The 2019 OFSAA Track and Field Championships got off to a golden start for the Lions today as Wariso Dullo captured gold in the senior boys javelin and eight other athletes advanced to their respective event finals.
For Dullo, Friday’s effort marked the perfect culmination to a decorated high school throwing career. The Gloucester High School student matched his lifetime best of 57.94 metres in the fifth round to take a commanding lead. While his fellow competitors threw everything they could at Dullo, they all came up short in one of the closer javelin competitions in recent OFSAA memory as the separation between gold and bronze totalled just 35 centimetres. Today’s victory gives Dullo a complete set of OFSAA medals after winning midget silver and junior bronze.
On the track, things got off to a great start with Skye Pellerin, Kevin Robertson and Will Cox all advancing to the final of the 2000m steeplechase on Friday. Pellerin was the fifth fastest among the female qualifiers with a time of 7:15.33. In the men’s contest, Robertson won his heat in a comfortable 6:12.09 while Cox was third in the other heat with a time of 6:09.34.
In the 400 metres heats, Helena Jovic smashed her personal best by more than half a second as she finished second in her senior girls heat with a time of 56.41 seconds. Her previous best was 57.12 from the 2017 Canadian U20 Championships. Also advancing in the one lap race were Audrey Gilmour and Yannick Meredith of De La Salle who each placed second in their respective heats. Gilmour, running in the junior girls section, finished in 58.64 seconds while Meredith was fourth fastest in the midget boys 400 metres with a time of 51.60.
The final two qualifiers on day one were Zoe Gardiner and Joe Fast in the 1500 metres. Gardiner had the top time in today’s qualifying for the junior girls division. The Glebe Collegiate student posted a time of 4:43.24, three tenths faster than her nearest competitor. In the senior boy’s event, Fast battled it out with Mason Jones of Thousand Islands Secondary School in Brockville before prevailing to win his heat in 4:02.60.
Action resumes at the University of Guelph’s Alumni Stadium 8:30am on Friday with Eleanor Hall bounding down the runway in the midget girls triple jump.
