| Think
of the Ramsey Tour as two races in one — maybe three
To be sure, the early September
trail race tradition that has long been organized under
the auspices of Jesse Winters, Louis Moustgaard and the
Sudbury Masters Running Club has served as the kickoff
for the post-secondary cross-country crew, with entries
from Laurentian, Nipissing, Algoma and Cambrian all tackling
the five-kilometre course this year.
And for as much as a quick glance at the complete 5K results
unveils a mix of adult community runners and some local
high school talent, the truth is that the 21-kilometre
half marathon is the remaining gem in this offering, with
the 54 runners on hand covering age groups ranging from
15 to 71 (way to go, Daniel Merrick).
With the surprise return of fifth-year
team leader Keon Wallingford to the fold, the Laurentian
Voyageurs men’s team were well-motivated to assert
their Northern dominance, sweeping the top three slots
thanks to the troika of Wallingford (15:51), Lasalle Secondary
graduate Brandon Radey (16:27) and Patrick Leroux (16:30).
Lo-Ellen Park Knights junior Julien Luoma looks to be
the one to watch (again) on the SDSSAA XC scene this fall,
sliding into fourth place (16:34), ahead of former LEP
multi-sport athlete and current triathlete Kelly Thompson
(16:43). The latter has returned north for schooling,
now competing for the Nipissing Lakers and showing the
way for his new team.
Still with newcomers of note, Timmins
native Braedan Estabrooks (10th at OFSAA in steeplechase
last June) looked solid in what amounts to a quasi-OUA
debut, his time of 16:46 sliding him in fourth place on
his team, just ahead of Alan Wilkin (16:49).
“I always did cross-country when
I was younger, but then I quit for a while and came back
in 11th grade,” Estabrooks said. “When I helped
my team get to a sixth place at OFSAA (cross-country in
2023), it boosted my confidence and I felt that I could
pursue it later.”
Still, as many before him have discovered, the training
regimen at the post-secondary level bears only a slight
resemblance to the training sessions in high school.
“This summer, we were just building
a base, getting some decent mileage with normal runs every
day or every other day,” Estabrooks noted.
“As soon as I got here and we started
into the workout practices, I could see the difference
between this and high school. This is way more competitive.
It’s not really the type of workout but more the
amount. In high school, our speed training might have
been 5×400 metres. Here, speed training is like
8×800 metres.
“It’s just that much more
than high school.”
Though the top women’s finisher
in the 5K was LU alumna Nicole Rich (18:42), current varsity
athlete Abby Lanteigne continues to show signs of improvement,
her time of 18:50 far, far ahead of her last showing at
the same event in 2023, the Lockerby Composite graduate
now more than three minutes faster than her clocking of
22:13 as a rookie with the Vees.
Yet another LU varsity graduate, Angela Mozzon, placed
third overall among the women (19:20), with future Voyageur
Kylee Fowler fourth in 19:25. The Chelmsford native is
back in Sudbury attending teachers’ college, but
must sit out one year after competing for the University
of Ottawa Gee-Gees in four fall seasons.
An interesting race for fifth and sixth
as high-schooler Lily Bignucolo of Lo-Ellen might be in
the best shape of her career to date, running comfortably
sub-20 (19:36) to finish ahead of Laurentian freshman
Valerie Vaillancourt, the Sacre Coeur product who dominated
the SDSSAA senior girls middle distance and cross-country
ranks last year.
Rounding out the top-10 post secondary
guys were Adam Edwards (Nipissing, 17:00), Calvin Traczuk
(Nipissing, 17:00) and Shiloh Sauve (17:15). For Cambrian
head coach Jeffrey Paul and his team of Sneh Solanski,
Travis Hunter, Marven Hunter, Jamie Hopkins, Alyssa Atchison,
Ann Phuong and Sylvia Silvia, the race represented a starting
point from which to measure progress.
Interesting names of note in the sub-20 bracket included
North Bay native William Raymer (17:16), perennial Beaton
Classic champion Dan Whalen (17:33) and local SDSSAA competitors
Maxime Belzile (17:47), Cameron Young (18:16), Carson
Jewitt (18:24) and Ewan Duncan (18:59), with Nathan Hussell
(also from NB) also in that mix (18:56).
The 21K half-marathon is always an interesting
list to peruse, though it’s hardly a surprise to
find the tandem of Eric Leishman (1:15.55, first), Sudbury’s
top marathoner for several years, and Aurel Fox Recollet
(1:25:37, third), another Laurentian alum.
A native of Thunder Bay and former member
of the Waterloo Warriors cross-country team, Evan Palmer-Charette
secured second place with a time of 1:23:28, while the
top female finisher came in fourth place overall, quite
impressively.
The top female at the Moncton Marathon this past May,
with a time of 2:56:40, Brianna Kao posted a very nice
time of 1:27:20, with the race serving as a family gathering
of sorts, given the participation of both Greg and Ching
Kao, who crossed the line just 20 seconds or so apart.
Partaking in a handful of local events
this summer, Alex Chenier placed fourth among the gents
(1:30.13), followed by Dilyn Gilbert (1:38:12) and Nicholas
Walynsky (1:39:54). At the age of 60, Paul de la Riva
continues to defy Father Time (1:40:29), with Kris Cacciotti
(1:41:17) and Steven Gonder (1:41:26) next in line.
The half-marathon often becomes the outlet
of choice for former university cross-country runners
such as Saree Sasson of the Nipissing Lakers, recording
a sixth-place overall finish and second among the women
in 1:32:09.
Randy
Pascal’s That Sudbury Sports Guy column runs regularly
in The Sudbury Star.
All
Photos Here
All
Results Here
|
-3%20315.jpg)
315.jpg)
