SPORTS FLASHBACK 1988: 1,200 students at cross-country run

About 1,200 students participated in the annual Hanover School Division cross-country run at Kleefeld. Students from 10 elementary schools in the division from grades four, five and six took part.

Schools represented included Bothwell, Green Valley, Kleefeld, Landmark, Mitchell, Niverville, Blumenort, Elmdale, Southwood and Woodlawn.

According to event organizer, Kleefeld teacher Randy Fender, participation is the reason for holding the annual event and all students were encouraged to run or walk the course.

The course was a three kilometre run that involved running through a field, through some woods, through a gravel pit, and finally ending up at Kleefeld School.

Because of the number of participants, the students started the run in six groups, staggered by one minute intervals. The groups were divided by grades, with each group consisting of about 200 runners.

The overall winner for the third year in a row was Austin Bowcott, a grade six student at Green Valley School in Grunthal. Bowcott also won the event when he was in grade four and grade five. In 1988, he finished the three-kilometre course in eight minutes, thirty seconds.

The students also competed in a school competition. The top four finishers from each school in each classification received first place ribbons. Kleefeld finished in the top three in every division of the competition.