The Conference Meets are over (finally) and athletes are primed and ready to vie for entry to the 2019 OFSAA XC Championships the first weekend of November. The top 2 teams in each race, plus the next five individuals not on a qualifying team will earn a spot on the start line at Kivi Park in Sudbury. With the East Conference Meet being delayed until Oct 21st, not a lot of teams / individuals gave it their all on Monday, ensuring they will be rested for Thursday, but the meet gave us a good picture of how dominant some of the teams will be.
Novice Girls
The Glebe Novice Girls have only raced twice as a team this season but have bested all their competition, winning the Gryphon Open handily over West Champs Pius X, even without their top gun in the line-up. They will head to the start line at the Nest as heavy favorites, with both upfront talent in Gormley and Wojtyk, who could both land on the podium, and a solid pack of four not far behind. West Champs Pius X have bested all their rivals, except the Gryphons in their two outings this fall and the second OFSAA qualifying spot is theirs to lose. While they will not have a real low stick in the tally, a 43 second spread 1 - 4 should be enough to keep them low enough to earn runner up honours.
Individually, the top two have not faced each other yet this season so we could see the best of both brought to the forefront. Gormley (Glebe) is undefeated against NC Novice competition, beating all but one of the Juniors (Murchison) at the Capital XC Challenge. Hegan (Nepean) is in the same boat, outkicking Wojtyk (Glebe) to win the Gryphon Open by a second, and running to a slightly more comfortable 7 second victory over Brabant (Earl of March) at West. With Gormley and Wojtyk likely to qualify as part of a team, that leaves the individual spots up to 7 deep. Expect Lortie (Beatrice Desloges), Saravanamuttoo (Colonel By), Brayman (Osgoode), Benz (St. Joseph) and Young (Mother Teresa) to fight it out for those spots and a ticket to the big dance.
NC Blogger's Picks
Teams - 1. Glebe (35), 2. St. Pius X (83), 3. Nepean (91)
Individuals - 1. Gormley (Glebe), 2. Hegan (Nepean), 3. Wojtyk (Glebe)
Novice Boys
Mother Teresa and John McCrae had a very tight neck and neck battle at West, with each scorer finishing within 1-3 places of his counterpart. Mother Teresa eeked out a 1 point victory. Expect them to do battle again at the Nest, but this time, fighting it out for the second OFSAA qualifying spot. The top spot should go to Colonel By who ran to a massive victory at East, putting all four scores in front of every other teams second. The small spread between their 1 - 4 runners will make beating them a tall order. The only other teams that have a shot at striking for second would be Paul Desmarais and South Carleton who were both within range of Mother Teresa and John McCrae at West. The fate of these teams all rest with the 3 - 4 runners. Whoever can get the biggest runs from their back end will win the all expenses paid (by Bank of Mom & Dad) trip to the Big Nickel.
West Champ Legare (John McCrae) has bested all NC competitors this year and East Champ Vrankovic (Immaculata) has been the only one that has been within 10 seconds (at the Capital XC Challenge) of him all year. Kennedy (Mother Teresa) and Loganathan (Colonel By) will fight it out for the remaining spot on the podium. Raz (West Carleton), Wilson (Woodroffe), Del Rio Reategui (St. Joseph) from the West will duke it out with Gillian (Ashbury) and Fortin (Franco Cite) from the East for the remaining spots on the Kivi Park start line. Lacasse (Colonel By) might break things up, but he will almost assuredly be heading to Sudbury with his Cougar teammates.
NC Blogger's Picks
Teams - 1. Colonel By (44), 2. Mother Teresa (105), 3. John McCrae (107)
Individuals - 1. Legare (John McCrae), 2. Vrankovic (Immaculata), 3. Kennedy (Mother Teresa)
Junior Girls
Last year, Colonel By came into the NCSSAA Championships as favorites, but unfortunately, one of their top runners failed to show up on race day and cost the Cougars valuable points and they placed 3rd, missing the final qualifying spot. Never forget - XC is a team sport! Colonel By hopes to put that in the past on a course much closer to home. The Cougars were utterly dominant at the East meet, sweeping the podium, with their fourth scorer placing 5th. With just over 1 minute between their first and fourth, the Cougars have the the depth and talent to challenge the defending Champions Glebe even without a solid individual threat upfront. Glebe is led by individual favorite Cara MacDonald (Glebe), and then a tight pack of 4 runners, who can take turns stepping up and delivering on race day. The only team with a chance of upsetting the natural order of things is West Champs John McCrae. Ivay (John McCrae) will do her part to throw in a low score, but her teammates will need to step up and track the Cougar and Gryphon girls closely if they hope to knock either team off the bus.
