Brockville, ON — Ottawa Lions athletes delivered an impressive performance at Saturday’s Royal Canadian Legion District G Championships, combining for 18 national qualifying standards and a number of all-time club top-10 performances at Thousand Islands Secondary School.
Nearly 50 Lions athletes ranging in age from 7 to 18 travelled to Brockville, marking one of the club’s largest contingents at the competition in recent years. The meet serves as a key stepping stone toward the Royal Canadian Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships, scheduled for August in Regina, SK.
The club’s middle-distance crew led the charge on the track. Jake Claydon-St. John secured national standards in both the U16 boys 800 metres and 1200 metres, clocking 2:05.08 and 3:25.01 respectively for gold in both events. Kai Lebel narrowly missed the national standard in the 2000 metres while winning in 6:24.51 before earning his place on the national standard list with a debut performance of 4:48.87 in the 1500-metre steeplechase. The mark moved him to sixth on the club’s all-time U16 rankings.
Roan Gerth enjoyed a standout day, achieving national standards in both the 1500 metres (5:15.97) and 2000 metres (6:56.42). The 2000-metre performance places her ninth on the club’s U16 all-time list.
Additional national standards on the track came from Quinten Lepp in the girls 1200 metres (3:53.69), Ara Helbawi in the girls 1500 metres (5:38.58), Penny Roy in the 1500-metre race walk (9:20.85), Ethan Hood in the boys 400 metres (50.68), and Brock Stonham in the 110-metre hurdles (15.65).
The field events produced an equally impressive collection of performances.
Anabelle Muir continued her strong season in the pole vault, clearing 3.35 metres to once again surpass the U18 national standard. Charlotte Morales also bettered the qualifying mark with a clearance of 2.95 metres.
Mallea McMullin delivered one of the top performances of the meet in the girls javelin, throwing 43.93 metres for the victory. The mark ranks third on the club’s all-time U18 list and comfortably surpassed the national qualifying standard.
Megan Paterson qualified in both the U18 shot put and discus, recording marks of 11.41 metres and 34.37 metres respectively. Paterson also moved into eighth on the club’s U18 all-time rankings in the hammer throw with a throw of 24.87 metres. Brooklyn Reesal added another national U16 standard in the discus with a throw of 29.08 metres.
On the boys side, Jarred Rathwell eclipsed the 50-metre barrier in the javelin for the first time with the 700 gram implement, launching it 50.01 metres for the win. The performance ranks sixth all-time in the club’s U18 age group. Liam Mordel also secured a national standard in the U16 pole vault, clearing 2.55 metres.
With 18 national standards secured and numerous personal bests recorded, Lions athletes now turn their attention to the Ontario Legion Championships in Sudbury from July 10-12, where they will look to secure their spots on Team Ontario for the Legion National Championships later this summer.