With the final days of 2022 in our sight, we thought it best to take one final look in the rear view mirror and celebrate all the fantastic accomplishments of Lions athletes over the past 12 months.
While domestically the season was a little slow to start with the delay in the OUA and RSEQ seasons and the continued closure of the Dome @ Louis-Riel, south of the border collegiate athletes were kicking off 2022 on the right foot. Leading the way was Colorado State senior Lauren Gale who opened with back-to-back indoor personal bests at 200 and 400 metres and Southeastern Louisiana thrower Tommy Nedow who went undefeated during the month of January.
Even before the sun had set on the first month of the year, the record books were being re-written. Gale continued her speedy ways by breaking Esther Akinsulie’s 13-year-old Club record in the 400 metres at competition in Boulder, CO. On the same weekend, Sydney Smith returned to action for the first time in two years and promptly broke the University of Ottawa’s school record in the 500 metres.
February brought with it the Winter Olympics in Beijing and while there were no athletics events on the schedule, three former Club athletes were in attendance. Former hurdles champion Cody Sorenson and former thrower Mike Evelyn were teammates on Canada’s bobsled teams, while Mirela Rahneva, a former youth program member, finished fifth in the women’s skeleton event.
As the NCAA indoor season came to a close, Lauren Gale took down two of the longest standing Canadian indoor records on the books – setting new marks for the 200 and 400 metres. Gale’s times of 23.00 and 51.64 seconds bettered the marks of two of Canada’s greatest female sprinters – Anglea Bailey and Jillian Richardson. The pair’s records had stood for 38 and 30 years respectively.
Not done with adding her name to the record books, following the NCAA Championships Gale boarded a plane bound for Belgrade,Serbia where she would run the lead off leg for Canada at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. The 22-year-old and her teammates smashed the national 4×400 metre relay record which had been set when Gale was just two months old.
Back in Canada, the OUA and RSEQ Conference Championships produced a total of seven medals. One household was responsible for all the gold medals as roommates Sydney Smith and Alexandra Telford took home three between them. Smith captured her first OUA title by winning the 600 metres while Telford was victorious in the 60 metre hurdles and 300 metres at the RSEQ Championship – both in Carleton record times.
A new name joined the medal podium at the USports Championship with the University of Toronto’s David Adeleye nabbing a bronze in the 60 metre hurdles after setting a personal best in the heats. Employing an unconventional pathway, Alexandra Telford nabbed her bronze medal in the 300 metres from the slower section after setting yet another Carleton record.
While athletes transitioned to the outdoor season there was no let up in the quality of the performances on the track. Sharelle Samuel opened her season with four straight victories in the 400 metre hurdles, culminating in a personal best run of 58.23 seconds at Auburn. The Harvard senior’s time is the third fastest in Club history.
Steeplechaser Kevin Robertson also managed to etch his name in the record books early in the season. The Syracuse junior won his heat at the Virginia Challenge in an impressive 8 minutes and 46.98 seconds to set a new Club U23 record and move to fourth on the all-time list.
Not one to miss out on an opportunity to re-write the record books, Lauren Gale was back in top form by the time the Mountain West Conference Championships rolled around in mid-May. Gale became the only athlete in conference history to go undefeated in the 400 metres as she set a new Club record of 51.30. In the half lap race, the Olympian dipped under the 23 second barrier for the first time, setting a new standard of 22.82 seconds. Both performances would qualify Gale for the World Championships.
Back home, the Lions played host to the NACAC Combined Events Area Championship which saw American Michelle Atherley and Bahamian Ken Mullings earn automatic qualification to the World Athletics Championship in Oregon.
June produced a cornucopia of noteworthy performances with the month littered with championships.
First out of the gate was the return of the OFSAA Track and Field Championships after a two year hiatus. In total, the Lions athletes amassed 14 medals from the Championship, including four golds, and one Canadian Interscholastic Record.
The national record went to Elizabeth Vroom in the 2000 metre steeplechase as the grade 12 student won the event in a blistering six minutes and 52.19 seconds while clubmate Gillian Porter took the silver in 7:01.47. It was an impressive debut at the OFSAA Championships for Vroom who had only joined the Club months earlier following a very successful soccer career with Ottawa South United Soccer Club.
Also stepping atop the OFSAA podium were Vroom’s training partner Amelia Van Brabant in the senior girls 3000 metres, William Sanders in the junior boys 400 metres, and Kai Gibson in the novice boys high jump.
One week later Club athletes returned to the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University for the Ontario U20 and Open Championships. By the time the three day competition had concluded the Lions had amassed a second straight provincial U20 title and an impressive 33 medals, including 12 golds.