There are no undefeated athletes heading to NC's this year as everyone has taken a turn at besting each other so far. Defending Champion MacDonald gets the nod based on a strong run at Turkey Trot, even though both May (Immaculata) and Murchison (Mother Teresa) got the best of her at the Capital XC Challenge. She is also the OFSAA Novice Silver Medalist from 2018, so she is a big game hunter, and shows up when it really matters. Patience will certainly play a role as whomever has taken the lead early in races tends to get tracked down in the later stages. This might make the race a little tighter upfront, for a while at least. With only MacDonald likely to qualify on a team, three more sports are up for grabs and the favorites for those spots are Bradley (Longfields-Davidson), McCulligh (West Carleton), Porter (Franco Cite) and Ivay. If John McCrae ends up unseating Glebe or Colonel By, then MacDonald, or teammates Saravanamutto and Ginther (Colonel By) will have to fight each other for the final spot.
NC Blogger's Picks
Teams - 1. Glebe (42), 2. Colonel By (54), 3. John McCrae (71)
Individuals - 1. MacDonald (Glebe), 2. Murchison (Mother Teresa), 3. May (Immaculata)
Junior Boys
The Junior Boys race will be the final example of how you can win as a team. Just like the Pius X and Colonel By girls, the Gryphons do not have an individual threat for the podium, or perhaps even a top 5 spot, so it may be easy to overlook the them, but they will pack very tightly with as many as 6 or 7 runners within 45 seconds of each other. While other teams may have a very low stick to score, no one can match the Gryphons for depth. West Champs Nepean and West Runner Up Sir Robert Borden have similar teams, each with an individual podium threat (Porter - Borden and Woodford - Nepean) with a tight bunch for their next three scorers. The Knights advantage is that they have 6 very tightly bunched, whereas the Bengals only have the three. The only team with an outside shot at besting these two for the second spot would be John McCrae, led by Sendybyl and Brooks (the best 1-2 combo next to Glebe), but will need big runs from their back two to knock off Borden or Nepean.
2018 OFSAA Medalist Meredith (De La Salle) is the class of the field. He's got the strength and the speed to finish off anyone who manages to stay with him long enough, although he has raced sparingly this fall. His opponents best bet is to catch him rusty, but it's unlikely. In his one outing earlier this season he put 13 seconds into West Champ Porter over 4k on the fields of the Nest. With only Porter or Woodford likely to be on a qualifying team, it will likely take a top 6 finish to earn one of the 5 individual qualifying spots. The remaining three spots will likey go to Niedre (South Carleton), Sendybyl and either East Champ Williams (Garneau) or Sikka (St. Paul).
NC Blogger's Picks
Teams- 1. Glebe (42), 2. Nepean (60), 3. Borden (64)
Individuals - 1. Meredith (De La Salle), 2. Porter (Sir Robert Borden), 3. Niedre (South Carleton)
The Glebe Senior Girls have been on and around the podium at OFSAA for the past several years, earning bronze in 2018 and 2016 and gold in 2015 and 2014. They hope to find themselves in the hunt again this year and need to put a good one together at NC's to set them off on the right foot. The Gryphons started the year off with a win at the prestigious Trinity Invitational in Port Hope, putting all four scorers in the top 7. At their Gryphon Open they took the top two spots with A and B teams, went 3 - 6 at the Capital XC Challenge and then posted the lowest score of any team at the Turkey Trot before Conference Week rolled around. They doubled up on their closest rival, Lisgar, at the Capital XC Challenge and Lisgar appears to have a strong hold on the second qualifying spot led by individual favorite Betty. Only West Champs Nepean have a shot and upsetting Lisgar or Glebe and it's a long shot at best, but the Knights will do their best to make it interesting on Thursday.
