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Knights still #1
in cross-country - with very few exceptions
Randy
Pascal
2021-10-21
(picture not found)
Kaeden Ward -
LOE |
COVID-19 has impacted the
entire globe. There is simply no denying that very
obvious fact of life.
But when it comes to the SDSSAA Cross-Country Championships,
it seems like it will take a lot more than a global
pandemic to slow down the Lo-Ellen Park Knights.
The south end running powerhouse
swept all six team categories Wednesday at Kivi
Park and captured four of the six individual gold
medals up for grabs as some sense of race normalcy
returned to the high-school ranks.
With that in mind, a tip of the
hat goes out to Adam Urso of St Charles (Novice
Boys), who bested fellow AAA hockey teammate Nicholas
Labrecque of Lo-Ellen by 16 seconds, as well as
Lockerby junior Lauren Pineau, who clocked in 19
seconds faster than Syla Swords of Lo-Ellen.
In so doing, Urso and Pineau joined
a list of individual champions that included Monique
Fitzmaurice (Novice Girls), Sam Rice (Junior Boys),
Sophia Oommen (Senior Girls) and Kaeden Ward (Senior
Boys), all from Lo-Ellen.
While the staggered starts necessitated
by COVID guidelines might not be ideal, Pineau,
for one, was not complaining in the least. “I
honestly like the staggered starts,” she said.
“I like being alone on the trails; I feel
more focused. I go into the race with a goal of
what I want to finish in, so I don’t really
worry about the other people around me.”
The 14 year old Viking has long
been a Sudbury Lady Wolves' mainstay, though recent
years steered her to the outdoor sports where she
has excelled even more. “Last year, we didn’t
have a lot of hockey because of COVID, so I started
to ski (nordic) and run more and realized that it
was a lot of fun, actually something I enjoyed doing.”
“I love it so much.”
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Though success has come in
both settings, there is a difference in both the mindset
and some of the physical components of her two new cross-country
passions. “I like running races, but I like skiing
for fun better,” Pineau said with a smile. “I
feel more tired after I run and I like the feeling of
accomplishment that I get when I feel like I am working
harder.”
“In skiing, I find it calm –
I’m not breathing super heavy like I do when I run.”
Like most of the winners, Ward’s
victory was merely the next step in a XC season that has
gone very well. “I’ve been progressing through
the races,” said the 16 year-old first time champion.
“The fall has been injury free and training is going
well.”
“I didn’t feel the best I
ever have, but it ended up being just as good; it was
a good solid run, a good time, a good pace.”
And though the Knights were second out
of the gate on a day that was calling for single digit
high temperatures (perhaps 10 or 11 degrees, at best),
hitting the trails at 9:20 a.m. and just after Lockerby
Composite, Ward would not have changed a thing.
“Honestly, this is the perfect temperature,”
he said. “I’m not over-heating out there,
but I’m also not struggling to stay warm at the
start line before I’m racing. There tends to be
an ideal temperature and it’s probably close to
that today.”
With his senior boys triumph, the son
of well-respected Lo-Ellen Park coach Colin Ward qualifies
comfortably for the next stage in the race towards provincials,
with plenty of rumours circulating about even more of
a return to the norm as the levels of racing increase.
“I think everyone is just really
excited and happy that NOSSA and OFSAA are going to happen,”
said the younger Ward. “Personally, I’m super
excited that it’s going to be a mass start. I always
like mass starts because I can push myself harder. But
when it’s a staggered start and you have people
that are close to you, right around you, it’s almost
as good.”
Posting a nine second victory in spite
of start times that were two hours apart, Monique Fitzmaurice
would agree, her time of 19:40 enough to remain ahead
of the Lucia Salmaso clocking (19:49 – Marymount)
later in the morning.
“I think it’s definitely harder
than mass starts,” said the 14 year old who first
rose to prominence as a runner while attending Alexander
Public School. “In mass starts, I get to race against
somebody, pace myself against them and trying to pass
people. It gives me a little extra boost.”
“In this one, you kind of guess
your own time.”
Generally speaking, those times will be
faster at Kivi Park, with its flat gravel trails, though
not all would necessarily favour the setting. “Kivi
is my least favourite race,” said Pineau. “I
don’t like the gravel. I like the Naughton Trails
– it’s just more interesting and you have
to focus a lot more on the terrain, which distracts you
from the actual race.”
“At Kivi, everything looks the same,”
added Fitzmaurice. “The gravel is a bit less interesting
than the other ones.”
Ward, however, countered with perhaps
the most important point of all.
“Kivi is definitely faster, just
because it’s not rough, uneven terrain,” he
said. “It’s still a lot of hills. I like it
better because it’s a faster course.”
Faster course or not, regardless of the
venue, regardless of the pandemic, the results have been
consistent over the years – the Lo-Ellen Park Knights,
once again, have run away with the SDSSAA Cross-Country
Championships.
Following are the top three finishers
in each of the six divisions:
Novice Girls
1st - Monique Fitzmaurice - LOE – 19:40
2nd - Lucia Salmaso - MMT – 19:49
3rd - Gracie Dale - LOE – 20:51
4th - Tessa Ranger - HOR - 22:19
5th - Maija Nener - LOE - 22:21
Novice Boys
1st - Adam Urso - STC – 17:27
2nd - Nicholas Labrecque - LOE – 17:43
3rd - Hudson Crowder - LOE – 18:34
4th - Max Portelance - CND - 19:07
5th - Lyle Gorval - CHMP - 19:08
Junior Girls
1st - Lauren Pineau - LCS – 18:46
2nd - Syla Swords - LOE – 19:05
3rd - Georgia Lepage - STB – 19:43
4th - Bay Jones - LCS - 20:23
5th - Katelyn DePoli - STB - 21:20
Junior Boys
1st - Sam Rice - LOE – 16:16
2nd - Owen Dobson - LOE – 16:52
3rd - James Bertrim - LCS – 17:08
4th - Jacob Barney - LOE - 17:13
5th - Liam Binks - LCS - 17:20
Senior Girls
1st - Sophia Oommen - LOE – 20:19
2nd - Sarah Lanthier - LOE – 20:31
3rd - Avery Sutherland - LOE – 20:51
4th - Mia Toner - SC - 21:06
5th - Charlotte Grenier - SSS - 21:07
Senior Boys
1st - Kaeden Ward - LOE – 16:08
2nd - Carson Crane - CFD – 16:32
3rd - Travis Annett - LCS – 16:59
4th - Liam Lacroix - LOE - 17:02
5th - Brandon Radey - LAS - 17:10
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