All posts by : Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

It was a busy weekend for 15 year old Lauren Gale as she wrapped up first Legion Nationals with a medal of every colour – including two gold. After securing gold and silver on Saturday, Gale got right back to work in the 200m on Sunday, capturing the half-lap race in a championship record 24.32 seconds. It was a tight victory for the soon to be high school sophomore as the race saw no less than four competitors dip under the old record of 24.53 set in 2013 by Zion Corrales-Nelson. Finishing eighth in the race was Sharelle Samuel, who crossed the line in 25.72 seconds. The duo would move up an age group and join forces with Colle Thompson and Caitlin Fischer to win bronze in the U18 girls 4x400m with a time of 3:52.20.
In the U18 girls hammer throw, Taylor Currier hurled her ball and chain out to a lifetime best of 54.16m to claim silver. Currier had entered the competition with a best of 52.93m. Also in the hammer, teammate Tanya Coulter put up a best effort of 51.51m. Coulter, who owns a best of 57.16m, had been battling an injury prior to the competition.
The final medal of day came from hurdler Austin White as the soon to be high school senior claimed bronze in the 400m hurdles in a time of 55.92 seconds. Sunday’s medal was the second straight for White in the intermediate hurdles after he captured bronze a year ago in Langley over 300m. The event distance was changed in 2015 in line with IAAF competition standards.
Other top ten finishers from Sunday included:
Shyvonne Roxborough – U18 Girls 200m – 24.32 (4th)
Graeme Ferguson – U16 Boys 1500m Steeplechase – 4:39.93 (5th)
Adrian Fournier – U16 Boys 800m – 2:05.74 (6th)
Holton Leo – U16 Boys 1500m Steeplechase – 4:42.75 (6th)
Jonathan Rioux – U16 Boys 800m – 2:05.99 (7th)
Austin White, Jonah Hayes-Crook, Ryan Salvino, Matthew Hickey – U18 Boys 4x400m – 3:31.12 (8th)
Thomas Saville – U18 Boys 2000m Steeplechase – 6:17.55 (9th)
Eric Mitchell – U18 Boys 200m – 22.80 (9th)
Caitlin Fischer – U18 Girls 400m Hurdles – 1:06.77 (9th)
Jenna Rossi – U16 Girls 800m – 2 :22.06 (10th)
Tanner Van Every – U18 Boys Triple Jump – 12.24m (10th)

Josh Cassidy and Jason Dunkerley begin their quest for gold today at the Para Pan Am Games in Toronto with both athletes contesting the 5000m. Cassidy kicks things off in the T54 category at 3 pm.
For Jason Dunkerley, he will be looking to improve on his bronze medal performance from four years ago in Guadalajara, Mexico. Dunkerley and guide Joshua Karanja were silver medalists at the London Paralympic Games and certainly come into the games as favourites for a medal. The duo race at 3:20 pm.
You can watch all three compete LIVE on CBC.ca
For this and more information about Canada’s participation at the Para Pan Am Games, check out Athletics Canada’s website.

It was another successful day on the track in Ste. Therese on Saturday as the Ottawa Lions picked up another four medals on the second day of the National Legion Championships – including two gold. The haul raises the club’s total to eight, including five gold after two days of competition.
After capturing the 1500m title Friday night, Shona McCulloch got right back to business Saturday morning in the U18 girls 3000m, picking up her second gold of the championship. McCulloch won in a time 9 minutes 46.33 seconds, two and a half seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. With the victory, Shona remains a perfect 4-0 individual events at Legion Nationals over the past two seasons.
Also stepping on the top rung of the podium on Saturday was Lauren Gale after her commanding victory in the U16 girls 300m. Gale, who has dominated the distance in Canada this summer, won handily in a time of 38.68 seconds, more than a second ahead of teammate Sharelle Samuel who took home in silver in a personal best 39.92. Her gold in the 300m, was Gale’s second of the day following her silver in the 200m hurdle final where she finished in 27.86 seconds.
Just missing out on her second medal of the championship was Keira Christie-Galloway who finished fourth in the U18 girls long jump. Christie-Galloway, a silver medalist in the U16 category in 2014, finished just two centimeters out of bronze with the second best jump of her life – 5.62m.
Other top ten performances by Ottawa Lions on Saturday included:
Jenna Rossi – U16 Girls 2000m – 6:50.08 (7th)
Wariso Dullo – U16 Boys Javelin – 47.28m (8th)
Eric Mitchell – U18 Boys Long Jump – 6.67m (8th)
Jonathan Rioux – U16 Boys 2000m – 5;59.07 (9th)
Mathieu Payant – U16 Boys 300m – 38.38 (10th)