Although Newlove (St. Peter) got the best of Betty at Conference, Betty beat Newlove at the Capital XC Challenge. The rubber match won't mean too much as they will likely both get another shot at each other at OFSAA. In her only race against the two, Pellerin (St. FX) pulled out very early after rolling her ankle, so the three of them together should put on a good show for the fans at the Nest on Thursday. I'll go with Betty - Pellerin - Newlove as that is the way they finished last year and they all look to be in similar form this year. After this front trio, expect a slew of Gryphons, which along with Betty could mean a top 10 spot might be enough for a trip to the Big Nickel. The Gryphon order changes from race to race, but expect Gardiner, Bialowas, Lyons and Heffernan-Wilker to be in the mix followed by Semeniuk (Pius X) and Tyman (Mother Teresa) with Roy (Louis Riel), Tremblay (Beatrice Desloges), Thebaud (Canterbury) and Gruson (Nepean) fighting it out for that last spot.
NC Blogger's Picks
Teams - 1. Glebe (24), 2. Lisgar (49), 3. Nepean (63)
Individuals - 1. Betty (Lisgar), 2. Pellerin (St. FX), 3. Newlove (St. Peter)
Senior Boys
It's not often you get a team with three boys capable of running 9:10 or better over 3,000m on the same high school XC team, but that is exactly what Glebe has ready to tow the line at the Nest. Sanger, Saravanamutto and Cino have run 9:10 or better (with Sanger running 8:50). Track times don't always translate to XC success, but when you consider these three athletes punch above their weight in XC compared to the track, things are looking up. Behind these three are a host of Gryphons that, along with Cino, brought home Junior Boys gold at OFSAA last year which gives you a strong recipe for success and leaves the rest fighting for that second spot. This may be a tight, battle between Ridgemont (who has placed 2nd to the Gryphons for the last three consecutive years) and West Champs Longfields-Davidson who posted very similar scores at their respective Conference Meets. Ridgemont has the upfront talent and with three likely ahead of Longfield's #2 man, they should carry the day.
They call him Fast. Joe Fast. And that he is. In his final XC race in the NCSSAA Fast comes in as the heavy favorite. Behind him, things are fairly predictable as we can expect Sanger in second with 2018 Junior Champ Allan (Ashbury), Saravanamutto and Cino battling for the bronze. With four of these boys likely on qualifying teams (and Omar Ali not far behind) anything in the top 10 might earn you a dance ticket. West Champ Frost (AY Jackson), runner-up Roy, Porter (Sir Robert Borden), Woodford (Nepean) and Demers (Mother Teresa) will vie for those positions.
NC Blogger's Picks
Teams - 1. Glebe (26), 2. Ridgemont (54), 3. Longfields (86)
Individuals - 1. Fast (Ridgemont), 2. Sanger (Glebe), 3. Saravanamuttoo (Glebe)
Best of luck to all Harriers and if I've left you off this list, please get out there on the trails Thursday and make me look bad!
Monday, October 21, 2019
East Conference Wrap
The East Conference finally had it's day and beautiful day it was! Delayed 4 days, the athletes took to the Hornet's Nest and trails of Green's Creek for the first look at the NC course. Glebe Collegiate carried the day, capturing the Girls, Boys and Overall Aggregates. Glebe took victories in the Novice Girls, Junior and Senior Boys races while finishing runner-up in the Junior and Senior Girls races. Colonel By was the only other multiple team titlest, capturing the Novice Boys and Junior Girls races, both in convincing fashion.
Individual winners included Lortie (Beatrice Desloges) - Novice Girls, Vrankovic (Immaculata) - Novice Boys, Ginther (Colonel By) - Junior Girls, Williams (Garneau) - Junior Boys, Newlove (St. Peter) - Senior Girls and Fast (Ridgemont) - Senior Boys.
Full Results are available on the Louis Riel XC Results page or on the Glebe XC site.
Individual winners included Lortie (Beatrice Desloges) - Novice Girls, Vrankovic (Immaculata) - Novice Boys, Ginther (Colonel By) - Junior Girls, Williams (Garneau) - Junior Boys, Newlove (St. Peter) - Senior Girls and Fast (Ridgemont) - Senior Boys.
Full Results are available on the Louis Riel XC Results page or on the Glebe XC site.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
West Conference Wrap Up
Nepean captured the Girls, Boys and Overall Aggregates at the West Conference Championships at Walter Baker on Wednesday. Nepean won the Senior Girls and Junior Boys races and finished second in the Novice Girls and Senior Boys to tally 40 points outdistancing runner-up John McCrae by 16 points.
