Ottawa, Canada. 25 May 2023. Jorai Oppong-Nketiah (734) of Pierre-de-Blois - Ottawa competing at the 2023 Ottawa City High School Track and Field Championships. Copyright 2023 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Records fall at NCSSAA and EOSSAA Championships

by High Schoollinkinbio

As local high school athletes continue their journey to the OFSAA Track and Field Championships set for June 8-10 here in Ottawa, a few Lions did so in record breaking fashion. 

For the second week in a row, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah etched her name into the record book, becoming the fastest grade nine girl in Ottawa track and field history. The Pierre-de-Blois student bested the field by more than a second in the final as she broke the tape in a blistering 12.25 seconds. 

Oppong-Nketiah’s performance bested the 48-year meet record of 12.40 set by Anne Liuzzo from Canterbury. 

Jorai also advanced to the East Regional Championship next week by taking top spot in the 200 metre. While falling short of Lauren Gale’s meet record, her time of 25.91 gave her a nice 1.4 second margin of victory. 

At the EOSSAA Track and Field Championships at  Thousand Island Secondary School in Brockville, a trio of meet records fell at the feet of Lions’ athletes. 

Quinn Couglin took down two records over the course of the two day championship, beginning on day one with the junior girls 300 metre hurdles event. The grade 10 student at Opeongo High School sped her way to a victory in 44.67 seconds Thursday afternoon – more than five seconds clear of second place. The performance bested the old record of 46.85 set by Catherine Farish of Frontenac Secondary School set in 2006. 

Coming back the next day, Coughlin took down another record. This time it was her idol’s, Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, junior girls 400 metre record that fell. Last year’s OFSAA silver medalist completed one lap of the TISS track in 57.65 seconds to shave 39 hundredths of second of Bishop-Nriagu’s 19 year old record.

While not in record time, Coughlin did add a third individual gold to her EOSSAA Championship performance in the 800 metres. Winning time for the grade 10 student was 2 minutes and 21.74 seconds. 

Rounding out the record breakers was Louise Stonham. The grade 12 student at Arnprior District High School bested her own record in the open girls 2000 metre steeplechase event. Louise stopped the clock in a time of 7 minutes and 15.63 seconds – more than 37 seconds ahead of second place. Her previous meet record of 7:21.13 had been set last year. 

Stonham also picked up a pair of bronze medals in the senior girls 1500 and 3000 metres. 

While he didn’t get his name in the NCSSAA record books, Glebe’s Jay Yetman put forward a very impressive performance over the two day championship, completing a sweep of the senior boys 100 and 200 metres as well as the long jump. 

The grade 12 student put together massive personal bests in both sprint events, as he joined the sub-11 and and sub-22 clubs with winning times of 10.99 and 21.79 seconds respectively. Yetman’s winning leap in the long jump measured 6.22 metres, a mere centimetre ahead of second place. 

The road to OFSAA continues next week here in Ottawa with the East Regional High School Championships on Thursday and Friday at Terry Fox. 

For full results from the NCSSAA and EOSSAA Championships, please visit https://ottawalions.com/results/2023-results/

For updated Club rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

(York, Canada — 3 June 2022) Timeo Atonfo of Gis?le-Lalonde - Ottawa competing in the sprint hurdle heats at the 2022 OFSAA Ontario High School Track and Field Championships held at the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University. 2022 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Records fall as Lions begin road to OFSAA Championships

by High SchoollinkinbioLocal

The march to the OFSAA Track and Field Championships has begun and three athletes have already made it known they should be considered forces to be reckoned with after record setting performances at both the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association East and West Conference Championships taking place last week. 

In just her first high school season, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah quickly made her name known as one to keep an eye out. The grade nine student at Pierre-de-Blois set records in both the 100 and 200 metre sprint events at the West Conference Championship.

Oppong-Nketiah bested former Lion Remy Wade’s 10 year old 100 metre record in the preliminary rounds, stopping the clock at 12.39 seconds. Wade’s old mark was 12.44 seconds. Jorai was a hair slower in the final, finishing in 12.40 seconds. 

Over 200 metres, Oppong-Nketiah equalled the meet record of 26.03 seconds in the heats before taking top spot in the final with a blazing time of 25.96 seconds. The previous record had been set by Shelani Fernando in 2010. 

