Brampton, Ontario ---2017-07-30--- Katie Newlove of Ottawa Lions T.F.C. and Jordyn Bartolomucci of Timmins Porcupine Track & Field compete at the AO BMY Championships in Brampton, Ontario, July 30, 2017. GEOFF ROBINS/ Mundo Sport Images

Cox and Newlove produce top finishes at USports XC Championship

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

The university cross country season concluded Saturday at the 2021 USports Championships hosted by the Laval Rouge et Or in Quebec City. Running on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. The field of nearly 260 athletes included six Lions’ runners.

Will Cox was the top placing Lion, finishing 30th in the men’s race. The Atlantic University Sport bronze medalist completed the eight kilometre course in 25 minutes and 43.7 seconds. His performance helped his Dalhousie Tigers to a seventh place finish and he was named Dalhousie Male Athlete of the Week for his efforts.

Finishing five seconds back of Cox was Robbie Mitchell in 37th. The University of Calgary graduate student helped the Dinos to a ninth place finish.

Adrian Fournier of the University of Ottawa placed 61st overall in a time of 26 minutes and 27.1 seconds. His performance was the highest finish by Gee-Gee male since Alex Berhe’s 58th place finish at the 2016 championships on the same course. Cameron Bruce of Carleton placed 126th.

Second year University of British Columbia student, Katie Newlove produced the top finish on the women’s side, placing 43rd in a time 30 minutes and 49.2 seconds. Newlove and her Thunderbird teammates just missed the podium, finishing five points behind Guelph’s 119 points to place fourth.

Fellow second year runner, Skye Pellerin finished 110th in her first USports Championship. The University of Ottawa Gee-Gee runner crossed the line in 33 minutes and 13.0 seconds.

(Kingston, Canada---14 November 2021) Madeleine Seaby, Kyla Martin, Amelia Van Brabant, and Abigail Sammut. racing in the U18 Girls race at the 2021 Athletics Ontario Cross Country Championships held on Fort Henry Hill in Kingston, Ontario.. Photograph copyright 2021 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Van Brabant tops in the province

by linkinbioProvincial

Amelia Van Brabant extended her unbeaten streak to four as she took home gold in the U18 girls race at the Ontario Cross Country in Kingston on Sunday. The grade 11 student finished the six kilometre course atop Fort Henry in 21 minutes and 37.2 seconds to capture her second provincial title of 2021 after taking gold in the U20 3000 metres on the track.

Van Brabant, who easily captured the Capital XC and National Capital high school titles earlier in the fall was just as dominating at the provincial level. The Earl of March student’s margin of victory was an impressive 28 seconds over hometown runner Alexandra Campbell of Physi-Kult. The pair had been in tight until about 800 metres to go when Van Brabant found another gear and sped to the finish line.

Joining Amelia in the top-10 were Olivia Baggley (5th) and Cara MacDonald (9th) as the U18 team amassed a measly 37 points to take the team title over the Newmarket Huskies (56 pts). The fourth scorer for the Lions was Gillian Porter in 22nd with a time of 23 minutes and 36.9 seconds.

The Lions also featured two other winners on the day – Ronan Lebel in the U8 boys race while Sinead Gomes took top spot in the U10 girls event. Both of the younger events were raced over a single kilometre. Lebel enjoyed a 20 second margin of victory, finishing in 3 minutes and 52.1 seconds. Gomes crossed the finish line in 3 minutes and 30.7 seconds, 18 seconds ahead of second.

The other top Lions on the day were as follows:

U10 Boys – Eric Combasson 11th
U12 Girls – Catalina Estevez 22nd
U12 Boys – Kai Lebel 4th
U14 Girls – Laila Lebel 14th
U14 Boys – Dominique Church 66th
U16 Girls – Lauren Alexander 26th
U16 Boys – William Sanders 20th
U18 Boys – Zachary Sikka 34th
U20 Women – Skye Pellerin 4th
Open Women – Jessica McRae 15th
Open Men – Nicholas Pedersen 14th
Masters – Gilles Frenette 41st16

OTTAWA, ON -- 05 July 2018: Josh Cassidy racing in the para wheelchair 1500m at the 2018 Athletics Canada National Track and Field Championships held at the Terry Fox Athletics Facility in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Cassidy fourth at New York City Marathon

by InternationallinkinbioLocal

For Josh Cassidy, competing in last Saturday’s New York City Marathon just 27 days after placing fifth at the Boston Marathon would normally not be a newsworthy fact. He is after all, a man has regularly raced Boston on a Monday in April, hopped a plane and contested the London Marathon just six days later. However, nine days following Boston, Cassidy’s partner Laiken gave birth to son Henrik – leaving Cassidy without a full night’s sleep for three weeks heading into one of the more difficult marathon courses on the circuit.

