Saturday marked the return of the OFSAA Cross Country Championships for Ottawa athletes after a two year hiatus and the performances turned out, did not disappoint. Following the event’s cancellation in 2020 and self-imposed travel restrictions for National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association schools in 2021, Lions athletes returned to the provincial high school championships to take home two individual and two team titles.
A combination of a hilly course at the Dagmar Ski Resort in Uxbridge and unseasonably warm temperatures that climbed toward 20 degrees celsius by mid day pushed the field of runners to their limits Saturday. However, Glebe’s Sauler Taler was able to rise above it all as he claimed gold in the junior boy’s five kilometre race.
Holding steady in the lead pack of 5-6 runners through the bulk of the course, Taler found himself clear of the field with about 400 metres to go and didn’t look back. “It was exhilarating,” he recalled to Ottawa Sport Page. “I said to myself: ‘Don’t let someone pass you. I really want to win.’ So, I kept pushing. ‘You’re going to win OFSAA, keep pushing, keep pushing,’ I said.”
With the victory, Taler became just the 14th Lions runner to claim individual OFSAA Cross Country gold.
For Peak Academy’s Grace Streek, her pathway to Dragmar was a little more involved than her competitors, which made her bronze medal in the junior girls race all the more sweet. Before Streek could even take to the starting line in the NCSSAA East Conference Championship, she had to win an appeal of the OFSAA transfer policy before she was allowed to compete.
In Uxbridge, Grace was the leader for the bulk of the five kilometre race, before suffering from a stitch in the final stages and settling for third.
On the team side, Matteo Padoin-Castillo took home team gold with his Immaculata teammates in the junior boys event. Lauren Alexander led Glebe to a silver medal in the senior girls race with her seventh place finish.