More than 150 athletes, coaches, parents and supporters gathered Saturday night at the RA Centre to celebrate a true year of excellence for the Ottawa Lions. A year which included the club’s 11th consecutive provinical team championship, world championship silver for Melissa Bishop and a further 14 international medals won by Lions athletes also included an outstanding 21 athletes asked to don the red and white around the globe.
Few will forget the lasting images of Melissa Bishop throwing her arms in the air in pure exhilaration while claiming Pan Am Gold, or standing on the medal podium in Beijing. When you add in a new Canadian record of 1:57.52, makin her the second fastest women in the world over 800m in 2015, it’s no surprise the Eganville native claimed her fourth straight Gilbert Award as top female track athlete.
Garning the Gilbert Award for top male track athlete was fellow world championship competitor, Sekou Kaba. The Sir Robert Borden grad had a breakout season in 2015 which saw him lower his personal best in the 110m hurdles to 13.43 seconds, which also bested the club record of Olympic finalist Charles Allen set in 2006. In addition to his club record and nineth place finish at the Pan Am Games, Kaba was also a semi-finalist at the World Championships in Bejing. This was Sekou’s first Gilbert award.
In the field, the Gilbert awards were presented to a pair of world class throwers. On the women’s side, hammer thrower Sultana Frizell captured her 11th straight award. Frizell’s season included her sixth Canadian title, Pan Am bronze, a 13th place finish at the World Championships and the 10th longest throw in the world. Shot putter Tim Nedow was equally impressive in 2015 winning both the shot put and discus at the Canadian championships. The Brockville native would follow that up with Pan Am silver in the shot put and a sixth place finish in the discus. Tim also finished 20th place overall at the World Championships.
Other winners on the evening include:
Most Outstanding Athlete: uOttawa X-Country / Track & Field
· Devyani Biswal
Most Outstanding Junior Athlete
· Male: Steve Nkusi & Matt Bedard
· Female: Erinn Stenman-Fahey
Most Outstanding Youth Athlete
· Male: Austin White
· Female: Shona McCulloch & Keira Christie-Galloway
Most Outstanding Midget Athlete
· Male: Ford Cashman
· Female: Lauren Gale
Most Outstanding Bantam Athlete
· Male: Joe Fast
· Female: Katie Newlove
Most Outstanding Para-Athlete
· Jason Dunkerley
Most Outstanding XC
· Claire Smith
Most Outstanding Combined Events Athlete
· Patrick Arbour
Most Outstanding Masters Athlete
· Wendy Alexis
Most Outstanding Athlete: Road Racer
· Tommy Des Brisay
Sean Cole: Dedication to Club Service
· Ken Porter
For photos of the night, please check out our Facebook page.
 

While many athletes are putting in their base work in early November, trying to regain their late summer form, shot putter Tim Nedow showed this week he’s already in the best form of his life. The Pan Am Games silver medalist hurled the 16 pound ball out to a lifetime best of 20.98m at a small competition on the campus of Bringham Young University in Utah.
[wpvideo ZfPmkZus] Friday’s result marked the fourth time the Brockville native has eclipsed the club shot put record since returning to the Lion’s den in Februay. Nedow, who was a long time member of the Ottawa Lions throughout high school career and first year of university, stepped away from the club during his final three seasons at DePaul University in Chicago before turning pro and moving out Kamloops, BC to train with famed coach, Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk. Most recently, Nedow has been training with Vésteinn Hafsteinsson in Växjö, Sweden.
To get to know Tim better, check out the feature below put together by Kashani Thomas

