Brendan Currie is another year older and a little wiser.

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Brendan Currie is another year older and a little wiser.

A year ago, Currie lost the senior boys’ final at the WECSSAA cross-country championships by 25 seconds.

On Wednesday, the 17-year-old Currie, who runs for the Villanova Wildcats, pushed the pace to win the senior boys’ 6km race at Malden Park in 19 minutes and 34 seconds.

“Now that I’m a second-year (senior), I have more experience and I’m just an overall better runner now,” Currie said. “I didn’t win WECSSAA (last year), I was hoping to win (Wednesday) and I did win, so it’s good.”

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Currie finished with a 10-second advantage over second-place finisher Elliott Lester, of Holy Names, who finished in 19:44.

“I planned on just taking it out slow the first half and then kind of picking it up from there,” said Currie, who will look to defend his SWOSSAA title next week in Sarnia. “Kind of had to sit back the first three (kilometres) and then just took it out a bit faster. After the first lap, I knew I had to take it a bit faster, so I hopped in the front.”

However, the Sandwich Sabres took the team title with four runners in the top 15 led by Greyson Pitcher’s third-place finish in 20:04.

The North Star Wolves’ Emma Rudling had no idea what to expect from her first time in the senior race.

“Running with Grade 12’s, I had no idea how that was going to go,” the 15-year-old Rudling said. “A lot of people have been mostly ahead of me my past years doing cross country. So, I know there’s definitely a lot of good people out there.”

Rudling, who never had a top 10 finish at WECSSAA, surprised herself by besting the field in the senior girls division over 6km in a time of 22:46.

“Definitely a jump from last year,” Rudling said. “I’ve been practicing with (the Windsor Legion), so that’s definitely helped me a lot.

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“I just tried to keep up with (the leaders) because I know they do good. Around the second lap, I started to move up because I was a little behind the pack and it progressed from there.”

It wasn’t until nearly 5km into the race that Rudling moved into the lead. She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder down the stretch and scored an eight-second victory over Holy Names’ Sophia Prantera, who was second, while Erie Migration’s Sylvia Ross was just 11-seconds back.

“I try not to (look over my shoulder) because I know it’s not good for me, but it was definitely tempting,” Rudling said. “I felt good, I felt I had a bit more energy I could use up and I just wanted to finish strong.”

Prantera was the first of four Holy Names runner to finish in the top 14 as the Knights took the division’s team title.

Villanova’s Kai McKay won the 5km junior boys’ race in 17:57 to edge out the St. Joseph Lasers’ Jaime Devesa Blanco, who finsihed in 18:03. Villanova took the team title with four runners in the top 11.

In the junior girls’ division, the Massey Mustangs’ Anieu Chan, who won the senior girls’ division a year ago as a Grade 9, took the 5km race in 19:46, which was a full minute faster than her closest rival. Sandwich’s Alexandra Pardalis was second in 20:53 and the first of four Sabres to finish in the top 12 to help the team claim the division title.

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Villanova’s Gianfranco Rauti captured the novice boy’s 4km race in a solid time of 12:16, which was more than a minute ahead of his closed rival. Holy Names won the team title with four runners in the top eight with Rocco Cory leading the way with a second-place finish in 13:27.

Villanova’s Addy Rudling claimed victory in a tight novice girls’ 4km race. Rudling finished in 13:59, which was two seconds hard of Holy Names’ Alisa Indelicato.

With four runners in the top 11, Villanova claimed the division’s team title.

St. Joseph’s Anthony Cigan won the para boys’ 4km race in 14:38 with Westview Freedom Acaemdy’s Moe Ahmed finishing second in 15:33. Westview Freedom’s Averi Iati won the para girls’ 4km race in 25:24.

After a second-place finish a year ago, the Wildcats ended Sandwich’s four-year reign as AAA and overall champion with Holy Names right behind in third place.

Erie Migration held off Riverside to capture the AA team title while Westview Freedom Academy edge Lajeunesse for the new A division title.

jpparker@postmedia.com

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