MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — A group of Ottawa Lions high school athletes closed out their March Break training camp with a series of breakthrough performances at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational, highlighted by five marks that entered the club’s all-time top-10 list and a total of 24 personal bests across 34 competitors.
Held annually at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium, the meet has become a staple on the Lions’ spring calendar, offering athletes an early-season opportunity to test their fitness against deep collegiate and high school fields.
Leading the charge was Paul Desmarais senior sprinter Ange-Mathis Kramo, who signaled his form for the upcoming championship season with a trio of strong performances. Kramo narrowly missed advancing from the 100-metre preliminaries despite a solid 10.79-second effort on Friday, but rebounded in emphatic fashion a day later. He clocked personal bests of 21.11 seconds in the 200 metres and 47.28 seconds in the 400 metres, placing second and first, respectively, in the collegiate sections. The marks rank as the second and third-fastest U20 performances in club history and both surpassed the entry standards for this summer’s World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Livia Buffone also opened her outdoor season in impressive form, continuing a trend of early-season progress in Myrtle Beach. The Grade 11 student from Glebe Collegiate ran a personal best of 12.45 seconds in the 100 metres, finishing 32nd in a field that included competitors up to six years her senior. The performance marked a significant improvement, trimming more than two tenths of a second off her previous best.
Buffone later returned to the track as part of the Lions’ 4×200-metre relay team alongside Roxy Gardiner, Norah Nitta Mackay and Marlowe Fabi. The quartet combined to run 1:45.78, recording the fourth-fastest U18 time in club history.
Another top-10 performance came in the women’s 4×800-metre relay, where Shannon Dewar, Isla Kittmer, Kyre Lauter and Maya Allibon captured bronze in 9:42.81. Kittmer led the team with a 2:24 split, while her teammates each contributed strong 2:26 legs in a well-balanced effort.
Kittmer also found individual success, running 5:19.61 in the mile to place 13th. The performance moved her to seventh on the club’s U18 all-time list.
On the men’s side, Max Gerundin continued his strong run of form following his recent Canadian indoor medal, producing a personal best of 1:55.56 in the 800 metres to secure a top-10 finish in the collegiate section.
With the outdoor season now underway, the Shamrock Invitational once again provided a valuable benchmark for the Lions’ developing athletes, many of whom will look to build on these early results as they turn their focus toward the spring high school season.