3=10
Top 5=14
Top 10=19
City Final qualified=30
1st palce=4
2nd place=1
3rd place=5
4th place=2
5th place=2
6th place=1
7th place=1
8th place=1
9th place=2
10th place=0

Update. What Happened in the conference final.
Cole Harmer did repeat as Champion. His 4 teammates who also had top 10 finishes in the first round, had impressive results in this round Caeden Smith 7th, James Yates 9th, William Scharf 13th, Marcus Matejka 16th, and all qualified for the city.
The grade 6 girls race which featured 5 Boardwalkers, had Imogen Watson finish 3rd, beating Eleanor Chapman (5th) who had finished ahead of her in the first round. Madeline Chapman hung close and finished 8th.
Jamie Parkin is looking poised to win his first City Final. Jamie won the Conference Final, and has won the last 3 races he's contested.
The grade 5 girls race had Alexandra Mills on top again. Chloe Pilz finished a strong 3rd. 4 of a group of 6 boardwalk girls qualified for the city final.
The battle between round 1 winners in the grade 6 boys race, Xavier Bird and Alic Webster, had Xavier narrowly ahead of Alic, as they finished 2nd and 3rd.
While in the grade 8 girls race, Emma Molloy who won on Oct 4th and teammate Cassidy Smyth-Robinson who won on October 3rd turned into a great race for Boardwalk. Emma took the race at about the halfway point with a great surge on the field. Cassidy finished an excellent 4th place, and Ava Sparkes pushed hard for a 6th place finish.
The grade 8 boys race was a real barn burner, 4 runners including Charlie Mills tested each other all over the 3km course, and left the race to a final sprint. Charlie the former City Champion finished 4th, right behind last years city silver medalist. The grade 8 boys race looks to be hotly contested in the city final, where Charlie is hoping to use his course knowledge to his advantage.

Good luck in the City Final (today for High School and Thursday for elementary)

The South Conference Final is set to take place this Monday, October 15th on our home turf. All races will be contested by a number of Boardwalk athletes. 35 Boardwalk athletes have qualified to represent their school at this meet. The results from the first 3 qualifying races were impressive. Boardwalk athletes finished in the top ten, 27 times. How about an impressive 21 top 5 finishes. A further impressive 13 top 3 finishes. And when it comes to winning a race, Boardwalk athletes were able to lead the pack in 8 races!

Here is the top 10 place breakdown.
1st-8
2nd-3
3rd-2
4th-2
5th-6
6th-1
7th-0
8th-0
9th-3
10th-2

What to look for on Monday.
Will Cole Harmer repeat as Champion? He is being chased by 4 of his teammates who also had top 10 finishes in the first round. (Caeden Smith 3rd, James Yates 5th, William Scharf 5th, Marcus Matejka 10th)
A grade 6 girls race featuring 5 Boardwalkers, Eleanor Chapman (2nd), Imogen Watson (3rd), Madeline Chapman (4th), Kyla Tse (6th), and Ella Lockhart (15th).
A grade 7 boys race featuring a strong Jamie Parkin looking to win his first City Final. Jamie comes into the race winning a club meet in Burlington this weekend.
The grade 5 girls race will be another first and second battle between Alexandra Mills and Chloe Pilz. Alexandra leads a group of 6 boardwalk girls that qualified.
Battle’s between round 1 winners in the grade 6 boys race and the grade 8 girls race. Xavier Bird and Alic Webster will face off in the grade 6 boys race. While in the grade 8 girls race, Emma Molloy who won on Oct 4th will race teammate Cassidy Smyth-Robinson who won on October 3rd.
The grade 8 boys race looks to be interesting as grade 7 City Champion Charlie Mills looks to claim a conference title after finishing 2nd in the first round.

Should be a good day of racing. Good luck to all!