Other winners included St. Pius X (Novice Girls), John McCrae (Junior Girls), Mother Teresa (Novice Boys) and Longfields-Davidson (Senior Boys).
Several of the races were lonely affairs for the Individual winners, as Nolan Legare (McCrae), Charlotte Murchison (Mother Teresa) and Skye Pellerin (St. FX) ran alone and unchallenged for most of their races. In the Novice Girls race, Clara Hegan (Nepean) followed Earl of March's Amelia's Van Brabant for the first quarter of the race before taking over just before the hill.
The Junior Boy's race saw South Carleton's Russell Niedre set the pace with a small lead pack that included Xander Woodfard (Nepean) and Kyle Porter (Sir Robert Borden). Porter made a strong move just before the last kilometer and ran to a comfortable victory.
The Senior Boy's race saw a large pack of runners stay together for about the first mile before Jackson Roy (Longfields) decided to break up the pack with a strong move. A few were able to handle the move, but it thinned out the pack to three with Colby Frost (AY Jackson) and Theo Woodfard covering the move. Frost used a strong last kilometer to overtake Roy while a hard charging Cameron Porter (Sir Robert Borden) caught Woodfard for the bronze.
Full results can be found on the Glebe XC site.
The East Conference Meet has been postponed to Monday, Oct 21st.
Other winners included St. Pius X (Novice Girls), John McCrae (Junior Girls), Mother Teresa (Novice Boys) and Longfields-Davidson (Senior Boys).
Several of the races were lonely affairs for the Individual winners, as Nolan Legare (McCrae), Charlotte Murchison (Mother Teresa) and Skye Pellerin (St. FX) ran alone and unchallenged for most of their races. In the Novice Girls race, Clara Hegan (Nepean) followed Earl of March's Amelia's Van Brabant for the first quarter of the race before taking over just before the hill.
The Junior Boy's race saw South Carleton's Russell Niedre set the pace with a small lead pack that included Xander Woodfard (Nepean) and Kyle Porter (Sir Robert Borden). Porter made a strong move just before the last kilometer and ran to a comfortable victory.
The Senior Boy's race saw a large pack of runners stay together for about the first mile before Jackson Roy (Longfields) decided to break up the pack with a strong move. A few were able to handle the move, but it thinned out the pack to three with Colby Frost (AY Jackson) and Theo Woodfard covering the move. Frost used a strong last kilometer to overtake Roy while a hard charging Cameron Porter (Sir Robert Borden) caught Woodfard for the bronze.
Full results can be found on the Glebe XC site.
The East Conference Meet has been postponed to Monday, Oct 21st.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Conference Meets Up Next
The final week of exhibition meets has wrapped up as athletes prepare for the first step in qualification for OFSAA, the East and West Conference Championships. As last year, the West will be hosted at Walter Baker in Kanata, while the East will be run on the same course that will host the NCSSAA Championhships at the Hornet's Nest / Green's Creek.
Week three saw athletes compete at the Capital XC Challenge while week four allowed athletes opportunities to compete at both the Rebelles Invitational, also on the Hornet's Nest course, or the Turkey Trot in Kemptville.
At the Capital Challenge, Charlotte Murchison (Mother Teresa) put her hard work this past summer on display taking the Junior Varsity race with a 17 second victory over Novice Caitlin Gormley (Glebe). Yannick Meredith (De La Salle), took second in the Junior Varsity Boys race behind Novice Noah Booth (Frontenac - Kingston). Glebe captured the girls title while John McCrae edged Nepean in the boys race.
In the Senior races, both Emma Betty (Lisgar) and Joe Fast (Ridgemont) ran with the lead group before separating themselves in the second half to run to comfortable victories. Glebe captured both Senior titles.
At the Rebelles Invitational, Harun Omar Ali defended his Senior Boys title, while Betty won the Senior Girls for back to back victories in consecutive weeks. Meredith captured the Junior Boys title while Gillian Porter (Franco Cite) won the Junior Girls race in her first race of the season.
Down in Kemptville, Glebe's Adam Sanger was the only NC athlete to bring home dinner, winning a Turkey for his efforts in capturing the Senior Boys title. Elena Tyman (Mother Teresa) came close in the Senior Girls race, but was outkicked by Kingston Collegiate's Chubaty down the stretch. Cara MacDonald (Glebe) also turned in a silver medal performance placing second to McShane (Holy Cross - Kingston) in the Junior Girls race.