At the East Conference Championship, it was the wind that kept Timeo Atonfo from breaking a pair of records for the second year in a row. The Gisèle-Lalonde student captured top spot in the junior boys long jump with a leap of 6.44 metres to eclipse Japhet Divita’s seven year old mark of 6.40. 

The record is the second long jump record for Atonfo at the East Conference meet. He set the novice boys mark a year ago.

On the track, Atonfo topped the junior 100 metre hurdle race with an impressive 14.04 second clocking – besting the previous meet record by more than three tenths of a second. Unfortunately for the grade 10 student, the wind gauge registered a trailing wind in excess of the allowable 2.0 metres per second (+2.6), nullifying the record.

Atonfo made it a three gold medal day as he hopped, skipped, and jumped his way to top place in the triple jump. His best mark of the day was 13.04 metres, more than 1.2 metres ahead of second place. 

Rounding out the record breakers was Olivia Baggley in the senior girls 3000 metres as he took down Alex McGowan’s nine year old mark of 10:21.96. The Gloucester senior completed the seven and half lap race in 10 minutes and 20.83 seconds to best the next closest competitor by nearly two full minutes. 

All three athletes and a host of others will compete this Wednesday and Thursday at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility for a spot at the East Regional Championship. The top five finishers at the city championship will advance to regionals.

For updated Club rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

For full results from the East and West Conference Meets as well as the LCIAA and UOVHSAA Meets, please visit https://ottawalions.com/results/2023-results/

(Ottawa, Canada --- 08 June 2022) Quinn Coughlin competing at Ottawa Summer Twilight Meet #3 Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Rowat / Mundo Sport Images Please tag @mundosportimages if posting on social media

Coughlin leads string of record performances at Ravens High School Relays

by High Schoollinkinbio

With the Carleton Ravens High School Relays running last Thursday, it officially marked the start of the outdoor season in Ottawa. The competition, one of three run by the Lions in the lead up to the highly anticipated high school season, was a huge success with over 500 entries.

With a number of Lions in action, seven in particular stood out among the field as they combined to set a total of 11 meet records between them. Opeongo student Quinn Coughlin was responsible for more than a quarter of those results as she set new marks in the junior varsity 400 and 800 metres as well as the 300 metre hurdles. Despite it being Coughlin’s first attempt at the intermediate hurdles, her time of 46.93 was 0.4 seconds faster than the previous mark. 

It was the 800 metre records which took the hardest hits Thursday as the junior varsity and varsity marks fell on both the boy’s and girl’s side. Koree Yach’s time of 2:28.58 eclipsed Grace Munro’s one year old mark in the varsity girl’s event. The Arnprior runner also set a new record in the varsity girls 400 metres. 

On the men’s side, OFSAA cross country champion Saul Taler erased more than 11 seconds from the junior varsity boy’s standard with his time of 2 minutes and 7.50 seconds. Canterbury’s Nicolas Belen put on a commanding performance in the varsity event as he broke the two minute barrier, stopping the clock at 1:58.45 for a new personal best and a more than 17 second improvement on the previous meet record. 

The pair of 800 metre boy’s record holders squared off in the open 3000 metres where it was the elder Belan who held on to top spot and took the record in the event with a time of 9:08.22. Taler also dipped under the previous mark with a time of 9:18.20.

Out in the field, defending novice boys OFSAA Champion in the high jump Kai Gibson picked up where he left off last high school season. The grade 10 Longfields Davidson student took top spot in both the junior varsity high jump and long jump with record performances. Gibson cleared 1.75 metres in the high jump and sailed out to 5.96 metres in the long jump.

Rounding out the list of record breakers from Thursday’s event was Jay Yetman. The grade 12 Glebe student was the class of the field in the varsity boys long jump as he broke the sand out at 6.47 metres to claim top spot. Yetman’s leap was nearly a foot further than the previous mark set in 2019.

Full results from Thursday’s competition can be found on our website at https://ottawalions.com/results/2023-results/2023-ravens-high-school-relays/

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Lions end March Break with personal bests in Myrtle Beach

by High Schoollinkinbio

With another March Break having drawn to a close, a number of Lions athletes have returned home from the sun and warmth of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with more than some new tan lines. More than 30 athletes and coaches from the Club ventured south for a week of training culminating in the annual Shamrock Invitational to kick off the outdoor season. Over the two day competition Lions athletes recorded a total of 20 new personal bests.