Two golds came from thrower Tommy Nedow who produced winning efforts in both the discus (49.30m) and hammer throw (52.87m). For good measure, Nedow also added a bronze in the shot put, making him the only individual triple medalist for the Lions.
Following a two week pause the Lions boarded the plane and headed westward for the Canadian Championships in Langley, BC. While the Club contingent was smaller than recent years, the performances remained top of the table as the Lions secured 19 medals in total including three national records.
Two of those records were set by Bianca Borgella as she put on a performance to remember at her first Canadian Championship. The 19-year-old visually impaired athlete broke both of her own Canadian T13 records in the 100 and 400 metres enroute to a pair of gold medals. She then capped off the championship by anchoring the Club’s U20 women’s 4×100 metre relay to a national title.
It was another relay which would produce the final national record. Running in the penultimate event of the Championship – the women’s 4×400 metre relay – the quartet of Doyin Ogunremi, Sydney Smith, Alexandra Telford, and Lauren Gale laid down an eye popping 3:35.46 effort to be crowned Canadian Champions and set a new Canadian Club Record. The performance shaved nearly five seconds off the previous standard set by the former Speed River Track Club in 2019.
A week after a disappointing result for Stephen Evans at the Canadian Championships, the 800 metre runner returned to the track in Marietta, GA to produce the performance of his life. Finishing sixth at the American Track League event, Evans’ time of 1:47.30 was nearly a full second faster than his best entering the season and left him just six hundredths short of Richard Brant’s 1987 Club record.
The same weekend also saw six Lions qualify for the Canada Summer Games as members of Team Ontario. David Adeleye, David Moulongou, Tommy Nedow, Doyin Ogunremi, and Leo Wallner all qualified by virtue of winning their individual event while Luca Nicoletti qualified after finishing second to Moulongou in the 400 metre hurdles. Despite not making Team Ontario Bianca Borgella once again set Canadian T13 Records at both 100 and 400 metres.
As the season progressed through July, Lauren Gale made her World Championship debut in Oregon. Gale became the first club member to ever compete in two individual events at the World Athletics Championship, finishing 26th and 29th respectively in the 200 and 400 metres. Shortly after finishing the 200 metre heats, it was discovered Lauren had a stress reaction in her foot and was forced to withdraw from the 4×400 relay and the Commonwealth Games.
Carrying the flag for Canada into the Opening Ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games was Paralympian Joshua Cassidy. The 2010 Commonwealth bronze medalist became just the second Lion to be named flag bearer for Team Canada following Sultana Frizell’s carrying of the closing ceremonies at the 2014 Games in Glasgow. Cassidy would place fourth in the T53/54 marathon and fifth in the 1500 metres.
Closer to home, the Ontario Summer Games in Mississauga produced a handful of medal performances for the Lions. Represented by Quinn Coughlin, Zachary Jeggo, and Matteo Padoin-Castillo the trio captured four individual medals including one gold.
The month also saw the conclusion of the Canadian Track and Field League’s inaugural season. The brainchild of Lion Quinn Lyness had a successful debut that culminated in Ottawa with the League final and featured a number of Lions athletes.
July concluded with the U14, U16, and U18 Ontario Championships in London where the Lions captured 17 medals. Steeplechasers Daniel Cova (U16 Boys) and Louise Stonham (U18 girls) each took home provincial gold, while the quartet of Nolan Legare, Jay Yetman, Janssen Assogba, and Adriano Padoin-Castillo were victorious in the 1600 metre sprint medley.
August kicked off with the Royal Canadian Legion Championships in Sherbrooke and gave a preview of what could be an exciting future for a few athletes.
Will Batley was crowned the fastest 15 year old in Canada by virtue of his victory in the U16 100 metres and he backed that up with silver in the 200 metres. Batley also anchored the U16 4×100 relay to a national championship.
Relay teammates Timeo Atonfo (100H) and Mason Brennan (200H) each made individual podium appearances before running for Gold with Batley. Atonfo also helped the U18 boys 4×400 relay to a Canadian bronze.
In the field, Kai Gibson showed he is one to keep an eye on as he nabbed a pair of silver medals in both the triple jump and high jump.
Moving through August, the Club’s masters athletes brought home an impressive 13 medals, including 10 gold from the Ontario Championship. As well, we saw the culmination of our 35th year of our famous Ottawa Summer Twilight Meet series. An impressive 11 meets were held every Wednesday from June 1 to August 10.
Also in August, Ottawa was selected to host the 2025 and 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships. The announcement marked the return of the event to the nation’s capital after previously hosting in 2017 and 2018.
