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Heather Wright
Sophie Baron of Queen Elizabeth II Public School in Petrolia was the first to cross the finish line in the Grade 7 Girls competition at the Lambton Central/Petrolia Optimist Club's Cross Country Meet Oct. 7 at Bridgeview Park in Petrolia.

Elementary cross country meet draws over 800 students to Petrolia

October 7, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent

The flats in Petrolia was filled with elementary school students for the annual Lambton Central Petrolia Optimist Cross Country meet.

About 800 students from Lambton County and Chatham-Kent took to the course on the north side of Bridgeview Park during ideal running conditions of sunshine and temperatures in the teens Oct. 7. Students from both the public and Catholic school board as well as Christian schools and home schoolers participated.

The full results are not in yet.

Andrew Raiger placed second in the Grade 6 Boys category of the Oct. 7 Lambton Central/Petrolia Optimists Cross Country Meet. He ran as an independent.
Leeroi Kiel Alejo of St. Philips School in Petrolia was greeted by his friends as he came across the finish line at the Lambton Central/Petrolia Optimist Cross Country meet Oct. 7, 2026 in Petrolia.
Sophie Baron of Queen Elizabeth II Public School in Petrolia was the first to cross the finish line in the Grade 7 Girls competition at the Lambton Central/Petrolia Optimist Club’s Cross Country Meet Oct. 7 at Bridgeview Park in Petrolia. She was cheered on by a group of Queen E students as she ran the last few metres.
Lyla Boersma of Plympton-Wyoming School faced a last minute challenge from Kaylah Stephens of St. Philips School in Petrolia as she crossed the finish line at the Lambton Central/Petrolia Optimist Cross Country Meet at Bridgeview Park in Petrolia Oct. 7.

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