Among those to set a new personal best was Nicolas Belan. The Canterbury High School student broke the two minute barrier for 800 metres for the first time while also beating a full field of collegiate runners to win in 1 minute and 59.85 seconds. Belan’s previous best was a 2:07 clocking last summer. Matias del Rio Reategui was seventh in 2:05.40.

For the second year in a row, Louise Stonham topped the women’s 3000 metre steeplechase field – finishing in 11 minutes and 23.09 seconds. While short of her personal best, Stonham dominated the field with a 27 second gap between her and the second place runner. 

Lauren Alexander narrowly missed the top spot in the women’s 800 metres, finishing second to James Madison’s Sinead Sargeant. Alexander did manage to record her fastest opener ever, speeding her way to a time of 2 minutes and 20.76 seconds. 

Friday’s 400 metre races were a battle against the clock as well as the wind. While gusts hovered around 20 miles per hour for most of the day, they were not enough to keep Zachary Jeggo off the podium. The grade 10 student at École secondaire Louis-Riel sprinted his way to a new personal best of 51.92 seconds as he took third spot in the open section. Club mate Zach Theodore also posted a lifetime best, running 53.32 for seventh. 

Picking up the final medal of the weekend for the Lions was Madeleine Seaby. The grade 12 student from Carleton Place posted a time of 10 minutes and 25.74 seconds for 3000 metres as she finished in the bronze medal position. 

For full results from Myrtle Beach, please visit

https://www.tfrrs.org/results/75548/Alan_Connie_Shamrock_Invitational

For updated Club rankings, please visit

https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

(York, Canada — 2 June 2022) Saul Taler of Glebe - Ottawa competing in the novice boys 1500m heats at the 2022 OFSAA Ontario High School Track and Field Championships held at the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University. 2022 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Lions bring home hardware from OFSAA XC return

by High SchoolProvincial

Saturday marked the return of the OFSAA Cross Country Championships for Ottawa athletes after a two year hiatus and the performances turned out, did not disappoint. Following the event’s cancellation in 2020 and self-imposed travel restrictions for National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association schools in 2021, Lions athletes returned to the provincial high school championships to take home two individual and two team titles.

A combination of a hilly course at the Dagmar Ski Resort in Uxbridge and unseasonably warm temperatures that climbed toward 20 degrees celsius by mid day pushed the field of  runners to their limits Saturday. However, Glebe’s Sauler Taler was able to rise above it all as he claimed gold in the junior boy’s five kilometre race. 

Holding steady in the lead pack of 5-6 runners through the bulk of the course, Taler found himself clear of the field with about 400 metres to go and didn’t look back. “It was exhilarating,” he recalled to Ottawa Sport Page. “I said to myself: ‘Don’t let someone pass you. I really want to win.’ So, I kept pushing. ‘You’re going to win OFSAA, keep pushing, keep pushing,’ I said.” 

With the victory, Taler became just the 14th Lions runner to claim individual OFSAA Cross Country gold. 

For Peak Academy’s Grace Streek, her pathway to Dragmar was a little more involved than her competitors, which made her bronze medal in the junior girls race all the more sweet. Before Streek could even take to the starting line in the NCSSAA East Conference Championship, she had to win an appeal of the OFSAA transfer policy before she was allowed to compete.

In Uxbridge, Grace was the leader for the bulk of the five kilometre race, before suffering from a stitch in the final stages and settling for third.

On the team side, Matteo Padoin-Castillo took home team gold with his Immaculata teammates in the junior boys event. Lauren Alexander led Glebe to a silver medal in the senior girls race with her seventh place finish.

22CapitalXC_Mens_Race

Lions run well at Capital XC Challenge

by High SchoollinkinbioLocalUniversity

With the sun shining and temperatures hovering in the mid-teens, it was a beautiful weekend for a cross country meet. In total, more than 750 athletes ran through the park at Mooney’s Bay, on one of Canada’s most unique and challenging courses, at the annual Capital XC Event this past Friday and Saturday.

The event opened with the high school girls junior varsity event, where St. Pius X’s Isabella Chiumera took top spot in the four kilometre race. Chiumera’s time of 15:05.51 was nearly 11 seconds ahead of the Lions’ Grace Streek, while Quinn Coughlin of Opeongo rounded out the podium in third. 