Despite the lack of sleep, and time off training during that time, Cassidy pulled off his highest ever finish in New York, placing fourth in 1 hour 40 minutes and 38 seconds.

“Expectations low, motivation high, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go,” was how Cassidy described his mindset heading into the race. The focus was a top-6 finish to be in the prize money.

As he reached the 1-mile mark atop the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn, Cassidy had already settled into fourth, between two packs. The following 25 miles would become a game of cat and mouse with American Daniel Romanchuk for bronze.

Cassidy held a ten second advantage at the mid way point, but Romanchuk was able to overtake him by the 25 km mark. Cassidy would narrow the gap to two seconds at the 20 mile marker, before hitting a wall in the final kilometres to hold on to fourth.

“Pretty emotional at the end, after an exhausting few weeks, tough marathon, a lot to overcome mentally and physically,” wrote Cassidy on Instagram this week. “Super proud of this one, and great way to end the season.”

In a road race closer to home, Nic Roberts took home top spot in The Great Big Cookie Run 5km last Sunday. Roberts crossed the line in a time of 15 minutes and 57.0 seconds, to finish nine seconds up on second place.

On the women’s side, Club President Jennifer Dumoulin finished in 22:26.0 to place 18th.

If you post on social media please tag @mundosportimages on Instagram or tag Mundo Sport Images on Facebook. (Ottawa, Canada---02 October 2021) L-R, Andre Alie-Lamarche (Ottawa Gee-Gees), Colby Frost (Ottawa Gee-Gees), Nikita Neyshtadt (Ottawa Gee-Gees), Adrian Fournier (Ottawa Gee-Gees), and Gavin Westbrook (Ottawa Gee-Gees) competing in the University Men’s / Open Men’s race at the 2021 Capital Cross Country Challenge held at Mooney’s Bay in Ottawa. Photograph 2021 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Gee-Gee Men finish 8th; Women finish 10th at OUA XC Championships

by linkinbioUniversity

It was a perfect day for cross country running this past Saturday at the Thames Valley Golf Course in London, home to this year’s OUA (Ontario University Athletics) Championships. With the sun beaming down and temperatures hovering near 10 degrees centigrade, the University of Ottawa men and women put together solid efforts to place eighth and tenth respectively.

In a tight battle for eighth place, the Gee-Gee men were able to narrowly beat out the Laurier Goldenhawks 245 to 248, reversing the result from two weeks prior at the Bayfront Open in Hamilton where the Goldenhawks had bested the Gee-Gees by two points.

The men were led by Adrian Fournier and his 26th place finish. The third-year civil engineering student has consistently featured among the top two runners for the Gee-Gees all season long, and finished the eight kilometre course in a time of 26 minutes and 26 seconds. Fournier was backed up by André Alie-Lamarche, who finished in 27:04 to place 27th.

Rounding out the scoring for Ottawa were NIcolas Abanto Ens (50th ), Stephen Robinson (51st), and Gavin Westbrook (81st).

The Gee-Gee women fielded one of the youngest squads in the field with five of the six runners in their first year of eligibility en-route to their tenth place finish (312 points).

Top honour for the women went to Skye Pellerin, who placed 52nd overall, as she crossed the line in 33 minutes and 37 seconds. Tiarra Ward, a third year nursing student, was next across the line for Ottawa in 54th (34:14). Other scorers included Kylee Fowler (61st), Elana Tyman (71st), and Audrey McCarthy (74th).

