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Season starts off with a bang at Capital Cross Country Challenge

by linkinbioLocal

Not too often you get to wrap a Dicken’s quote into a write up about a cross country race, but the conditions at this past weekend’s Capital Cross Country Challenge was straight out of the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities. Friday afternoon’s  high school section was most certainly the best of weather, while Saturday seemed to bring the worst of weather, but none of that seemed to deter any of the more than 520 runners competing.

Running under near ideal conditions, Amelia Van Brabant dominated the varsity girls field as she finished the grueling five kilometre course in a time of 17 minutes and 54.55 seconds. The grade 11 student at Earl of March High School in Kanata crossed the line more than a full minute ahead of runner-up Clara Hegan. The girls junior varsity crown was taken by Isabella Chiumera of St. Pius X, while Lauren Alexander of the Lions was third.

Frontenac Secondary School’s Angus Skinner claimed the win in the varsity boys five kilometre race in 16 minutes and 2.07 seconds, 21 seconds ahead of St. Paul’s Zackary Sikka. Caden Turcotte, of Kingston’s Physi-Kult Running Club, rounded out the medalists in 16:44.55.

Producing the tightest finish on Friday was the boys junior varsity four kilometre contest, where Simon Rosenthal of Montreal’s Villa Maria High School crossed the line 14 minutes and 13.61 seconds, just two seconds ahead of Mother Teresa’s Will Sanders.

The clear sunny skies of Friday quickly turned into dark grey rain clouds over night, but as bleak as the skies may have appeared, it failed to dampen the excitement for both the elementary school children and post secondary runners.

The open women’s six kilometre contest was won by Charlotte Langley of Queen’s University in 23 minutes and 6.04 seconds, but it was McGill who would claim the team title with an impressive 28 points as they managed to place all five of their scorers in the top-10. Sophy Wood was the top scorer for the Carleton Ravens, placing 30th overall in 25:23.69, while Kylee Fowler was the top runner for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

The open men’s race was dominated by Queen’s as Kirby Mitchell led the Gaels to a sweep of the top four positions, winning in 19 minutes and 7.94 seconds.  The Gaels totaled 19 points, 32 ahead of second place McGill to take the team title. The Gee-Gees placed third with 111 points led by veterans Andre Alie-Lamarche and Adrian Fournier who place 7th and 11th overall respectively. The top Lion was Nicholas Pedersen, who finished a spot behind Alie-Lamarche in eighth. Darion Dillabaugh of Carleton was the top Raven, placing 27th overall.

The cross country season continues this coming weekend, October 10th, with the both the Gee-Gees and Ravens travelling to Quebec to compete in the Sherbrooke Invitational.

For complete results and photos from the Capital Cross Country Challenge, visit our results page.

OTTAWA - October 2, 2021: Zach Quevillon and the Aspire group at the 2021 Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club Annual Awards Banquet held at the Terry Fox Athletics Facility. Photograph Copyright 2001 Miles Rowat

Lions celebrate the best of past two year at awards banquet

by linkinbioLocalStatistics

For the first time in Club history, the Ottawa Lions gathered on the Mondo surface at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility to celebrate their annual awards banquet. Last night’s ceremony was a unique event as it also served to recognize the stand out efforts from the COVID shortened 2019-20 season. In total, 22 athletes were recognized for their outstanding achievements on the track and in the field, while the Sean Cole Memorial award for dedication to Club service was presented to long time official Rick Watkins for the leadership he has shown in building a strong team of officials in the Ottawa area in recent years.

The Gilbert Awards, named in honour of Olympic champion Glenroy Gilbert, are handed out annually to the most outstanding male and female athletes in the Club for both track and field events. Olympians Tim Nedow and Melissa Bishop-Nriagu captured their sixth and seventh Gilbert awards respectively, while 800 metre runner Stephen Evans and javelin thrower Olivia Merritt were both first time Gilbert winners Saturday night.

Saturday night’s victory was the sixth straight of Nedow in the men’s field event category, equaling the Club best of former decathlete Patrick Arbour. The Brockville native surpassed the Olympic shot put standard with a heave of 21.11 metres in his opening meet of the season back in April to qualify for his second Games. Hampered by an injury in Tokyo, Nedow placed 31st.