Malachi Kenny of Pembroke’s Bishop Smith High School was the winner of the junior varsity boys contest in 13 minutes and 4.41 seconds. Kenny edged out Glebe’s Saul Taler, who finished just five seconds behind on the four kilometre course.

There were some popular faces atop the varsity girls podium as Lion Louise Stonham took top place in the five kilometre event. Stonham finished in 18 minutes and 11.89 seconds, about 100 metres ahead of training partner Lauren Alexander who was competing for Glebe. Ariel Gibbons of Renfrew rounded out the podium in 19:44.89.

Records are made to be broken and that is exactly what the top three finishers in the varsity boys did in Friday’s final race. The trio of Robin Lefebvre, Derek Strachan, and Ilyass Kasmi all improved on the previous record of 16:02.07 set by Angus Skinner last season. Lefebcvre took nearly 20 seconds off the previous standard as he crossed the line in 15 minutes and 43.52 seconds. Strachan was eight seconds back in silver, while Kasmi finished in 15:55.91 for third. 

Saturday featured the University/Open sections where McGill and Queen’s Universities won the men’s and women’s titles respectively. The University of Ottawa finished third in both races. 

McGill was led to victory by Matthew Beaudet, who won the six kilometre race in a time of 18 minutes and 37.07 seconds. While Jude Wheeler-Dee and Roman Mironov of Queen’s rounded out the podium. The top finisher for the Gee-Gees was André Alie-Lamarche who placed sixth in a time of 19:21.48. Nicholas Pedersen was the top runner for the Lions in eighth.

On the women’s side, Becca Brennan of Monarch Athletics took top spot with a time of 22 minutes and 30.95 seconds. The former Lion and Gee-Gee was followed closely behind the University of Ottawa’s Noemie Beauregard in 22:33.23. Manon Plouvier of Queen’s rounded out the podium in third. 

In the elementary school races, Lions athletes took home three of the six team titles. Elmdale Public School captured the U10 boys and girls titles, while Collège Notre-Dame took home the U14 boys title. 

(York, Canada — 3 June 2022) L-R, William Bigler of Appleby College - Oakville, William Sanders of Mother Teresa - Ottawa, Chris Jackson of St. Mary's - Kitchener competing in the junior boys 400m final at the 2022 OFSAA Ontario High School Track and Field Championships held at the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University. 2022 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Lions take home 14 medals from OFSAA Championships

by High SchoollinkinbioProvincial

For the high school athletes of the Ottawa Lions, it was a long two year hiatus, but they returned to the OFSAA Championships this past weekend in Toronto without missing a beat. In total, the athletes amassed 14 medals, including four golds, and one Canadian Interscholastic Record. 

The national record went to Elizabeth Vroom in the 2000 metre steeplechase as the grade 12 student won the event in a blistering six minutes and 52.19 seconds. Teammate Gillian Porter took home the silver in 7:01.47, while Louise Stonham placed 5th in 7:14.90.

The aptly named Vroom is a relative newcomer to the sport, having only joined the Club this past winter. The Sir Wilfred Laurier student has translated her successful playing time on the pitch with the Ottawa South United Soccer Club to the track quite well, setting meet records at every competition in the lead up to the OFSAA Championships. 

Vroom’s run now ranks as the second fastest U20 performance in Club history behind former Canadian record holder Danelle Woods.  

Also running to the top of the OFSAA podium this weekend were Vroom’s training partners Amelia Van Brabant and Maddie Seaby. The pair swept the top two spots in the women’s 3000m. Amelia Van Brabant took home the gold in a personal best nine minutes and 47.94 seconds, while Seaby followed behind in 9:55.43 – also a personal best. 

Vroom just missed a second OFSAA medal in the 3000, taking fourth in a personal best 10:03.51. Louise Stonham rounded out the group with her sixth place finish in a lifetime best of 10:09.13.

Mother Teresa student William Sanders continued his dominance of the junior boys 400 metres on Friday afternoon, capturing his first OFSAA gold medal in a personal best time of 51.51 seconds. Sanders, who had won every race prior to the provincial championships by nearly two seconds or more, took a hold of the lead at the 200 metre mark, and withstood the late charges from William Bigler to win by nearly a quarter of a second. 