Results for all meets thus far, plus information about the upcoming Conference and NC Championships meets can be found on the Glebe XC site. Best of luck to all athletes in their final preparations.
Week three saw athletes compete at the Capital XC Challenge while week four allowed athletes opportunities to compete at both the Rebelles Invitational, also on the Hornet's Nest course, or the Turkey Trot in Kemptville.
At the Capital Challenge, Charlotte Murchison (Mother Teresa) put her hard work this past summer on display taking the Junior Varsity race with a 17 second victory over Novice Caitlin Gormley (Glebe). Yannick Meredith (De La Salle), took second in the Junior Varsity Boys race behind Novice Noah Booth (Frontenac - Kingston). Glebe captured the girls title while John McCrae edged Nepean in the boys race.
In the Senior races, both Emma Betty (Lisgar) and Joe Fast (Ridgemont) ran with the lead group before separating themselves in the second half to run to comfortable victories. Glebe captured both Senior titles.
At the Rebelles Invitational, Harun Omar Ali defended his Senior Boys title, while Betty won the Senior Girls for back to back victories in consecutive weeks. Meredith captured the Junior Boys title while Gillian Porter (Franco Cite) won the Junior Girls race in her first race of the season.
Down in Kemptville, Glebe's Adam Sanger was the only NC athlete to bring home dinner, winning a Turkey for his efforts in capturing the Senior Boys title. Elena Tyman (Mother Teresa) came close in the Senior Girls race, but was outkicked by Kingston Collegiate's Chubaty down the stretch. Cara MacDonald (Glebe) also turned in a silver medal performance placing second to McShane (Holy Cross - Kingston) in the Junior Girls race.
Results for all meets thus far, plus information about the upcoming Conference and NC Championships meets can be found on the Glebe XC site. Best of luck to all athletes in their final preparations.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Week 2 Wrap Up
The first two full weeks of XC have wrapped up with a few teams opening their season at last week's Louis Riel XC Relays and several more at the Gryphon Open, which saw several out of town, East Regional teams, make the trip in to Mooney's Bay.
Both host schools figured prominently in the meets they hosted, with Louis Riel capturing all three relays (Girls, Boys and Mixed) along with individual victories in the Kill the Hill Challenge by Rebelles Megan Roy and Thomas Pollock, while the Glebe captured 5 of 6 team titles on their Mooney's Bay home course. South Carleton capture the Novice Boys race, breaking up the Gryphon sweep.
At the Gryphon Open, both Novice races saw exciting finishes as Clara Hegan (Nepean) held off Zoe Wojtyk (Glebe) down the stretch and Renfrew's Josh Libby outlegged Owen Nolan (John McCrae) to the line.
Full results of both meets are available on the Glebe XC site
Both host schools figured prominently in the meets they hosted, with Louis Riel capturing all three relays (Girls, Boys and Mixed) along with individual victories in the Kill the Hill Challenge by Rebelles Megan Roy and Thomas Pollock, while the Glebe captured 5 of 6 team titles on their Mooney's Bay home course. South Carleton capture the Novice Boys race, breaking up the Gryphon sweep.
At the Gryphon Open, both Novice races saw exciting finishes as Clara Hegan (Nepean) held off Zoe Wojtyk (Glebe) down the stretch and Renfrew's Josh Libby outlegged Owen Nolan (John McCrae) to the line.
Full results of both meets are available on the Glebe XC site
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
2019 XC Season
As the 2019 school year begins, harriers around the region are gearing up for another exciting year of XC racing. This year features a full slate of races beginning with the XCookie Run, hosted by Louis Riel and wrapping up with the OFSAA Championships to be hosted at Kivi Park in Sudbury on Saturday, Nov 2nd.
The full slate of races along with links and results (once available) can be found on the Glebe XC site.
All the best to everyone with their training and racing this fall.
The full slate of races along with links and results (once available) can be found on the Glebe XC site.
All the best to everyone with their training and racing this fall.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
2018 OFSAA Report
After losing the title last year to Leaside (Toronto), the Glebe Gryphon Girl's Cross Country Team regained their OFSAA Overall Aggregate in 2018, winning their 6th title in the last seven years. The battle was very tight with Glebe edging defending Champions Leaside 38-37, with Theriault (Timmins) in third with 36 points. Glebe picked up points from the Junior Girl's Championship (20), Senior Girl's Bronze (16), and the small, but obviously very important contribution from their Midget Girls, who finished 14th for 2 points. Leaside picked up 7, 18 and 12 points in the Midget, Junior and Senior Girls races respectively.