Melissa Bishop-Nriagu took home top honours among female track athletes for the seventh time and the first since the birth of her daughter Corinne in 2018. The 31 year old qualified for her third Olympic Games on the strength of a seasonal best effort of one minute and 58.36 for 800 metres. Bishop-Nriagu also experimented with the 1500 metres more in 2021, shattering her previous Club record by nearly five seconds and just missing out on the Olympic standard in a second event.

Fellow 800 metre runner Stephen Evans took home his first Gilbert Award for men’s track on the strength of a new personal best effort that moved him to second on the Club’s all-time list. The former USports champion  consistently ranked among the top 800 metre runners in Canada throughout he season and culminated his season with a personal best performance of 1:48.28 to place second at in an American Track League.

Olivia Merritt finished the 2021 season ranked among the top javelin throwers in Ontario on the strength of a new personal best effort of 45.08 metres at one of our summer Twilight Meets. Merritt’s throw also moved her to tenth on the Club’s all-time rankings in the event.

The most outstanding athletes in the under-20 category went to a pair of athletes who each produced international level performances in 2021. Sprint hurdler David Adeleye, who took home the honour for top male, just dipped under the global standard for this year’s World U20 Championships with his 14.14 second clocking en route to a third place finish at the Ontario championships.

Bianca Borgella set multiple Canadian records in all three of the sprint events in the T13 category in 2021 including besting the 100 metre standard for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. The University of Ottawa student was a finalist over 200 metres at the provincial championships and helped anchor the Lions to a second place finish in the 4×100 metre relay.

With the honour last night, Borgella became the second T13 athlete in Club history to be named most outstanding U20 athlete. Three time Paralympic medalist Stuart McGregor received the same honour in 1998. In addition to her U20 award, Bianca also received the Sam Estwick Memorial Award for most outstanding para athlete.

Luca Nicoletti took home the honour of most outstanding male in the under-18 category after capture the under-16 award two years ago. Nicoletti had a splendid season on the track, moving to number five all-time on the U18 200 metre list with a blistering 21.97 second clocking and nabbing one gold and three silvers at the Ontario Championships.

The top under-18 athlete on the women’s side was distance runner Amelia Van Brabant. The grade 11 student had a break out summer on the track that saw her smash personal best across all her events – highlighted by a 9:57.73 clocking to win gold over 3000 metres at the Ontario Under-20 Championships. It was the seventh fastest time among U18 women in Club history.

The honour of most outstanding U16 female was shared between the pair of Koree Yach and Joceyln Giannotti. Yach was a gold medalist as part of the U18 winning 4×800 relay that recorded the fifth fastest time at that age level in Club history and recorded the third fastest 2000 metre steeplechase among U16 athletes in the Club. Giannotti was a bronze medalist at 2000 metres at the Ontario U16 Championships.

Serge Faucher, a double gold medalist over 200 and 400 metres at the Ontario Masters Championship, took home the honour of most outstanding male masters athlete. Similarly, Kimberley Howitt received top billing as female masters athlete for her double gold at 400 and 800 metres at the provincial championships.

The Lions also recognized Olympic team members Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, Lauren Gale, Tim Nedow, and head coach Glenroy Gilbert as recipients of the President’s Award, handed out annually to athletes who represented their country on a national team in international competition.

Below is a complete list of those recognized last night.

Gilbert Awards (Senior)

Female
Track: Melissa Bishop-Nriagu
Field: Olivia Merritt

Male
Track: Stephen Evans
Field: Tim Nedow

Most Outstanding U20

Female: Bianca Borgella
Male: David Adeleye

Most Outstanding U18

Female: Amelia Van Brabant
Male: Luca Nicoletti

Most Outstanding U16

Female: Koree Yach and Jocelyn Giannotti
Male: Not Awarded

Most Outstanding U14

Female: Not awarded
Male: Not awarded

Denis Landry Award (Most Outstanding  University of Ottawa)

Female: Madison Clarke (2020) / Maeliss Trapeau (2021)
Male: Kyle Sprague (2020) / Quinn Lyness (2021)

Most Outstanding Carleton University

Female: Pippa Norman (2020)
Male: Michael Pinnock (2020)

Sam Estwick Award (Most Outstanding Para Athlete)

Bianca Borgella

Most Outstanding Cross Country 

Female: Ivy Bialowas (2021)
Male: Kevin Robertson (2020) / Sebastian Cino (2021)

Most Outstanding Masters

Female: Wendy Alexis (2020) / Kimberley Howitt (2021)
Male: Serge Faucher (2021)