Off the track, Kai Gibson captured the only other gold medal of the weekend in the novice boys high jump. The grade nine student from Longfields-Davidson Secondary School cleared 1.80 metres to claim top spot. Second place finisher Jeramiah Zomerman of Chatham Christian also cleared 1.80 metres, but Gibson took top spot by virtue of his first attempt clearance of the height. 

A complete list of all the medal winners from this year’s OFSAA Championship are included below.

Novice BoysKai GibsonLongfields-DavidsonHigh JumpGOLD – 1.80m
Junior BoysDustin ColdreyColonel ByShot PutBRONZE – 14.01m
Senior BoysConnor FraserImmaculataDiscusSILVER – 47.71m
Open GirlsElizabeth VroomSir Wilfred Laurier2000m SteeplechaseGOLD – 6:52.19
Open GirlsGillian PorterFrano-Cité2000m SteeplechaseSILVER – 7:01.47
Senior GirlsAudrey GoddardMerivale100m HurdlesSILVER – 13.99
Novice GirlsQuinn CoughlinOpeongo400mSILVER – 57.88
Senior BoysLuca NicolettiPaul-Desmarais110m HurdlesBRONZE – 14.14
Junior BoysWilliam SandersMother Teresa400mGOLD – 51.51
Novice BoysWill BatleyWest Carleton100mBRONZE – 11.38
Senior GirlsAmelia Van BrabantEarl of March3000mGOLD – 9:47.94
Senior GirlsMaddie SeabyCarleton Place3000mSILVER – 9:55.43
Senior BoysLuca NicolettiPaul-Desmarais400m HurdlesSILVER – 54.62
Novice GirlsQuinn CoughlinOpeongo800mSILVER – 2:18.14
Louise Stonham Myrtle Beach

Lions start season on right foot in Myrtle Beach

by High SchoolInternationallinkinbio

After a week of putting in work under the bright South Carolina sun, the small contingent of Lions high school athletes attending training camp in Myrtle Beach had the opportunity to put a marker out and see where they were in their training. The results were promising with the Lions posting eight top ten finishes, including a victory by Louise Stonham in the 3000m steeplechase.

Stonham laid on the gas from the gun and ran right to the front of the pack. By the end of the fourth lap, the Arnprior District High School student had opened the gap on the field to two seconds. As Stonham hit the bell, her lead had grown to nearly eight seconds and she would close in her second fastest lap of the day to stop the clock in 11 minutes and 50.87 seconds.

Racing against a field of university students, Stonham appeared unfazed in her debut at the longer steeplechase distance. The 2021 Ontario U18 2000 metre steeplechase champion’s winning time now moves her to eighth in Club history for the event.

A second medal performance came from Maddie Seaby who took the silver over 3000 metres in a time of 10 minutes and 7.95 seconds. Running second the whole race, the grade 12 student found herself six seconds back of Colgate University senior Sophia Manners with two laps to go. However, the Carleton Place District High School student kicked her way home, closing in 2:38.05 to narrow the gap to just three seconds. Seaby’s time is the 12th fastest in Club history at the U18 level.

Falling just short of the podium were Olivia Baggley and Cora McQuinn who each placed fourth in their respective events. Baggley set a new lifetime best at 5,000 metres with an 18:27.74 clocking while McQuinn dropped more than half a second off her 400 metre best with her 57.91 performance.

Other individual top ten performances came from Amelia Van Brabant and Audrey Goddard. In the mile, Van Brabant placed fifth with a 5:10.43 performance while Goddard ran 15.30 for the 100 metre hurdles to place tenth.

Both women featured on relay teams which also placed well. Goddard ran lead off on the 4×200 metre relay with Tatiana Pender, Allison Dewar, and Cora McQuinn as the quartet placed seventh in 1:47.74. Van Brabant ran anchor on the 4×800 metre squad with Maddie Seaby, Ella Lalonde, and Louise Stonham as the ladies posted a time of 10:03.29 to finish sixth.

