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Amy Connelly represents SDSSAA on OFSAA track podium

Amy Connelly represents SDSSAA on OFSAA track podium claims bronze medal at the 2017 OFSAA Track and Field Championships
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Confederation Chargers' midget girls high jumper Amy Connelly claimed a bronze medal at the 2017 OFSAA Track and Field Championships. (Supplied)

Confederation Chargers' midget girls high jumper Amy Connelly could not have picked a better time to unveil her practice form in competition, taking flight at the biggest meet of her life Friday afternoon in Belleville.

Picking up the sport again for the first time since her Grade 5 year at Pinecrest Public, Connelly captured gold at the city championships with a jump of 1.44 metres, and cleared the bar at 1.40m a week later to emerge triumphant at NOSSA.

At those heights, Connelly would have found herself smack dab in the middle of the pack at the 2017 OFSAA Track and Field Championships. Overcoming the intimidation factor that is present when one makes their first visit to OFSAA track, the 14-year-old manage to put it all together, clearing her first five jumps, without a miss, including 1.50 metres.

After missing her first two attempts at 1.55m, Connelly would clear on the third, separating herself from a group of seven other competitors who maxed out at 1.50 metres, claiming a bronze medal in the process. Just three months ago, the Valley East teen enjoyed very little in the way of a point of reference as to just how good she could be in the high jump, hesitant even to pursue it as an option this spring.

"A lot of my friends like the high jump and I wanted to try it, because I didn't know what I wanted to do for track and field," said Connelly. "I didn't know all the records and stuff, and I jumped 1.55m (in practice) and then I realized that this was actually pretty good."

With plenty of refining still to be done on the technical side, Connelly would take a pretty straight-forward approach in terms of finding key focus points to her jumps.

"I basically just do what my teacher (Dylan Callens) tells me to do," she said. "I try not being nervous and not letting anything get into my head."

And while a good portion of the young athletes who take their first crack at OFSAA struggle to maintain even an average performance because of the pressure, Connelly can thank a close acquaintance for some very helpful advice prior to competing in Belleville.

"My friend told me that I should be less nervous, because there's nowhere to move on from OFSAA. I wasn't really as nervous as I was at NOSSA. I got a little nervous when it go to 1.50m."

While Connelly will hold the distinction of garnering the only SDSSAA medal at 2017 OFSAA Track with her third-place finish, the truth is she wasn't all that far off from ascending to even greater heights at the all-Ontario meet.

"My second jump at 1.58m, I had it, but hit the bar on my way down," she said. "I think by next year, I will probably be able to get it."

Though the Connelly medal came as something of a surprise, several local favourites came awfully close to joining her on the podium.

Fellow midget jumper, Kurtis Wennerstrom, of Lo-Ellen, was right in the mix in both of his main events, finishing fourth in the long jump with a leap of 6.04 metres (just three centimetres off the third-place finisher) and placing fifth in the triple jump at 12.60 metres.

Post-secondary women's hockey goaltending prospect Mireille Kingsley of Collège Notre-Dame strutted her stuff in the midget girls javelin event, launching a throw of 31.60 metres with her very first attempt, a distance that would stand in fourth place overall in the field of 24 competitors.

Lucas Mrozewski, also from Lo-Ellen, claimed fourth place in the junior boys 300m hurdles with a time of 40.98 seconds, while teammate Kendyn Mashinter followed up a PB performance in the heats of the 1500m on Thursday, battling from behind to earn an eighth-place ribbon in the final with a time of 4:25.48.

Mark Kouadio Koffi of Champlain recorded a best jump of 1.70 metres, good for sixth place in the midget boys high jump. Junior sprinter Zacharie Mainville of CND qualified for the event final in the junior boys 200m dash, securing the eighth and final spot with a clocking of 22.81, making it in by 2/100th of a second. He would move up one slot in the final, his time of 23.37 only a hair away from a fifth-place finish.

On a side note, longtime local jumper Ryan Taylor, formerly of both Northeastern Public School and Lasalle Secondary, produced another pair of OFSAA gold medals for the family trophy-case, capturing the senior boys triple jump with a leap of 14.51 metres, and the long jump with a distance of 6.94 metres.