The Boys did their best to match the Girls with the Midget Boys 10th (6), Junior Boy's Gold (20) and Senior Boys 6th (10), but came up short, placing second to perennial powerhouse St. Michael's College (Toronto) who won the Boy's Overall Aggregate over the Gryphons 52-36.
Race videos are available on AthleticsCanada.tv. Videos will be free for a short time, but will remain available On Demand.
Midget Girls
The day started with a bang (literally - a gun started the races) for NC athletes as Glebe's Cara MacDonald was part of a small breakaway pack of four runners that separated themselves quickly from the field in the Midget Girls race. Heading up the one long, significant climb in the solitude of the forest trails, Aysha Maurice made her break and MacDonald and Abbot (Collingwood) were the only ones to keep her in sight by the top of the hill. MacDonald and Abbot stayed together until the final 600m stretch where MacDonald slowly widened her gap on Abbott who faded to 6th. Karina Hageltorn (Paul Desmarais) was 18th at the halfway point, but progressed through the field over the second half to place 10th, while Zoe May (Immaculata) rounded out the NC's top 3, placing 30th.
NC Teams - 14. Glebe (496), 17. Paul Desmarais (548)
Midget Boys
NC athletes continued to find a way to hit the podium in the Midget Boys race as De La Salle's Yannick Meredith put himself in contention right from the gun. Meredith was the only one to follow McAllister's break and although he was caught by a group in the late stages, used his great finishing speed to hang on to the bronze medal. Jorian Donovan (South Carleton) 28th and Kyle Porter (Sir Robert Borden) 40th were the 2nd and 3rd NC athletes to follow Meredith to the line.
NC Teams - 10. Glebe (419), 13. South Carleton (463)
Junior Girls
After sweeping the podium at the NC Meet, the Glebe Girls had high expectations for OFSAA and they more than exceeded those in Dundas. While both Heffernan-Wilker and Bialowas put themselves in top 20 contention from the early stages of the races, Gardiner continued her tradition of being conservative in the early stages, being as far back as 40th just past the mile mark of the race. With a kilometre to go Heffernan-Wilker was 12th, Bialowas 17th and Gardiner 20th, but that all flipped down the stretch as Gardiner charged through to 11th, while Bialowas and Heffernan-Wilker fought each other to the line with Bialowas edging out her teammate for 14th place. Behind them, teammate Teagan Stewart did everything she need to do and more, placing 108th to give the Gryphons a comfortable 49 point victory over Leaside, who placed two girls in the top 5, with twins Sophie (3rd) and Chloe (5th) Coutts.
Nepean also flipped their top three with Abbey Brousseau (44th) leading the way for the Knights ahead of teammates Gruson (46th) and Lawson (66th). Smith rounded out the Knight's squad finishing 118th, giving Nepean 274 points; good for 5th and only 7 points shy of a podium finish.
The NC Junior Girls depth showed in the race as Stevens (Ashbury) was 27th, Wojtyk (Lisgar) 34th, Spencer (South Carleton) 73rd, DaSilva (Mother Teresa) 74th and Semeniuk (St. Pius) 88th, putting 11 girls from the NCSSAA in the top 90.
NC Teams - GOLD Glebe (148), 5. Nepean (274)
Junior Boys
Cross Country is a team sport. Although runners run for individual glory, it is often those who toil in obscurity deep in the pack who determine the fate of their team score. The Glebe Boys showed this year that running as a team, working and supporting each other can pay off. While Glebe did not have an individual upfront they worked very well together as a team. Allan (Ashbury) continued to lead all NC athletes, as he has done all season placing 19th while Fillion (Louis Riel) was 22nd and NC bronze medalist Porter (Sir Robert Borden) 40th. Right behind Porter came the Gryphon squad. The Glebe boys packed all five runners within 11 seconds and 13 places of each other lead by Pensom (46th) and followed by Newman (52), Cino (56), Cole (57) and Mason (59) to tally 211 points and edge out Oakridge (London) with 227 and Guelph Collegiate 237, of which, both teams had an individual in the top 10, but 1:30 and 1:56 gaps back to their final counter.