 

 

 

(Montreal, Canada---27 July 2019) William Cox running to bronze in the U20 3000m steeplechase at 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Claude Robillard Sports Centre in Montreal. 2019 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Lions run well on championship weekend

by linkinbioUniversity

It was championship weekend across most of the country as the three of the four university conferences held their respective conference events Saturday. Among those finding a way to the podium was Will Cox who took home the bronze medal at the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Championships in Moncton.

Cox, a second year student at Dalhousie University, edged out Graydon Staples of St. Francis Xavier by four seconds to claim his first AUS cross country medal. Cox completed the eight kilometre course in 25 minutes and 53 seconds to lead the Tigers to a commanding conference title.

Staying in Moncton, Mackenzie Kitchen and Ivy Bialowas placed 11th and 12th respectively in the women’s contest. Kitchen, running for Dalhousie, finished in 32 minutes and 2 seconds, eight seconds ahead of the University of New Brunswick’s Bialowas. Dalhousie and UNB finished second and third respectively in the team standings.

At the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon, Robbie Mitchell produced a 17th place finish to help the Calgary Dino men capture team silver and earn a spot at the USports Championships November 20th in Quebec City.

On the women’s side, Katie Newlove finished 12th in a time of 30 minutes and 30.2 seconds to help her University of British Columbia Thunderbirds capture their third straight CanWest title.

Closer to home, the Carleton Ravens traveled to Quebec City for the RSEQ Championships where the men finished tenth. Cameron Bruce was the top finisher on the men’s side, placing 47th overall in 28 minutes and 25.8 seconds. Pippa Norman was the top female for the Ravens, completing the eight kilometre course in 34:02.6 to also place 47th.

The university conference championships conclude this Saturday with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees heading west on the 401 to compete at the OUA Championships in London.

Full results from the respective conference championships can be found at the links below:

AUS – https://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wxc/2021-22/files/2021-AUS_XC_Results.pdf
RSEQ – https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=113844
CanWest Women – https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=258999&embed=2
CanWest Men – https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=259010&embed=2

Presidents_corner_banner

President’s Corner – October 2021

by adminlinkinbio

Hi everyone – and Welcome to our October President’s Corner!

The monthly President’s Corner is an opportunity to see what’s happening within the Club, to hear about what our Board of Directors is working on, and to learn about what we discuss at our monthly meetings.

What happened this month?

Our Executive Director and Head Coach, Richard Johnston, reported that our cross country season was off to an exciting start with the successful hosting of the Capital XC Challenge at Mooney’s Bay on October 1st and 2nd. He also gave an update on the preparations that are underway for the 2021 Canadian Cross Country Championships taking place at Wesley Clover Park on November 27.

Did you know that there are several ways to get involved with the Canadian Cross County Championships? You can…

  • Race in the Competitive u18, u20, Senior and Masters’ categories; or
  • Take part in the Community 5km; and
  • Volunteer!

You can register for one of the races AND sign up to volunteer online.

In other news, we are excited to report that our Club has been approved for the Ontario Trillium Small Business Grant! The hard work of our staff cannot be understated; congratulations to all those who contributed to securing this funding! Among other initiatives, this grant will be used towards hiring a part-time staff member, strengthening our safe sport policies, and upgrading some of our equipment.

The future is bright – our Club has applied to host several major events and are hoping to secure the NACAC championships in Ottawa in May 2022!

Tell me more!

Our annual audit will be taking place at the end of October and the audit reported will be released in time for our 2022 Annual General Meeting.

Last but not least, the first outdoor Ottawa Lions banquet was a HUGE success! Congratulations to all 22 athletes who were recognized for their outstanding performances over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons and thank you to all who attended.

If you missed the banquet, you can find a copy of the President’s address below:

Forrest Gump once said that “Life is like a box of chocolates, because you never know what you’re going to get”. The past two years are certainly emblematic of that. Looking back to October 2019, the last time we came together to recognize and celebrate the success and accomplishments of our athletes, coaches and members, I don’t think that anyone could have predicted that a few short months later, we would be confronted by a global pandemic that would impact not only our ability to operate as a Club but also our day-to-day lives in an unprecedented way.

