NANAIMO — The Nanaimo Track and Field Club hosted two events in a single day recently at the Arbutus Meadows Farm in Nanoose Bay.
The major competition was the 2026 BC Athletics Cross Country Championships featuring 386 athletes and 37 clubs from across the province.
Also on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 17, the club held the Arbutus Meadows XC Rumble with distances of four kilometres, six kilometres, and one kilometre in the kids’ division.
There were 172 competitors for the Rumble, and many of those were high school athletes trying to qualify for Island Cross Country Championships.
The Nanaimo Track and Field Club has 24 high school-aged cross-country athletes and 19 in the Junior Development program, which is for ages 9-13.
NTFC head coach Wanda Urbanowicz said their U16 males and females had strong performances.
“Taylor Grieve made the podium with a second-place finish. Finn English was fourth, and Henry Trumpy was sixth. In the U16 girls, Ember Vaitekunas had a podium finish with a bronze medal.”
Other notable efforts included Nirvaan Tripathi with gold in the boys’ U12, Chase Newstone capturing silver in the boys’ U13, Wren Vaitekunas grabbing bronze in the girls’ U14, and Arno Dowd earning silver in the boys’ U10 races.
Urbanowicz also had high praise for a couple of older athletes.
“Peter Sinclair was our only master’s competitor, and he won his race in the 50-54 masters category. Alumni Rhys Beaudoin is now running for the UVic Vikes but wore his NTFC singlet for the last time and came second in the U20 category.”
High school cross country racers have another event right around the corner with the Vancouver Island Cross Country Championships taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, also at the Arbutus Meadows Farm.
“After that those who qualify will be heading to Abbotsford on Nov. 7 for the BC School Sports Cross Country Championships,” Urbanowicz said. “The elementary school kids still have their zone and district races to run in Nanaimo this month.”
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