NC Teams - GOLD Glebe (211), 22. John McCrae (634)
Senior Girls
In a race with a overwhelming favorite, the athletes in the field are often hesitant to take the lead and are conscious of and looking for the favorite to set the pace. Such was the case in the Senior Girl's race, but Cameron Ormond, who had won OFSAA XC in her first three consecutive years of high school and was fresh off representing Canada at the Youth Olympics, was more than content to sit and wait - and a huge contingent of the field stayed with her. A large group of close to 20 athletes stayed closely bunched through much of the early going, with NC athletes Pellerin (St. FX), Betty (Lisgar) and Barrett (Glebe) all taking turns up at the front. It wasn't until just past the mid-point that Ormond displayed her dominance and at that point the field started to spread out quickly. NC Champ Barrett stayed close, much closer than last year, where she finished just over 2 minutes behind Ormond. Barrett improved upon her 24th place finish of a year ago to crack the top 10, overtaking a few runners down the stretch to finish 7th, only 40 seconds back of Ormond. Behind Barrett, Pellerin was 19th and Betty 22nd, putting three NC athletes in the top 25.
Barrett's teammates ran well enough behind her to land themselves on the podium with a third place finish with Shapansky 78th, Macintosh 103 and Moore 105. Betty's teammates also helped Lisgar to a top 10 finish.
NC Teams - Bronze Glebe (294), 10. Lisgar (467)
Senior Boys
Just like the girls, there was a heavy pre-race favorite in the Senior Boys race. Evan Burke (London South) also recently represented Canada at the Youth Olympics where he set a Canadian U18 record in the 3000m (8:14.99). Unlike Ormond however, Burke was not content to wait and set a blistering pace from the beginning, which, unsurprisingly, few were able to stay with for long. NC Champ Sanger (Glebe) tried to stick with the lead chase pack, but the attempt might have been a little two aggressive as he faded to 22nd over the last 2k while Cox (Colonel By) and Robertson (Bell) were a little more conservative and moved through the field throughout, with Robertson reaching the finish line a couple seconds ahead of Cox for 10th place.
NC Teams - 6. Glebe (371), 23. Ridgemont (564)
Congratulations once again to all our athletes that ran so well at OFSAA and throughout the season and to the coaches who have spent countless hours coaching and preparing so their athletes could enjoy the experience that is High School XC! See you next year.
The Boys did their best to match the Girls with the Midget Boys 10th (6), Junior Boy's Gold (20) and Senior Boys 6th (10), but came up short, placing second to perennial powerhouse St. Michael's College (Toronto) who won the Boy's Overall Aggregate over the Gryphons 52-36.
Race videos are available on AthleticsCanada.tv. Videos will be free for a short time, but will remain available On Demand.
Midget Girls
The day started with a bang (literally - a gun started the races) for NC athletes as Glebe's Cara MacDonald was part of a small breakaway pack of four runners that separated themselves quickly from the field in the Midget Girls race. Heading up the one long, significant climb in the solitude of the forest trails, Aysha Maurice made her break and MacDonald and Abbot (Collingwood) were the only ones to keep her in sight by the top of the hill. MacDonald and Abbot stayed together until the final 600m stretch where MacDonald slowly widened her gap on Abbott who faded to 6th. Karina Hageltorn (Paul Desmarais) was 18th at the halfway point, but progressed through the field over the second half to place 10th, while Zoe May (Immaculata) rounded out the NC's top 3, placing 30th.
NC Teams - 14. Glebe (496), 17. Paul Desmarais (548)
Midget Boys
NC athletes continued to find a way to hit the podium in the Midget Boys race as De La Salle's Yannick Meredith put himself in contention right from the gun. Meredith was the only one to follow McAllister's break and although he was caught by a group in the late stages, used his great finishing speed to hang on to the bronze medal. Jorian Donovan (South Carleton) 28th and Kyle Porter (Sir Robert Borden) 40th were the 2nd and 3rd NC athletes to follow Meredith to the line.
