For the second year in a row, Caelan McLean left the competition in the dust at the Vanier Ridge Run.
The F.H. Collins Secondary student was again the first to complete the five-kilometre course in the annual school run, hosted by Vanier Catholic Secondary on Friday in Riverdale.
McLean outpaced 211 other runners from 12 schools with a time of 21 minutes and 52 seconds, 36 seconds faster than his time from last year.
“It’s a nice running race to have in Whitehorse,” said McLean. “You don’t have to drive two hours to get to it, like Carmacks or Haines Junction.”
McLean, who has competed at the national level in cross-country skiing and orienteering, narrowly beat F.H. Collins schoolmate Marcus Deuling.
Deuling, who was second fastest overall – also for a second year in a row – on the five-kilometre course, was just two seconds behind McLean.
“It was good. Marcus and I were pretty close,” said McLean. “We were just a few seconds apart.”
Both McLean and Deuling were members of the Yukon Ski Team this past winter. McLean won gold in the 15-kilometre classic and placed third in junior boys aggregate at the Haywood Ski Nationals a couple months ago.
Vanier’s Darby McIntyre was third overall on the five-kilometre course and first for midget male at 22:02.
Yukon Ski Team member and F.H. Collins student Natalie Hynes was the fastest female runner on the five-kilometre course. Hynes, who was in juvenile female, finished in 24:03.
Second overall was F.H. Collins juvenile female Zoe Painter at 26:53.
F.H. Collins also snagged third overall for females on the five-kilometre course.
Friends Regan Fuerstner and Reena Coyne crossed the finish line together and insisted they tie with a time of 28:09.
“I like it because it’s challenging, it’s got the uphills and the downhills,” said Coyne.
“I don’t like that part of it,” added Fuerstner.
A pair of peewee runners were fastest on the shorter three-kilometre course.
Elijah Smith Elementary’s Brooklyn Massie was the top female with a time of 22:47.
Ecole Emilie-Tremblay’s Sammy Mather was the fastest male with a time of 19:03. The next day he placed third overall out of youth and adults in Athletic Yukon’s annual Haeckel Hill Run.
Top three finishes
Novice female (3 km)
1st Marin Lewis (Whitehorse Montessori) – 35:18
2nd Olivia Vangel (Whitehorse Montessori) – 35:34
3rd Aramintha Bradford (Whitehorse Montessori) – 35:50
Atom female (3 km)
1st Kate Mason (Elijah Smith Elementary) – 23:04
2nd Brynna Lalonde (Holy Family) – 27:10
3rd Emily Vangel (Whitehorse Montessori) – 27:34
Peewee female (3 km)
1st Brooklyn Massie (Elijah Smith Elementary) – 22:47
2nd Meghan Pennington (Elijah Smith Elementary) – 23:27
3rd Ruby Ashthorn (Whitehorse Montessori) – 23:38
Bantam female (5 km)
1st Jayden Demchuk (F.H. Collins) – 31:01
2nd Sydney Cairns (Vanier) – 33:35
3rd Emily Muir (Vanier) – 35:11
Midget female (5 km)
1st Regan Fuerstner (F.H. Collins) – 28:09
1st Reena Coyne (F.H. Collins) – 28:09
3rd Alice Frost-Hanberg (F.H. Collins) – 28:27
Juvenile female (5 km)
1st Natalie Hynes (F.H. Collins) – 24:03
2nd Zoe Painter (F.H. Collins) – 26:53
3rd Kelly Mahoney (Vanier) – 30:44
Novice male (3 km)
1st Luke Cozens (Whitehorse Montessori) – 24:03
2nd Luke Levesque (Whitehorse Montessori) – 28:43
3rd Finegand Bradford (Whitehorse Montessori) – 39:20
Atom male (3 km)
1st Isaac O’Brien (Takini) – 21:56
2nd Daniel Phillips-Freedman (Whitehorse Montessori) – 23:46
3rd Sawyer Adams (Holy Family) – 24:23
Peewee male (3 km)
1st Sammy Mather (Ecole Emilie-Tremblay) – 19:03
2nd Ben Kishchuck (Elijah Smith Elementary) – 20:16
3rd Naoise Dempsey (Jack Hulland) – 20:36
Bantam male (5 km)
1st Kaelen Lewis (Whitehorse Montessori) – 23:40
2nd Derek Deuling (Whitehorse Elementary) – 24:00
3rd Wyatt Peterson (Jack Hulland) – 25:59
Midget male (5 km)
1st Darby McIntyre (Vanier) – 22:02
2nd Ted Schulze (F.H. Collins) – 25:59
3rd Angus Endress (F.H. Collins) – 26:07
Juvenile male (5 km)
1st Caelan McLean (F.H. Collins) – 21:52
2nd Marcus Deuling (F.H. Collins) – 21:54
3rd Malcolm Muir (F.H. Collins) – 23:41
Junior male (5 km)
1st Andrew Crist (Vanier) – 25:45
2nd Louis Kedziora (Vanier) – 28:23
3rd Noah Kitchen (Vanier) – 35:28
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com