 

And yet, here we are. We truly have weathered this storm together. As athletes, coaches, parents, officials, staff, volunteers and members of the Board, we can be proud of what we have accomplished together – whether those accomplishments have been personal bests, Olympic successes, championship medals, the organization of a successful meet, congratulating an athlete after a practice and everything in between. Tonight’s Award banquet recognized these successes. We also took the time to recognize and honour the contributions and lives of those who are retiring from the Club or are no longer with us. You will not be forgotten and will be missed.

 

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to congratulate all athletes for their accomplishments over the past two years. I would also like to recognize the continued dedication and commitment of all of our coaches, volunteers, officials and staff. To Richard, Connor, and Zach – you each have played an integral role in ensuring a safe return to sport for all of our members, athletes and campers – and we thank you. To our new staff members, Tim and Yolande, welcome to the team! We are excited to have you on board.

 

And lastly, to Jessica, who will be moving on after more than five years as our Office Manager, will we miss you. On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for ensuring that our Club ran smoothly, for always having a smile on your face when you welcomed us to the track, we’ll miss you – but we wish you the best of luck in your new adventures. 

 

Congratulations again to all members and to tonight’s award recipients!

 

That’s it for this month! Have a wonderful rest of October and a Happy Halloween!

 

Jennifer Dumoulin

President, Board of Directors
Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club
president@ottawalions.com

 

(prepared jointly with Zeena Rashid, Secretary, Ottawa Lions Board of Directors)

 

If you post on social media please tag @mundosportimages on Instagram or tag Mundo Sport Images on Facebook. (Ottawa, Canada---02 October 2021) Andre Alie-Lamarche (Ottawa Gee-Gees) competing in the University Men’s / Open Men’s race at the 2021 Capital Cross Country Challenge held at Mooney’s Bay in Ottawa. Photograph 2021 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Alie-Lamarche leads Gee-Gees at Marauder Bayfront Open

by linkinbioUniversity

Running along the shores of Lake Ontario, a small contingent of university and club runners toed the line at the Marauder Bayfront Open last Friday in Hamilton for some fine tuning ahead of the upcoming month of championship running.

Gee-Gee runner Andre Alie-Lamarche was the top performer in the fast heat of the men’s university eight kilometre race – placing 25th overall in 26 minutes and 16.8 seconds. The third year International Development and Globalization student has been the top scorer fo the Gee-Gees squad in every race he’s competed in this year.

Adrian Fournier was the second Gee-Gee across the line Friday, finishing in 46th overall. The pair of Alie-Lamarche and Fournier led the Gee-Gee men to a seventh place finish in the team standings, just two points behind Laurier.

The top Raven runner was Nicholas Hawyrsh in 85th.

On the women’s side, the Gee-Gees were led by Skye Pellerin and her 48th place finish. The second year student finished the eight kilometre course in 33 minutes and 28.7 seconds.

The Gee-Gee women failed to post a team score as only four runners completed the race after Kylee Fowler had to pull out.

In the community six kilometre race, Nolan Legare placed 9th in 21:38.9.

The Ravens were scarcley represented in Hamilton as they prepare for this weeekend’s Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Championships in Quebec City.

The Gee-Gees will return to action the first Saturday of November with the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Championships on the Thames Valley Golf Course in London.

OTTAWA - July 14, 2021: Nicholas Pedersen competing at Ottawa Summer Twilight #11 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Pedersen sets new best at Canadian 10k Championships

by linkinbioNational

The 2021 season has been a shift into a new gear for Nicholas Pedersen. The 21-year speaks about a shift in his mentality – to running courageously. The shift continued to pay dividends Sunday morning in Toronto as he set a new lifetime best  at the Canadian 10K Championships. Pedersen crossed the line in a time of 31 minutes and 45.0 seconds to place 41st.

“I am incredibly pleased with the result,” said Pedersen of his first Canadian senior championship performance. “Given the fitness going into it, I knew that sub 32:00 was ambitious yet within range of possibility.”

Sunday’s performance was just the latest in a line of what seem to be continually improving performances for Pedersen. The early season saw him set back-to-back bests over 5,000 metres on the track – taking nearly 15 seconds of his previous best. He then followed that up with gold in the 3,000 metre steeplechase at the Ontario Open Championships. “The more I run courageously the more that I realize it is less about the courage and more so about the trust I put in my fitness and the training I have done which allows me to race the way I do,” Pedersen describes.