NC Teams - 10. Glebe (419), 13. South Carleton (463)
Junior Girls
After sweeping the podium at the NC Meet, the Glebe Girls had high expectations for OFSAA and they more than exceeded those in Dundas. While both Heffernan-Wilker and Bialowas put themselves in top 20 contention from the early stages of the races, Gardiner continued her tradition of being conservative in the early stages, being as far back as 40th just past the mile mark of the race. With a kilometre to go Heffernan-Wilker was 12th, Bialowas 17th and Gardiner 20th, but that all flipped down the stretch as Gardiner charged through to 11th, while Bialowas and Heffernan-Wilker fought each other to the line with Bialowas edging out her teammate for 14th place. Behind them, teammate Teagan Stewart did everything she need to do and more, placing 108th to give the Gryphons a comfortable 49 point victory over Leaside, who placed two girls in the top 5, with twins Sophie (3rd) and Chloe (5th) Coutts.
Nepean also flipped their top three with Abbey Brousseau (44th) leading the way for the Knights ahead of teammates Gruson (46th) and Lawson (66th). Smith rounded out the Knight's squad finishing 118th, giving Nepean 274 points; good for 5th and only 7 points shy of a podium finish.
The NC Junior Girls depth showed in the race as Stevens (Ashbury) was 27th, Wojtyk (Lisgar) 34th, Spencer (South Carleton) 73rd, DaSilva (Mother Teresa) 74th and Semeniuk (St. Pius) 88th, putting 11 girls from the NCSSAA in the top 90.
NC Teams - GOLD Glebe (148), 5. Nepean (274)
Junior Boys
Cross Country is a team sport. Although runners run for individual glory, it is often those who toil in obscurity deep in the pack who determine the fate of their team score. The Glebe Boys showed this year that running as a team, working and supporting each other can pay off. While Glebe did not have an individual upfront they worked very well together as a team. Allan (Ashbury) continued to lead all NC athletes, as he has done all season placing 19th while Fillion (Louis Riel) was 22nd and NC bronze medalist Porter (Sir Robert Borden) 40th. Right behind Porter came the Gryphon squad. The Glebe boys packed all five runners within 11 seconds and 13 places of each other lead by Pensom (46th) and followed by Newman (52), Cino (56), Cole (57) and Mason (59) to tally 211 points and edge out Oakridge (London) with 227 and Guelph Collegiate 237, of which, both teams had an individual in the top 10, but 1:30 and 1:56 gaps back to their final counter.
NC Teams - GOLD Glebe (211), 22. John McCrae (634)
Senior Girls
In a race with a overwhelming favorite, the athletes in the field are often hesitant to take the lead and are conscious of and looking for the favorite to set the pace. Such was the case in the Senior Girl's race, but Cameron Ormond, who had won OFSAA XC in her first three consecutive years of high school and was fresh off representing Canada at the Youth Olympics, was more than content to sit and wait - and a huge contingent of the field stayed with her. A large group of close to 20 athletes stayed closely bunched through much of the early going, with NC athletes Pellerin (St. FX), Betty (Lisgar) and Barrett (Glebe) all taking turns up at the front. It wasn't until just past the mid-point that Ormond displayed her dominance and at that point the field started to spread out quickly. NC Champ Barrett stayed close, much closer than last year, where she finished just over 2 minutes behind Ormond. Barrett improved upon her 24th place finish of a year ago to crack the top 10, overtaking a few runners down the stretch to finish 7th, only 40 seconds back of Ormond. Behind Barrett, Pellerin was 19th and Betty 22nd, putting three NC athletes in the top 25.
Barrett's teammates ran well enough behind her to land themselves on the podium with a third place finish with Shapansky 78th, Macintosh 103 and Moore 105. Betty's teammates also helped Lisgar to a top 10 finish.
NC Teams - Bronze Glebe (294), 10. Lisgar (467)
Senior Boys
Just like the girls, there was a heavy pre-race favorite in the Senior Boys race. Evan Burke (London South) also recently represented Canada at the Youth Olympics where he set a Canadian U18 record in the 3000m (8:14.99). Unlike Ormond however, Burke was not content to wait and set a blistering pace from the beginning, which, unsurprisingly, few were able to stay with for long. NC Champ Sanger (Glebe) tried to stick with the lead chase pack, but the attempt might have been a little two aggressive as he faded to 22nd over the last 2k while Cox (Colonel By) and Robertson (Bell) were a little more conservative and moved through the field throughout, with Robertson reaching the finish line a couple seconds ahead of Cox for 10th place.
NC Teams - 6. Glebe (371), 23. Ridgemont (564)
Congratulations once again to all our athletes that ran so well at OFSAA and throughout the season and to the coaches who have spent countless hours coaching and preparing so their athletes could enjoy the experience that is High School XC! See you next year.
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