Most Outstanding Road Racing

Not awarded

Most Outstanding Combined Events

Not awarded

Sean Cole Memorial Award (Dedication to Club Service)

Rick Watkins

President’s Award (National Team Member)

Kevin Robertson (2020 Pan Am Cross Country)
Melissa Bishop-Nriagu (2021 Olympic Team)
Lauren Gale (2021 Olympic Team)
Tim Nedow (2021 Olympic Team)
Glenroy Gilbert (2021 Olympic Team)

21ottlbanquetlandscape

Lions to host annual banquet October 2nd

by adminlinkinbioLocal

Dear Lions,

You are invited to attend the official return of the Ottawa Lions Banquet on Saturday, October 2nd 2021!

It will be a night under the lights as we celebrate and reflect on the hard work, commitment and effort put forward over the past two years across all platforms of our sport.
Indoor venues pose restrictions that our home venue does not. Hosting the 2020 & 2021 Banquet at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility will allow us to gather in a larger group to reflect on the past two seasons by honouring Ottawa Lion Members, volunteers, coaches and officials on the very surface we train on day in and out!

2020 and 2021 have been far from normal and we want to recognize the team’s accomplishments over the past two years.

Location:
Terry Fox Athletic Facility (High Jump Apron)
2960 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 8N4

Time:
5:00 pm – Cocktails
6:00 pm – Dinner
Awards & Speeches throughout the Dinner
Expected Conclusion – 8:30 pm

Tickets/RSVP:
Can be purchased at Trackie follow the link HERE.
$30.00
Deadline to RSVP will be Monday September 27th at 11:59pm.

You may select your main course while purchasing your ticket. Chicken, Salmon or Stuffed Mushroom with mixed vegetables, rice, potatoes, salad, desert and assorted drinks (non-alcoholic drinks).

Select Beer and Wine will be available for purchase to those of age.

Dinner Maximum Capacity:
150 Guests.
Due to COVID measures this was the best option to welcome as many members and guests. All attendees will be asked to complete a COVID assessment and provide proof of vaccination prior to entry of the facility.

Dress/Attire:
Business / Cocktail (weather appropriate)
This is an outdoor event but the dining area will have canvas tents, walls and a few heaters (Average temperature at this time of the year is usually in the low teens).
Hope to see everyone there!

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Lions mourn loss of former athlete Steve Nkusi

by linkinbioLocal

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of former Lions high jumper Steve Nkusi Saturday evening. While only with the Club for a short four years, the man known for an infectious smile made a significant impact on everyone who had the pleasure to cross paths with him.

The 24-year old had joined the Club after being recruited by then University of Ottawa Gees Gees team manager Noah Houlton. “Steve was single handedly the nicest individual a friend and team manager could expect. His smile and positive attitude was uncanny,” said Houlton fondly. “When I saw him clear 2 metres in high school with no training and in basketball shorts, I knew he was special. An exceptional human being is what he really was.”

While Nkusi excelled in the high jump, reaching a best of 2.10 metres, winning Canadian Under-20 gold, and representing Canada at the Pan American Under-20 Championships, he was successful in many avenues. After just receiving his Bachelor of Commerce degree in finance the University of Ottawa this June, Nkusi was already tackling his newest challenge – modelling, even landing roles in two films.

The Lions would like to extend its deepest sympathies and condolences to Steve’s family and friends. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers.

For those interested in supporting Steve’s family, a GoFundMe has been organized.

OTTAWA - July 21, 2021: Joe Fast competing at Ottawa Summer Twilight #12 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Fast times at Twilight #12

by linkinbioLocal

Its almost as though every new week brings a new Canadian record for Bianca Borgella. In all honesty, that is likely because it has been the case in each of the first four Twilight Meets of the summer. The 18 year old sprinter from the town of Hammond, about ten minutes east of Cumberland, took down the one remaining T13 sprint record she did not hold Wednesday night  – the 200m.

Running in the heats of Wednesday’s 200m, Borgella crossed the line in a time of 26.05 seconds to take more than three seconds off the previous record of 29.53 set by Shaunelle Gregory in 2015. Borgella nearly set the record again in the final, finishing fourth in 26.06.

Alexandra Telford also sped her way to a fast time at Twilight #12 as she took top spot in the 400 metre hurdles. The 25-year old architecture student made a strong debut in the event, as she crossed the line in 1:01.36. The time moves Telford to 14th in Club history. Helena Jovic, who sits seventh in those same rankings, was second in 1:02.27.

