There is likely just a little extra buzz in the air this fall as local high-school cross-country talent starts hitting the trails on a near weekly basis.
That heightened anticipation will happen when you know that qualifying for OFSAA in 2019 brings with it the chance to strut your stuff in front of the hometown family and friends.
In case you haven’t heard, on Nov. 2 Kivi Park hosts the 2019 OFSAA Cross-Country Championships. Convenor Karen Passi and her crew of volunteers are preparing to welcome upwards of 1,700 runners from across Ontario to the Nickel City.
A season opening race in Naughton last week served only to whet the appetite of athletes, coaches and fans of the sport. Most athletes are still getting into a groove at this point, but a handful appeared in mid-season form or better.
"This is a little early to have a race, but it's nice to get back into it, for sure," noted Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School senior Meredith Kusnierczyk, who captured her age bracket with a time of 22:12, nine seconds ahead of Danica Levesque from Sacré-Coeur.
"This is kind of a kick to keep pushing forward."
Coming off a summer where she took a little time away from her training, Kusnierczyk said she is even more likely than normal to just go with the flow as she enters her final year of high-school competition.
"At the start of the season, I usually just run as I feel," she said. "It's not really with any expectations for time. That usually comes later in the season."
The senior boys race promises to be a good one as former OFSAA bronze medal winner Calum Passi (1st - 17:20) of Lasalle will find Collège Notre-Dame Grade 12 race veteran André Larocque (2nd - 17:37) in hot pursuit at pretty much every local race that is scheduled.
The day's most impressive performance came courtesy of Lo-Ellen junior Avery Sutherland, who registered a winning time (20:56) that was not only well over two minutes faster than anyone else in her classification, but also 76 seconds faster than the quickest senior girl in the field (with both covering 4.5 kms).
Fresh off a very busy summer of triathlon training, Ian Mackenzie (Confederation Secondary) easily took home top spot in the junior boys division, while Sophia Oommen (Lo-Ellen) and Alex Pharand (Notre-Dame) laid claim to early season bragging rights in their respective races of Grade 9 talent (now referred to as the "Novice" division, versus the previous "Midget" classification of the past four or five decades).
Following are the top five finishers, based on results that were shared by race organizers, in each of the six categories:
Novice Girls (3 kms)
1st - Sophia Oommen (LOE) - 14:07
2nd - Mia Toner (Sacré-Coeur) - 14:11
3rd - Emma Dawson (Lasalle) - 14:59
4th - Gabby Alexander (LOE) - 15:28
5th - Kaija Beljo (LCS) - 15:36
Novice Boys (3 kms)
1st - Alex Pharand (CND) - 11:23
2nd - Carson Crane (CFD) - 11:31
3rd - Kohen Crane (CFD) - 12:16
4th - Kaeden Ward (LOE) - 12:21
5th - Landon Doyle (CFD) - 12:24
Junior Girls (4.5 kms)
1st - Avery Sutherland (LOE) - 20:56
2nd - Alison Symington (LOE) - 23:25
3rd - Amanda Symington (LOE) - 23:28
4th - Abby Lanteigne (LCS) - 24:08
5th - Jessy Trottier (Horizon) - 24:25
Junior Boys (4.5 kms)
1st - Ian Mackenzie (CFD) - 18:37
2nd - Scott Rienguette (BAC) - 20:16
3rd - Troy Wilton (CFD) - 20:35
4th - Owen Roney (CVDCS) - 21:45
5th - Travis Annett (LCS) - 22:04
Senior Girls (4.5 kms)
1st - Meredith Kusnierczyk (LOE) - 22:12
2nd - Danica Levesque (Sacré-Coeur) - 22:21
3rd - Charlie Herold (LCS) - 23:36
4th - Emily Binks (LCS) - 23:43
5th - Kristen Mrozewski (LOE) - 24:21
Senior Boys (4.5 kms)
1st - Calum Passi (Lasalle) - 17:20
2nd - André Larocque (CND) - 17:37
3rd - Matthew Smith (CFD) - 18:43
4th - Alex Lambert (LOE) - 19:03
5th - Max Mahaffy (LOE) - 19:11
Tidbits from the Trails: A grade 12 student at Lo-Ellen Park, Isabella Mastroianni technically finished third in the senior girls race, posting a time of 23:29 - however, having transferred from St Benedict Catholic Secondary School last January, the talented multi-sport athlete is not eligible to compete for the Knights this fall.
And while no one is suggesting that Lo-Ellen is about to surrender the boys & girls aggregate banners that they have captured in five consecutive years any time soon, their task was made a little more difficult this fall as Fiona Symington (3rd - Sr Girls - 2018) is spending the first term of 2019-2020 studying in Switzerland, while sisters Kalila and Chandyn Bachiu (1st/2nd - Jr Girls - 2018) are also out of town until Christmas.