*Please note the location of the awards banquet has changed first announced. The banquet will now take place at the RA Centre.
Lions Annual Awards Gala – Saturday, November 21^st
Honouring: Lions Team Members of the 2015 World Championships, Pan American Games, World IPC Championships & Para Pan-Am Games as well team members from 4 other Canadian International Teams and the honoring of all our annual Club MVP’S, volunteers an officials.   Celebrating a most excellent year in track & field and the soon to be hosting of the Canadian U20, Open, Para Championships in 2017 and 2018
Guest Speakers: Olympians Melissa Bishop and Segun Makinde along with Rio Hopefuls Tim Nedow and Sekou Kaba.
Location:
Clark Hall – The RA Centre
2451 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1H 7X7
Time:                   
5:00 pm – Cocktails
5:45 pm – Opening Ceremonies & Dinner Sit-Down
Awards & Speeches throughout the Dinner
Expected Conclusion – 8:00 to 8:30 pm
Cost: $35 – Seat Reservations must be placed in advance by email – kashani.thomas@me.com. First come – please plan ahead !
Payment at the door on the night of the event or at the Lions Dome Office any time before the Dinner (cash, cheque, e-transfer, debit or credit card)
Dinner Maximum Capacity – 180
Dress: Business / Cocktail Style

It was championship weekend for both of the Ottawa Lions varsity programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University as both programs participated in the OUA  and RSEQ Championships respectively. In total, three Gee Gee athletes qualified for the upcoming CIS Championships at the University of Guelph, November 14.
The Gee- Gee women were led by senior Ruth Burrowes, who captured her first OUA All-Star distinction based on her 14th place finish. Burrowes finished the 6 kilometer race in a time of 21 minutes 16.0 seconds.  She was followed quickly by the defending CIS Rookie of the Year, Katie Phillips, who was 3.9 seconds behind her teammate in 15th place.  Teammates Tara Smith, Katie Wiwchar and Sophie Bernard round out the scorers for the team as they finished seventh overall with 161 points, nine behind Western University.

In the men’s 10 km contest, the Gee Gees were led by junior Alex Berhe who crossed the line in 31 minutes 36.6 seconds to finish 14th overall. The performance also netted him an OUA All-Star distinction.  Alex’s performance, combined with teammates Graeme McConnell (64th), Jared Ruest (69th), Kevin Bates (71st) and Ryan McDonell (78th) gave the Gee-Gees a total of 296 points for a 10th place overall finish.
At the Quebec conference championships, the Ravens were making their debut after only their second season of existence. The men were led by Sebastian Spoerel-Connelly who finished 64th overall in a time of 38 minutes 2 seconds. The top finisher for the women was Jessica McCrae in 42nd with a time of 26 minutes 1 second over the six kilometer course.

From CBCsports.ca
Ottawa’s Jason Dunkerley withstood overwhelming heat to race to a second-place finish in the T11 5000-metre race at the IPC world championships on Monday in Doha, Qatar.
Dunkerley, 38, a four-time Paralympian who won gold and silver at the 2015 Parapan Am Games in Toronto in August, was in third place with less than two laps remaining. Brazil’s Odair Santos had a huge lead as he was pursued by Cristian Valenzuela of Chile and Dunkerley, running with his guide Joshua Karanja in the visually impaired event.
But Santos collapsed on the final lap as Valenzuela came down the final stretch to take gold. Santos rose from the track only to fall again as Dunkerley moved up to claim second place.
“I am happy how Josh and I ran. We represented ourselves and our training,” Dunkerley said. “We wanted to win and we did the best we could. We are going back, rest and come back next year even stronger.”
Now within metres of the finish, Santos fell for a third time as his guide watched helplessly. That allowed Shinya Wada of Japan to finish third, while Santos finally crossed the line in fourth place.
Eight runners and guides started the race in sweltering conditions in Doha with only five runners completing the event.