Sunday’s performance is seen by Pedersen as good litmus test for his ultimate goal this fall – the Canadian Cross Country Championships to be held in Ottawa. “I only plan on coming with that much more fitness and intensity come November 27 to put on a show for everyone who supports me and to represent [the Lions] through racing with every ounce of heart that I have.”
Pedersen was not the only Lion competing in Toronto this past weekend as wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy took to the line following his top-five performance at the Boston Marathon six days prior. Cassidy crossed the finish line in a time of 21 minutes and 50.0 seconds.

“I used to live near Lake Shore Boulevard near High Park and never raced any STWM weekend events, so this was really fun to do,” Cassidy told Athletics Canada following the race. “They just made this [wheelchair] event a couple of weeks ago, so it worked out with my schedule. It was a demonstration. Hopefully it is something to build on for the future with prize money and a bigger field. It’s funny, whenever I am driving roads, I am always eyeing them up for training. And on Lake Shore, you can never do that unless it’s shut. It was fun to get out there, a fun course.”

Copyright Brian Rouble/Shuttered Moments

Cassidy fifth at Boston Marathon; XC competes in Sherbrooke

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

The world’s oldest marathon race returned to the streets of Boston Monday morning with a familiar face near the top of the leader board. Canadian record holder Joshua Cassidy placed fifth with a time of 1:28:56 – his fastest marathon since the 2017 edition of Boston.

Traditionally held on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April, the 125th edition of the BAA Boston Marathon was pushed to the October date as a result of COVID restrictions following its cancellation in 2020.

Monday’s event almost didn’t happen for Cassidy, who almost pulled out of the event in September after losing two and a half weeks of training due to a sinus infection. Despite the break, the three time Paralympian held tight to the front of the pack throughout the race. Cassidy battled for third with South African Ernst Van Dyk all the way up Heartbreak Hill, a 600 metre ascent between the 32 and 34 kilometre marks. Continuing the battle towards the finish, Van Dyk narrowly pulled away, while Cassidy nipped at the line by American Aaron Pike, who finish one second ahead.

Cassidy, who is also awaiting the birth of his first child with partner Laiken appeared content with the result, writing on Instagram “not bad, needed a bit more quality training, but so happy to be out there, happy to be home again, and grateful for everyone with the Boston Marathon team.”

Back in Canada, a small collection of Lion, Gee-Gees, and Ravens took part in the the Vert et Or Invitation cross country race on the campus of the University of Sherbrooke on Sunday. Nico Pedersen was the winner of the open men’s eight kilometre race with a time of 25 minutes and 49.4 seconds. Nathan Meraw of the Gee-Gees was the top male in the university section, placing 43rd in 27:58.8. The top female honour went to Kylee Fowler, a first year student with the Gee-Gees, who placed 42nd in 34:02.3. Carleton’s Sophy Wood was the top Raven in 46th.

Complete results from the Vert et Or Invitation can be found on the FQA website.

Leslie Estwick Coaching

Estwick named head coach of Team Ontario for Canada Summer Games

by linkinbioProvincial

In a post on their Instagram feed yesterday, Athletics Ontario announced Leslie Estwick will serve as head coach for Team Ontario for the 2022 Canada Summer Games. The Games are scheduled for August 6-21 with the Athletics portion being held at the newly developed Canada Games Park in St. Catherines.

Estwick is no stranger to the experience of the Canada Summer Games, having represented Ontario as an athlete at the 1981 Games in both the high jump and heptathlon. More recently, the long time jumps coach has served on the coaching staff for Team Ontario at the past three Summer Games. In addition to her Canada Games experience, Estwick has also served on Canadian Mission Staffs for multiple Commonwealth and Olympic Games’ teams.

“I am honoured and grateful to receive this appointment,” said Estwick in the Athletics Ontario announcement. “I have loved my Canada Summer Games experiences as an athlete and an assistant coach and I recognize its value in athlete development. I am really excited and looking forward to working with AO staff, coaches and managers to assemble an amazing Team O and bring an unforgettable experience to the next generation of athletes.”