Remaining Sudbury results, to the best of our knowledge, are noted below:

Midget Girls
Mireille Kingsley (CND) - pole vault - 2.20m (12th)
Fiona Symington (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 50.46 (16th)
Sam Micelotta (LOE) - pole vault - 1.70m (18th)
Emma Bissonnette (CND) - pole vault - 1.70m (18th)
Erika Brown (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 51.06 (18th)
Meredith Kusnierczyk (LOE) - 3000m - 11:43.11 (19th)
Allie Lumme (LOE) - discus - 22.51m (21st)
Hanna Smith (LOE) - 80m hurdles - 14.47 (22nd)
Dylann Mazzuchin (LOE) - 800m - 2:31.19 (22nd)
Sam Micelotta (LOE) - 80m hurdles - 14.93 (23rd)
Delaney Bourget (LOE) - 3000m - 11:59.99 (23rd)

Midget Boys
Hayden Lahaie (ESMC) - discus - 38.16m (10th)
Nicholas Burke (LAS) - 300m hurdles - 43.62 (11th)
André Larocque (CND) - 3000m - 9:43.00 (13th)
Kendyn Mashinter (LOE) - 3000m - 9:43.75 (16th)
Kendyn Mashinter (LOE) - 800m - 2:09.42 (18th)
Ayden Trudeau (ESMC) - 800m - 2:12.95 (20th)
Max Villano (STB) - 200m dash - 25.26 (20th)
Max Mahaffy (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 47.23 (21st)
Parker Farstad (LAS) - triple jump - 11.04m (21st)
Dario Beljo (LCS) - 100m hurdles - 17.75 (22nd)
Ayden Trudeau (ESMC) - high jump - 1.55m (22nd)
Max Villano (STB) - 100m dash - 12.55 (23rd)
Peter Murphy (LCS) - 100m hurdles - 18.75 (24th)

Junior Girls
Ariane Saumure (ESMC) - long jump (11th)
Christina Robert (LOE) - 100m dash - 13.02 (13th)
Christina Robert (LOE) - 200m dash - 26.38 (13th)
Nathalie Marks de Chabris (LOE) - 800m - 2:27.26 (16th)
Hannah Nykilchyk (LCS) - pole vault - 2.50m (17th)
Adriana Duncan (CFD) - shot put - 10.09m (17th)
Jayde Hurley (LOE) - 3330m - 11:33.68 (17th)
Emilie Simon (CHMP) - 100m dash - 13.45 (20th)
Jayme Anderson (LOE) - 80m hurdles - 14.17 (21st)
Nathalie Marks de Chabris (LOE) - 3000m - 11:44.08 (21st)
Jayme Anderson (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 50.42 (21st)
Steffi Leers (LOE) - high jump - 1.40m (21st)
Veronica Dynes (LCS) - 80m hurdles - 14.23 (22nd)
Bronwyn Mantle (LOE) - pole vault - 2.00m (22nd)

Junior Boys
Lucas Mrozewski (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 41.35 (6th in prelims)
Andrew Langley (LOE) - 100m hurdles - 15.22 (14th)
Colin Therrien (LOE) - long jump - 5.85m (14th)
Zach Mainville (CND) - 100m dash - 11.73 (15th)
Connor Jermyn (LOE) - 800m - 2:07.36 (16th)
Brendan Fabbro (LOE) - 100m hurdles - 15.45 (16th)
Justin Watson (CND) - pole vault - 2.80m (17th)
Callum Bruser (LOE) - triple jump - 11.82m (17th)
Callum Bruser (LOE) - long jump - 5.68m (17th)
Emmett Taillefer (LCS) - triple jump - 11.56m (18th)
John Neelands (CFD) - shot put - 13.23m (18th)
Andrew Langley (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 42.86 (19th)
Colin Therrin (LOE) - javelin - 40.94m (21st)
Luca Nardi (LOE) - 300m hurdles - 43.97 (22nd)

Senior Girls
Melanie Cloutier (CND) - pole vault - 2.30m (20th)
Sarah Maki (LCS) - 400m hurdles - 1:13.43 (20th)
Hope Joly (MMT) - 400m hurdles - 1:17.85 (21st)
Kalea Loewen (LOE) - 100m hurdles - 17.87 (21st)
Harmony Martel (LCS) - triple jump - 10.09m (21st)
Lockerby Composite - 4 X 400m relay - 4:24.79 (22nd)
Cassidy Barrett (SSS) - 3000m - 13:02.67 (22nd)
Jaclyn Groom (LCS) - 100m hurdles - 18.69 (23rd)
Marymount Academy - 4 X 400m relay - 4:28.54 (23rd)

Senior Boys
Alex Paquette (CND) - shot put - 12.16 (18th)
Oliver Ecclestone-Sterling (LCS) - 110m hurdles - 16.99 (21st)
Ethan Ackerland (ESMC) - 1.65m (21st)
Mathieu Dokis-Dupuis (ESMC) - 400m hurdles - 1:06.73 (22nd)
Jay Norrie (LOE) - pole vault - 2.90m (22nd)
Noah LaPierre (LAS) - high jump - no height (23rd)
Julian Simeoni (LCS) - pole vault - 2.70m (23rd)
St Benedict Bears - 4 X 400m relay - 3:50.72 (24th)
Davin Contois (ESMC) - 400m hurdles - 1:18.17 (24th)
Shawn Belanger (CND) - 3000m - 10:03.06 (24th)


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