Ottawa Lions athletes have put on an excellent display of athletic prowess over the past year, while coaches and volunteers have continued to show the tremendous dedication that has made the club Canada’s best. On November 21 we will gather at the RA Centre to celebrate these many excellent achievements.
World championship silver medalist Melissa Bishop, semi-finalist Sekou Kaba and Olympian Oluwasegun Makinde will be among the evening’s guest speakers.
Athletic awards will be presented for top athletes in the various age categories as well as acknowledging top performers in Paralympic events, cross country, road running and the combined events. Also, the Sean Cole Memorial Award will be handed out for dedication to club service.
Tickets for the event can be reserved by contacting Kashani Thomas (kashani.thomas@me.com). Payment can be made at the Ottawa Lions office or the night of the banquet on site.
Details:
2015 Ottawa Lions Awards Banquet
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Cocktails 5:00pm / Opening Ceremonies and Dinner Sit Down 5:45pm
Clark Hall
The RA Centre
2451 Riverside Drive
Tickets: $35
Dress: Business / Cocktail Style

With cross country and indoor track seasons arriving, the Running Room is hosting a special discount day at all Ottawa locations Saturday October 24 from 9:00 am to 6 pm. All members of the Ottawa Lions including family, coaches and Board members, can come into the Running Room and receive 25% off almost everything in the store (electronics and nutrition 10% off)! Shoes, clothing and even sale merchandise!

This is a great opportunity for the extended Ottawa Lions family to get everything you need for fall and indoor track and even Christmas shopping!

We look forward to seeing everyone Saturday at the Running Room and if you have any questions please contact Phil Marsh (pmarsh@runningroom.com)

After receiving the largest number of nominations in club history, its no wonder the Lions took their largest share of hardware home from last weekend’s Athletics Ontario Awards Banquet as five athletes were recognized with six awards. Headlining the list of winners was world silver medalist Melissa Bishop, who easily captured her first provincial award in the senior women’s distance category. Bishop’s season also included victory at the Pan Am Games and a new Canadian record over 800m. With all the success, she was also named Athletics Ontario Fan Favourite Female Athlete of the Year.
Two of Bishop’s world championship teammates were also honoured as throwers Tim Nedow and Sultana Frizell were recognized as the best in the province. For Frizell, the honour was the seventh straight in the senior women’s throws category. In fact, she’s the only woman to ever win the award since it’s inception in 2008. For Nedow, it was his fourth straight victory after picking up silver at the Pan Am Games.
The final two winners of the night were Lauren Gale and Shona McCullough. Both ladies had phenomenal season in 2015. Gale was a four time medalist at the Canadian Legion Championships in August, including gold in both the midget girls 200m and 300m. Lauren also set a new Legion record in the 200m final with her time of 24.32 seconds. She also picked up silver in the 200m hurdles and helped the youth girls 4x400m relay to a bronze. McCullough was recognized for a season that included two gold medals in youth girls 1500m and 3000m at the Legion Championships as well as an 11th place finish at the IAAF World Youth Championships over 3000m.

It was a beautiful day for a cross country race Saturday morning on the campus of St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University varsity teams were in action along with a small number of Lions athletes as the club kicked off the 2015 cross country season at the Hoffman Invitational where the Gee Gee women finished second while the men finished third.

The Gee Gee Women were led by second year standout Katie Phillips who completed the 6 kilometre course in 22 minutes 12.0 seconds to finish second overall. The defending CIS Rookie of the Year was followed closely behind by teammate Ruth Burrowes, was fourth in 22:18.6. The Gee Gees would place all five of their scorers to finish with a total of 32 points, just four behind champions, St. Lawrence University.
The top Raven was Natasha Herron who was sixth overall in 23 minutes 10.7 seconds. The Carleton women finished fourth with a total of 114 points.
On the men’s side, University of Ottawa sophmore Lucas Trapeau was the only male to crack the top ten, finishing the 8km course in 27 minutes 3.7 seconds to place eighth. The next club athlete to cross the line was Carleton Raven, Seb Saville, as he finished 19th in 27:47.2.  The Gee Gee men finished third overall with 77 points, just seven behind second place, Clarkson University.
Next up on the cross country schedule is this weekend’s Hamilton College Invitational in Clinton, New York.