24 Lions set to do battle at OFSAA XC

With the OFSAA Cross Country Championships getting set to kick off Saturday morning with the midget girls race at 10:15 am, two dozen Lions members will be representing their high schools at the provincial championships. Returning medalists from last year’s championship include gold medal winners Shona McCulloch of Longfields Davidson Heights and Owen Day of Holy Trinity as well as silver medalist Claire Smith of Glebe.
McCulloch would appear to be a favourite in the junior girls 4km race following a dominating summer season on the track which saw her win national gold in both the 1200m and 2000m. For Owen Day, he will be in tough to replicate last year’s golden performance in the junior category as moves up to the senior level. Meanwhile in the senior girls category, Claire Smith will undoubtedly re-engage her battle with Charlotte Prouse of London. While Prouse won last year in Sudbury, Smith dominated her on the track in June’s OFSAA 3000m final.
There will be more on the line than just individual glory for Smith as she leads a Glebe team looking to get a hand on the team title. She, along with club mate Alexa Livingston will look to improve upon their fourth place finish in the senior category last year. The ladies, along with junior runner Keili Shepherd will be looking to repeat as overall girls champions.
Also from Glebe and looking to make a runner for the podium will be Farah Abdul-Karim as he looks to improve upon his sixth place finish from a year ago. He certainly has the pedigree after claiming last year’s Athletics Ontario youth title and finishing third in the steeplechase at OFSAA Track and Field back in June.
For complete details, check out Trackie.ca’s OFSAA XC page
The complete list of Lions competitors are as follows: