Hankins makes an impact
Sky’s the limit for Monsignor Doyle student who’s a newcomer to running
WATERLOO — For someone who has taken distance running seriously for all of about seven weeks, Alex Hankins would appear to be something of a natural.
The Monsignor Doyle student continued her rapid ascent Thursday at Bechtel Park by earning a spot at the Nov. 4 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association cross-country championship in Petawawa. Hankins punched her OFSAA ticket by finishing second in the midget girls’ 4,000-metre race, behind Emily Bryce of Saugeen District, at the Central Western Ontario championship.
The 13-year-old Hankins, who plays rep soccer in Cambridge, said she ran “once in a while” while attending St. Augustine Catholic Secondary School but became hooked on the sport when she started training at high school. She has enjoyed several good results since hooking up with the Mustangs crosscountry team and three weeks ago added to her training repertoire by joining the Nith River Runners.
“I really enjoy it. I’ve met a lot of people and everyone is so nice. I haven’t met a mean runner yet,” she said.
“I’m pretty happy to be going to OFSAA and I hope I can do well there.”
The top five individuals in each of Thursday’s race will advance to OFSAA, along with the two top teams in each category.
Waterloo Region runners won just two of eight races at CWOSSA, with Marcus Kemp of St. Mary’s topping a strong field in the senior boys’ 6,000-metre race and Mackenzie Donaldson of Resurrection win the 3,000-metre girls’ para race.
Bryce won the midget girls competition in 15:09.7 and had a bit of a wait before Hankins crossed in 15:57.6. Emily Dodge of Resurrection finished third in 16:09.0 and will also advance to OFSAA.
Hankins’ debut season has included first-place finishes at the Preston Fun Run, Laurel Creek, Shade’s Mill and District 8 races and a second-place finish behind Bryce at the Waterloo County Invitational. Hankins finished a full minute behind Bryce in that race, which leads the outgoing youngster to believe she’s moving in the right direction. “I’m closing the gap on her,” she said with a smile.
Monsignor Doyle head coach Ian Cunningham said the sky is the limit for Hankins, who he believes will be a far better runner next spring.
“She was really strong at the start of the season and she’s definitely improved,” he said. “She’s really driven and she’s really matured, and I would not put anything past her.”
When she’s not running or playing soccer, Hankins said she enjoys whipping up creations in the kitchen. She finds most of her recipes on Instagram and is “pretty good with omelettes, pancakes and chicken.”
Kemp won the senior boys race in 20:07.7 as local runners finished first, second, third and fifth in the final event of the competition. Scott Arndt of Waterloo Collegiate was second, in 20:13.6, Korbett Cator of Grand River was third and Foster Malleck of St. Mary’s was fifth.
Donaldson won the para race in 19:33.4, finishing ahead of four runners from Brantford’s W. Ross Macdonald.
Team results weren’t immediately available but four other Waterloo Region athletes turned in Top 5 performances. They were: Adam Huras, Waterloo Oxford (fifth, junior boys); Abbey Yuhasz, Resurrection (second, senior girls); Emily Huras, Waterloo-Oxford (fourth, senior girls), and Mackenzie Morgan, KCI (fifth, senior girls).