© Copyright – 2021 – Athletics Illustrated
Finishing second was Tion McLeish of St. Michael’s University School (SMUS) in Victoria. Caiden Lee, who won the BC Club Championships – and Nichol’s “biggest competitor” – dug deep but finished third.
McLeish finished third behind Lee and Yelane Mulugets in Victoria. To be fair, McLeish was fresh off the Island High School zone meet three days prior and had a heavy week of studying.
He looked fresh Saturday. “My plan was to draft behind Caiden and Tion and then for the last kilometre of the race, which is partially downhill, I was just going to go fast and start my kick,” shared Nichol, when asked about his tactics. Asked if he was surprised that he finished in front of Lee, Nichol said, “Yes, Caiden has been my biggest rival, so I am so surprised.”
He agreed that with Hodgson and him being in Grade 10 that they have a dynasty in the making, they may just three-peat. He simply said, “yeah.” “My coach at Ocean Athletics is Ted de St. Croix and I cannot forget my Elgin coach Mr Weiss. He has been doing everything for me. He told me to visualise this race. And visualise what could go wrong…and nothing did,” he added.
“First of all, I want to thank my family, my friends, especially my coach, my parents and my school for funding us to come. The organization at the meet was just phenomenal and what we had from mother nature, well it’s cross-country,” said McLeish. “I am only here by the grace of God, so I can’t be more appreciative.”SHOW LESS