“It was a good day for the club,” said coach Andrew Pagé, and he wasn’t joking as Lions athletes picked up four medals on day one of the 2015 National Legion Track and Field Championships held in Ste. Therese, Quebec. Leading the charge was a trio of young ladies who were all crowned Canadian champions on Friday.
World Youth semi-finalist, Keira Christie-Galloway was the odds on favourite to win gold after a season of consistently putting up the fastest times in the country. The St. Matthews High School student didn’t disappoint, winning in a time of 13.80 seconds over Brittany Stenekes of Team Ontario and world youth teammate, Arielle Bykovskaia-Dominique of Quebec.
In the youth girls 1500m, Shona McCulloch captured the third Canadian crown of her life, after winning both the U16 1200m and 2000m at last year’s championship. Despite being a year younger than most of her fellow competitors, McCulloch won in a time of 4:35.76, less than three seconds off her personal best.
Rounding out the national champions was Shyvonne Roxborough, who was crowned Canada’s girl by virtue of winning the U18 girls 100m title. The South Carleton High School student won comfortably in 12.05 seconds into a strong 1.7 m/s headwind. Teammate Colle Thompson was seventh in the final with a time of 12.62 seconds.
Winning the Lions first medal of the championship was Cashman Ford, who picked up bronze in the U16 boys pole vault.
Action continues Saturday and Sunday at the Legion Nationals in Ste. Therese.

While there individual performances may have left them wanting more on the track, both Matt Bedard and Erinn Stenman-Fahey each left the Pan American Junior Championships at Foote Field in Edmonton Sunday night with a bronze medal around their neck and the Canadian flag draped around their shoulders.
Bedard was an 11th place finisher in the men’s 400m hurdles on Saturday before taking the stick on the second leg off Canada’s 4x400m relay team Sunday night to help them to their 3 minute 9.91 second clocking. The event was the first international team selection for Bedard.
For Stenman-Fahey, Sunday’s medal in the 4x400m relay was redemption for the future Iowa State Cyclone after she missed out on individual bronze with a fourth place finish in Saturday night’s 800m final. After moving into the top four with 300m to go in the 800m final, Erinn was unable to out kick Canadian teammate Evelyn Guay, crossing the line in 2 minutes 9.42 seconds, less than a second off the podium.
While he didn’t earn a medal, high jumper Steve Nkusi had the best competition of his life en route to equaling his personal best with a 2.10m clearance. Nkusi cleared each of his five heights on his first attempt before failing to clear what would have been a lifetime best 2.13m. For his efforts, Steve finished in fifth place in his first international competition.

From Athletics Canada:

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Four Ottawa Lions boarded planes headed for Edmonton Wednesday morning as they get set to compete in this weekend’s Pan American Junior Championship. While Claire Smith and Erinn Stenman-Fahey are first year juniors, they are no stranger to international competition. Erinn was a semi-finalist at last year’s World Junior Championships as a 17 year old, while Claire ran at this year’s World Cross Country Championships. For the men, both Matt Bedard and Steve Nkusi will be making their international debut in Edmonton.
Claire Smith is scheduled to compete on the opening day of competition in the women’s 3000m. Claire qualified for the event by virtue of her commanding victory at the Canadian Junior Championships on the same Foote Field track earlier this month. She is the top ranked athlete in the event with a best of 9:22.75 set earlier this year.
On Saturday, Matt Bedard will take to the line in a very competitive men’s 400m hurdle semi-final where he’ll square off against one of the best juniors in the world, Marvin Williams of Jamaica. Matt, the current Canadian junior champion, will need to place in the top 2 or be among the top 2 fastest losers to advance to the final later in the day.
Also competing Saturday will be Erinn Stenman-Fahey as she lines up in the women’s 800m timed final. A silver medallist at nationals, Erinn will likely have to dip under her personal best of 2:06.97 set last year in Eugene if she is to figure in the medals. The 800m field is highlight by world number one, Raevyn Rogers of the United States, who has run 1:59.71 this summer.
Rounding out the Lions contingent is Steve Nkusi who will look to recreate some of the magic that saw him capture his first national championship earlier this month when he takes to the high jump apron on Sunday. The University of Ottawa freshman is a relative newcomer to the event, having only begun training seriously for the event 14 months ago after playing competitive basketball previously.  However, Nkusi has already raised his personal best to 2.10m, which ranks him 9th heading into the competition.
Lions schedule (all times Eastern)
Watch Live 
Claire Smith – 3000m final – Friday @ 20h50
Matt Bedard – 400mH prelim – Saturday @ 15h10. Final @21h10
Erinn Stenman-Fahey – 800m final – Saturday @ 20h15
Steve Nkusi – High Jump Final – Sunday @ 19h10

By Dan Plouffe of Ottawa Sportpage
Seeded fourth in the women’s 800 metres, Melissa Bishop of the Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club bolted down the home stretch to gold on Wednesday night at York University as the Ottawa medal haul hit a remarkable total of 20 with four days left in the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games.
“There are so many fans here and I have a lot of people from home and friends and family all around (the stadium),” noted Bishop, who ran a blazing 1 minute, 59.52-second time for her two-lap race and then a snail-pace victory lap as she stopped for hugs in the audience almost every step of the way. “It was so great to have that connection with everybody, and I’m really grateful for it.”
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By Dan Plouffe of Ottawa Sportspage
It wasn’t the best performances of their careers, but the Ottawa Lions throws tandem of Tim Nedow and Sultana Frizell both experienced career highlights nonetheless on Tuesday evening at York University as they won silver and bronze medals respectively at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games.
Nedow’s medal came in his first of two events during the five-day Pan Am track-and-field programme, placing 2nd in the men’s shotput with a toss of 20.53 metres.
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