On Tuesday 17th May, the annual Otago Secondary School Sport Association's cross country series kicked off at Logan Park and, despite wet and cold conditions, our Columba team of athletes achieved some outstanding results.

The temperature dropped and the skies opened just in time for the start of scheduled races on Tuesday. Nine of our junior and senior runners braved the conditions and put on performances that they should be extremely proud of. Challenging conditions lead to a slippery course and treacherous underfoot conditions; however, the Junior Girls' 3 kilometres race got underway on time with Year 10 students Lila Rhodes, Harriet Baker, Maddie Taylor and Melanie Button completing their race with a superb display of stamina and determination. Finishing in 1st place (Lila), 4th place (Harriet), 5th place (Maddie) and 6th place (Melanie) out of a field of 30 athletes was a massive achievement for Columba College!

Congratulations, Lila, on a superb run and winning the Junior Girls' race in a time of 12:44.3. An awesome effort from Lila, Harriet, Maddie, and Melanie. Well done, girls!

Due to worsening conditions, the start of the Senior Girls' race was combined with the Junior Boys' division, resulting in a field of 38 runners. Jaime Reid (Year 13), Faith Courtney (Year 12), Anya Rhodes (Year 11), Zara Glover (Year 11), and Nora Paicu (Year 12) hustled on the start line to secure their positions and put in performances of which, once again, we were very proud. 

Jaime Reid came home in 3rd place in a time of 12:17.3, Faith in 6th place, Anya in 7th, and Zara in 8th place. Nora Paicu also ran a great race in tough conditions and should be very proud of her performance. A printout of all the official results from OSSSA can be found in the attachment below.

This was an excellent start to the cross country series for Columba College. We now look forward to the Caversham relay race next Thursday, 26th May. Keep training girls!