The summer season came to a close with the Canada Summer Games in Thorold, Ontario – just outside St. Catherines and the seven Club athletes competing ensured it ended with a bang. The Lions garnered a total of seven medals in athletics just five years removed from failing to send a single athlete to the multi-sport event in the Club’s history.
The hurdling duo of David Adeleye (110H) and David Moulongou (400H) each had the meet’s of their lives as they both set new personal bests enroute to individual silver medals. Adeleye also picked up a gold as part of Team Ontario’s 4×100 relay team, while Moulongou and Luca Nicoletti won bronze in the 4×400.
Tommy Nedow continued his strong summer of performances with bronze medals in both the shot put and discus.
In addition to the six Lions competing in athletics, heptathlete Audrey Goddard represented Team Ontario in volleyball – finishing sixth.
September brought us our second Awards Banquet on the high jump apron at Terry Fox. The annual gala recognized the many outstanding performances and contributions to the Club. Among the celebrated were Gilbert Award Winners for Lauren Gale (Women’s Track), Audrey Goddard (Women’s Field), David Adeleye (Men’s Track), and Tommy Nedow (Men’s Field).
As we moved into October, the cross country season began to heat up with our annual Capital XC Challenge and included conference championships for our varsity runners. The OUA Championships produced an OUA All-Star designation for Gee-Gee’s runner Noemie Beauregard after her 14th place finish.
November marked the return of the OFSAA Cross Country Championships for athletes in Ottawa following the event’s cancellation in 2020 and self-imposed travel restrictions in 2021. However, the Lions celebrated the event’s return with a pair of individual medal performances.
Saul Taler of Glebe took home his first OFSAA title, winning the junior boys 5 kilometre event. The other medal came from Grace Streek who battled more than just her opponents on the way to a bronze in the junior girls race. Streek had to win an appeal of the OFSAA transfer policy before she was allowed to compete for Peak Academy this fall.
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.
The USports Championship followed a week later in one of the most wet and wild races in recent memory. Running in the remnants of what was Hurricane Nicole, competitors were treated to strong winds coupled with significant rainfall.
However, Mother Nature could not slow the efforts of Elizabeth Vroom as she placed 29th overall to earn USports Rookie of the Year honours. Vroom and Gillian Porter helped the Queen’s Gaels to a 10th place finish.
A day later, in much drier conditions, the Lions went to battle atop Fort Henry Hill at the Ontario Cross Country Championships. The sole individual gold medal of the day went to U10 boys champion Ronan Lebel, while the Club picked up six other individual medals. On the team front, the Lions swept both U16 team titles and added a silver in the U18 girls event.
The cross country season concluded at home with the Canadian Championships. In stark contrast to the frigid conditions of the 2021 event, this year’s championships were downright balmy. Held on a revamped Mooney’s Bay course, the spectator friendly layout was a hit with most everyone. Well, maybe not the hill repeats, but we digress.
For the second year in a row, the Lions U18 girls captured team gold. Led by scorers Amelia Van Brabant, Joceyln Giannotti, Louise Stonham, and Quinn Coughlin the U18 girls team enjoyed a 30 point cushion over second place South Simcoe Dufferin. The victory was the Club’s 12th national team title and the team became only the second in Club history to win back-to-back championships.
Liz Maguire was the top finisher in the W55 masters event becoming the first individual champion from the Club since Alain Boucher topped the M45 category at the 2009 championship. Also in the masters event, Fritzlor Auguste took home the silver medal in the M30 category.
The end of 2022 is any indication of what is in store in 2023, then there is much to look forward to. Collegiate seasons got off to a roaring start in December with notable performances by Audrey Goddard, David Adeleye, and Bianca Borgella.
Goddard kicked off her university career at Western with an impressive 3526 point total to win the pentathlon at the Saginaw Valley State Holiday Open and move to fifth in Club history.
Continuing where he left off in the outdoor season, Adeleye opened his season with the University of Toronto with a pair of 60 metre hurdle bests – including dropping under eight seconds for the first time. His time of 7.98 seconds moves him to third in Club history.
Next was Bianca Borgella absolutely smashing the competition at the Saints Holiday Relays and taking top spot in the 60 metres with a personal best effort of 7.78 seconds. The visually impaired was certainly signalling to the world that she will be a force to be reckoned with as she battles for a spot at the IPC World Athletics Championship.
Well, if you’ve made it this far in our year in review – I applaud you. This was far from a quick read, but certainly an important one. Over the past 10 years of overseeing this website, it’s the celebrating of successes and sharing of stories that I have enjoyed the most.
Thanks for reading!