It was a golden Saturday for Moose Jaw high school cross-country runners at the SHSAA provincial championship in Delisle this past weekend.

Vanier Collegiate’s Allison Grajczyk-Jelinski won gold in the senior girls' division, capping off her high school cross-country career with a stellar performance.

"It was an incredible experience, a great feeling, something I never imagined I’d get to experience, so it’s something that I’ll never forget, that’s for sure," said Grajczyk-Jelinski on her gold medal win.

"I totally went in just hoping to come away with a medal, the conditions weren’t great, but I just made the best of it and it worked out really well for me."

The Peacock team also found the top of the podium, capturing gold in the 3A classification’s team event, while Central took home silver.

"Things are going really well in the city for cross-country, it was just a really exciting day for Moose Jaw and for South Central," said Peacock cross-country coach Renee Verge.

The runners had to battle through snowy and windy conditions throughout the race. Verge said she was very proud of how the runners fought in each race.

"The majority of the course is on a wide-open golf course, so these kids really had to dig in mentally to fight through the temperatures and adverse conditions and they did all day," said Verge.

Grajcyzk-Jelinski added, "It was extremely cold, but I just tried to tell myself that it’s not going to get any better, so we just went for it."

Vanier's Allison Grajczyk-Jelinski in action during the Moose Jaw Invitational in Wakamow Valley earlier this season. (Photo: Marc Smith)

After finishing fifth at provincials last year as a grade 11, Grajczyk-Jelinski looked to be in top form right from the start of the season this year, taking first place in both the Moose Jaw Invitational and the South Central District Championship.

She continued that strong running over to provincials, finishing with a time of 15:25 to edge Lumsden’s Kaitlyn Harrison by 24 seconds.

"I was actually second for most of the race until about the last kilometre and then I was able to pull ahead," said Grajczyk-Jelinski. "Me and [Harrison] have been neck-and-neck for years, she always beat me, so it’s nice to finally come away with the gold."

Peacock’s Alyssa Roney was fifth in the senior girls' race, posting a time of 16:57. That fifth-place finish by Roney was a key part of the Peacock team’s gold medal win.

Verge said the entire team put together an outstanding performance during the day.

"As the day was going on, I thought we were doing very well and our placing were really well, but the one that really pushed us over the hump at the end was Alyssa Roney, I finally thought that we had a shot at it," said Verge.

"Miheret Cridland had a really nice race in junior girls, she was 14th; Caitlyn Johnson really dug in, she’s been battling a foot injury all year and dug in for 19th, and then Alyssa’s sister in grade nine, Brooklyn Roney, was 21st in midget girls and that gave us that total for gold, it was really exciting."

Brooklyn Roney finished with a time of 13:15 to place 21st in the midget girls division, while Aria Swanson, also from Peacock, was 24th at 13:19. Vanier’s Jadyn Moser came in 57th at 14:32 and Central’s Summer Wikman-King was 101st at 18:07.

In the midget boys division, Peacock’s Liam Vargo finished 43rd with a time of 12:27, while teammate Rafael Pondivida placed 58th at 12:54 and Central’s Zarek San was 69th at 13:17.

Cridland placed 14th with a time of 18:07 in the junior girls' division, Central’s Vera Gauvin was 27th at 19:11, and Peacock’s Samathan Swalm was 31st at 19:18.

In the senior girls division, after Grajczyk-Jelinski and Roney, Johnson was 18th at 18:11, Peacock’s Camryn Gillies was 37th at 19:07, Megan MacDonald — also from Peacock — came in 50th at 19:54, Vanier’s Claire Froehlich and Peacock’s Piper Ingalls were 56th and 57th at 20:14 and 20:15, respectively, and Peacock’s Inga Tittemore was 69th at 21:18.

Central’s Kal McGillis placed ninth at 18:02 to lead the local contingent in the senior boys' division. Vanier’s Samuel Moyse was 18th at 19:42, Central’s Morgan Kilgour was 22nd at 19:53, Peacock’s Joseph Amor was 33rd at 20:34, Peacock’s Ethan Callaghan was 44th at 21:16, and Peacock’s Ethan LaRose was 80th at 23:41.

Click here for the full results from the SHSAA provincial championship.