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Ruby Broadbent absolutely controlled the senior girl’s race. Well, there was nothing to control, rather she simply dominated from gun to tape. Broadbent went steady to start, which put her in the lead, worked hard in the middle of the race, and then finished looking like she could do it all over again. It was a tremendous display of fitness by the 16-year-old Parklands Secondary student. The domination this time didn’t surprise anyone. She displayed the same fitness at the provincial cross-country championships in Victoria the week prior.
She is coached by Dacre Bowen, who also coaches McLeish.
“I tried to make the first kilometre as easy as I can for myself and then with the middle I try to pick up the tempo a little and just finish strong at the end.” shared Broadbent.
Asked what his motivational speech sounds like, Broadbent said, “he just tells me to go and run my race and to beat them with my tempo.”
Coming back stronger this week from her race the week prior, Chilliwack Secondary’s, Christina Peet Williams, finished one position better in a deeper field. She kicked strongly as did third-place finisher Ella Ballard of Royal Bay Secondary on Vancouver Island. The three finished in the time of 17:42, 18:20, and 18:22, respectively.
“I tried a bit of a different tactic today, where I sat back with the lead group. When I had that extra strength and they were tiring, I just picked them off one by one,” shared Peet Williams. “I think it’s good for the self-esteem when I pick people off one at a time, rather than getting passed,” she laughed. “It just felt good the entire time. It was a good race.”
“I felt good about it for sure.”
Teammate McLeish commenting on Broadbent said, “She has been killing it. She is a super good soccer player, but she is just a phenomenal athlete. Her grit and pace are just unmatched by anyone. It would be good to watch her at nationals. I think she will be good.”
