Cruising the canal
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Some new faces and some surprising times helped the Ronan Chiefs get the cross country season started on the right foot.
Led by Kevin Wroblewski’s second-place finish, the Chiefs finished second overall at the Canal Bank Run Friday, despite missing two of their top three runners from the past season.
On what can only be described as a perfect fall day, Wroblewski ran the picturesque three-mile course, which wound along the canal with the Mission Mountains serving as a backdrop in 17:54 finishing 17 seconds behind Hamilton’s Easton Albert.
“That’s a good opening time for him. That’s six minutes a mile. That’s definitely something to build on,” Ronan coach Gale Decker said.
With Justin Dusty Bull, Ronan’s top runner the past season, out with a broken wrist and Brady Oakland, their number three runner, not getting enough practices to be eligible for the meet, the Chiefs got solid and unexpected performances from Cody Johnson and Danny Romero to help finish in second with 49 points, nine more than the first-place, Hamilton Broncs.
Johnson, a junior, but a newcomer to the Ronan team, finished fifth with a time of 18:25.
“That was the biggest surprise of the day. I knew he was fast, but not that fast. I thought he would be in our top seven, but I wouldn’t put him in our top two,” Decker said.
Danny Romero finished in seventh with a time of 18:43, about a minute and a half quicker than he ran the course as a freshman.
“He’s going to come on strong this season,” Decker said.
With the emergence of Johnson and Romero, when Dusty Bull and Oakland the Chiefs will have a plenty of competition for the top spots.
“We’re going to have kind of a battle for our boys to get in the top five and seven, we’re fairly deep,” Decker said.
Jason Taylor (19:34) finished 17th and Jordan Franklin (19:34) finished in 18th to round out Ronan’s top five.
Ashley Grandchamp had her best finish at a meet, finishing in fourth with a time of 23:03, but Grandchamp wasn’t satisfied with her finish. She only missed finishing in third by three seconds.
“I wish I could have got third. (Hamilton’s Sarah Del Rae) was right there in front of me. I wanted to catch her, but I started my sprint too late,” Grandchamp said. “I still had more; I felt like I could’ve went faster.”
Rachel Hardy was the Maidens’ next top finisher, coming home in 20th with a time of 25:26. Kiona Howell finished right behind Hardy with a time of 26:02.
“(Howell) is showing some flashes in practice, she just needs to get in better running shape,” Decker said.
The other top five Maidens were Hayley Walston (24th) and A. North Piegan (25th). Walston’s 27:56 was a personal best.
The Ronan cross country team will compete in the Kalispell Invitational Saturday.