Full results from the meet are available on our website at https://ottawalions.com/results/2022-results

Graduation Clip Art

Congratulations to the high school class of 2021

by High Schoollinkinbio

Entering the summer months of 2020, we made note of and congratulated members of the Ottawa Lions who were graduating high school and taking the next step in academia. We hoped that would be a one-time scenario and we could see the graduating high school cohort of 2021 get a more traditional send off. Another year has gone by and we faced constant changes that effecting nearly every aspect of our day to day lives. Schools, workplaces, and training arrangements saw openings and closures throughout the winter and spring, once again disrupting the exciting times that usually take place in the final year of high school.

The graduating year of high school and lead up towards the next stage of academia is an exciting time where many young adults develop their own individual habits and qualities that will carry them forward in University, career goals, and personal endeavours. With the official wrap up of the 2020-21 school year a week ago the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club would like to congratulate all our graduating high school athletes as they prepare to begin their post-secondary education or venture out to begin working.

We have seen a great number of these athletes grow up from our club’s youth, foundation, and aspire programs and even some late additions who have developed a love for track and field in a very short span of time. With the summer competitive season picking up, we look forward to seeing what these athletes have in store.

Congratulations to the class of 2021!

AthleteSchool
Bianca BorgellaUniversity of Ottawa
Vienna CourteauUniversity of Ottawa
Anna Sierra Heffernan-WilkerUniversity of Ottawa
Dillon LandonUniversity of Ottawa
Maya LawsonUniversity of Ottawa
Liam LemeryUniversity of Ottawa
Katie ManorUniversity of Ottawa
Jalena MarelicUniversity of Ottawa
Marissa McCutcheonUniversity of Ottawa
David MoulongouUniversity of Ottawa
Elana TymanUniversity of Ottawa
Caitlin McMannCarleton University
Amy ThompsonCarleton University
Phoenix BoumaUniversity of Calgary
Samantha WisebergDalhousie University
Amelia WojtykDalhousie University
Audrey GilmourMcGill University
Zoe GardinerMcGill University
Sam RobinsonSt.FX University
Owen PensomSt.FX University
Makyla CarrUniversity of British Columbia
Sebastian CinoUniversity of British Columbia
Keaton McGrathUniversity of British Columbia
Cameron PorterUniversity of British Columbia - Okanagan
Keito NewmanSoka University
Ivy BialowasUniversity of New Brunswick
Xavier CarteyUniversity of New Brunswick
Tyler SnelsonUniversity of Windsor
Andrew TaylorUniversity of Windsor

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Back on track – Lions athletes return to formal practices

by COVIDHigh SchoollinkinbioLocal

Incredible. It was all the words Foundation and Aspire program director Zach Quevillon needed to express his feelings about being back at practice.

After two months of lockdown, where treadmills, Zoom workouts, and other at home training became the norm, the Lions returned to practice Saturday morning at the spacious Sooner Megadome located at École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais in Stittsville. Saturday’s practice, a soft opening to March’s full return to programming at three separate locations across the city, included approximately 35 athletes who ran, hurdled, and bounded across the spacious turf field.

With nearly all members of the Aspire Program back training Saturday morning, coaches Quevillon and Connor Dobson led the high school students through their paces as they prepare for a competitive season that will be void of an OFSAA Championship for the second straight season. Quevillon plans to ease the athletes back into the swing of things over the next four months as the athletes prepare to head back outdoors in April. “It was evident that everybody’s been working really hard on their time away,” said the fifth year coach. “Virtual workouts were a success and we are at a starting point that is a lot further down the road than I was expecting having not seen [the athletes] in two plus months.”

Hurdler Luca Nicoletti said he found at home training to be more static and was happy to be back at practice with the whole team. After two months of treadmill running and drills at home, “it felt great to get back to running at a high speed,” said the 2019 Legion National silver medalist. Nicoletti says his focus this summer is returning to Legion Nationals, if the event does take place.

While the treadmill was go to for a number of athletes during lockdown, coach Normand Seguin notes the transfer of mechanics from the treadmill to the track takes some time. “Surprisingly [the athletes] found they are weak in the quads. When they pushed they realized they have to push, so they were slower,” said Seguin of the re-adjustment to running on a stationary surface. Nonetheless, the long time coach was pleased with where the athletes were, “I can tell they are very fit, they just need a little bit more exposure.”

Lions athletes will continue to get the necessary training exposure throughout March with sessions taking place at the Sooner Megadome, Aberdeen Pavilion, and Carp’s Oz Dome. For more information about our programs, please consult our website.