With another March Break having drawn to a close, a number of Lions athletes have returned home from the sun and warmth of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with more than some new tan lines. More than 30 athletes and coaches from the Club ventured south for a week of training culminating in the annual Shamrock Invitational to kick off the outdoor season. Over the two day competition Lions athletes recorded a total of 20 new personal bests.
Among those to set a new personal best was Nicolas Belan. The Canterbury High School student broke the two minute barrier for 800 metres for the first time while also beating a full field of collegiate runners to win in 1 minute and 59.85 seconds. Belan’s previous best was a 2:07 clocking last summer. Matias del Rio Reategui was seventh in 2:05.40.
For the second year in a row, Louise Stonham topped the women’s 3000 metre steeplechase field – finishing in 11 minutes and 23.09 seconds. While short of her personal best, Stonham dominated the field with a 27 second gap between her and the second place runner.
Lauren Alexander narrowly missed the top spot in the women’s 800 metres, finishing second to James Madison’s Sinead Sargeant. Alexander did manage to record her fastest opener ever, speeding her way to a time of 2 minutes and 20.76 seconds.
Friday’s 400 metre races were a battle against the clock as well as the wind. While gusts hovered around 20 miles per hour for most of the day, they were not enough to keep Zachary Jeggo off the podium. The grade 10 student at École secondaire Louis-Riel sprinted his way to a new personal best of 51.92 seconds as he took third spot in the open section. Club mate Zach Theodore also posted a lifetime best, running 53.32 for seventh.
Picking up the final medal of the weekend for the Lions was Madeleine Seaby. The grade 12 student from Carleton Place posted a time of 10 minutes and 25.74 seconds for 3000 metres as she finished in the bronze medal position.
For full results from Myrtle Beach, please visit
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/75548/Alan_Connie_Shamrock_Invitational
For updated Club rankings, please visit