KITCHENER, Ont. — Eleven Ottawa Lions athletes traded club colours for “The Valley” region singlet this weekend, competing at the Ontario Summer Games in Waterloo Region. The Ontario Summer Games, held every two years, is the province’s largest multi-sport event for youth, drawing more than 4,000 athletes aged 12 to 18 and serving as an important stepping stone toward national and international competition.
Under the guidance of the Lions’ own Yolande Jones-Grande, serving as The Valley’s head coach, the contingent turned in a stellar showing on the track at Resurrection Catholic Secondary School in Kitchener, combining for 13 medals — three gold, six silver and four bronze.
Leading the medal haul was Madison White, who completed the sprint double in the para ambulatory category. The Carleton University student took top spot in the 100m Friday with a time of 17.68 seconds and followed it up Saturday with a 37.42 clocking in the 200m final.
Competing in the U16 category, Tyson Dalzell added another gold to the Lions haul, launching the 4-kilogram shot put out to 14.61 metres to win by over half a metre. Dalzell also competed in the discus, placing seventh with a throw of 26.58 metres.
Middle-distance runner Jake Claydon-St. John upgraded his U16 provincial 800m bronze from a week ago to silver at the Games, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:03.03. The John McCrae student also added a bronze medal to his collection over 1200m, narrowly edging Peninsula’s Peter Orell out for the final podium spot — 3:17.86 to 3:17.89.
Also turning in a double medal performance was Roan Gerth. The Glebe student dropped nearly three seconds from her previous best over 2000m, crossing the line in 6:39.22 for silver in the U16 category. Gerth’s performance is the second fastest in club history over the distance, trailing only former national champion Shona McCulloch. Gerth also added a silver in the 1500m steeplechase, where she finished in 5:00.81 — a second off her best.
The Lebel brothers each made their own contributions to the medal collection. Kai, the elder of the two, took home a bronze in the U16 1500m steeplechase (4:51.26) while also dropping a second off his best over 2000m. Ronan’s medal came in the U14 2000m, where he dropped more than 15 seconds from his previous best to finish in 6:24.91 and set a new club U14 record.
Coming off a provincial title in the tetrathlon last weekend, Eric Combasson added a silver in the U14 long jump (4.61m). Fellow U14 competitor Benji Fitz-Morris nabbed a silver of his own with a 36.90-second effort in the 200m hurdles — moving him to sixth on the club U14 list.
Rounding out the medal haul were Brooklyn Reesal and Oliver Jeglic. Reesal launched a massive lifetime best in the discus to capture bronze in the U16 category. The Colonel By student moved to third on the club U16 list with her 33.45m effort. Jeglic took home the bronze over 300m in the U14 category with his time of 41.50. He narrowly missed the podium in the 150m, but his 18.97-second effort did move him to second on the club U14 list.
While they did not make the podium, a quartet of Lions represented The Valley in the U14 sprint medley relay, with Ronan Lebel, Benji Fitz-Morris, Oliver Jeglic and Eric Combasson combining for a club age-class record of 4:44.47.