The men’s 800 metres was moving on Wednesday night as St. Laurent Selects’ Kevin Robertson gave Achraf Tadili’s Twilight Record of 1:48.88 a scare with his 1:49.11 clocking. In seventh, Joe Fast was the top Lion with a new personal best of 1:54.96. Lions youth runners David Moulongou and Phoenix Bouma also got in on the PB train, as they cracked the two minute barrier for the first time, running 1:59.10 and 1:59.76 respectively. Moulongou was also quite impressive in the 200 metres where he ran another personal best, crossing the finish line in 22.95 seconds.

For the under-20 athletes, Wednesday’s Twilight was a great final tune up as they head to Toronto this weekend to compete in the Ontario Championships. You can watch the action live on Athletics Ontario’s YouTube Channel and follow live results at https://athleticsontario.ca/statistics/results/live/2021/0722-ontario-u20-champs/index.htm

(Ottawa, Canada---05 June 2021) Farah Jacques racing in the 100m hurdles at the Ottawa High Performance Weekend, held at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. Photograph copyright 2021 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Lions kick off domestic season with Tokyo Qualifier Series event

by linkinbioLocalNational

After nearly 10 months away from competition Lions athletes were thrilled to be back on the track and in the field this past weekend at the Ottawa High Performance Weekend. They were joined by more than 70 other athletes from Ontario, Quebec, and as far away as Alberta, all in search for a mark to get them to the Olympic Trials in Montreal later this month and to the Games in Tokyo later this summer.

In total, 10 Lions competed in the two day event, highlighted by Farah Jacques’ victory in the 100 metre hurdles on Saturday evening. A finalist in the 4×100 metre relay in Rio, Jacques has spent the past three seasons fortifying her hurdling technique in hopes of returning to the Games in Tokyo this summer. She moved closer to that goal with a seasonal best time of 13.56 seconds in Saturday’s heats. Her time of 13.66 in the final was more than half a second faster than second place.

The men’s 400 metre hurdles was the only event to feature a pair of Lions competing – Leewinchell Jean and Saj Alhaddad. While Alhaddad, the defending Canadian silver medalist, held the upper hand heading into the homestretch, Jean produced a surge over the final 100 metres to over take his teammate as well as Royal City TFC’s Matthew MacNeil for second in 54.29. The time was the 2019 Canadian U20 Champion’s best season opener ever. Alhhaddad placed fourth in 54.53.

Sticking with the hurdles, 19 year old David Adeleye produced a time of 15.21 seconds in the 110 metre event in his first go at the international height. The performance ranks Adeleye 10th in Club history among U23’s.

Never one to shy away from a come back, Jason Dunkerley returned to the track Friday night in the 1500 metres with guide Alex Behre. The five-time Paralympic medalist who had stepped away from competitive running in the fall of 2018, returned with a 4:27.24 effort. The performance was just outside Athletics Canada’s minimum entry standard of 4:26.64, but to return to the Games, Dunkerley will likely need to better the AC Top-8 standard of 4:16.20 to be considered for selection.

Lions athletes will be back in action this weekend at the Johnny Loaring Classic in Windsor.

For results and photos from this past weekend’s event, please visit ottawalions.com/results/2021-results.

(Montreal, Canada---28 July 1995) From right to left, Sonya Paquette, Lesley Tashlin, and Keturah Anderson at the 1995 Canadian National Track and Field Championships. Photo 1995 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Students pushing to honour Lesley Tashlin in Haliburton

by linkinbioLocalNational

The word “champion” can mean different things, depending on context. Lesley Tashlin earned the title by virtue of her winning the 100-metre hurdlers at the 1995 Canadian Track & Field Championships. Now a new generation has championed a new campaign to recognize her, and her brother’s, career achievements.

The students at J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School in Haliburton, Ont., are used to short trivia and facts with their morning announcements. On one occasion, those announcements touched on the athletic achievements of 1996 Olympic hurdler Lesley Tashlin and her younger brother, CFL defensive back Taly Williams. When the school’s Grade 7/8 French Immersion class were assigned to write a biography, one student chose the sporty siblings.

After researching their careers, the students could not believe that they hadn’t heard of two such accomplished local athletes and came up with a plan. They have started a campaign to have Tashlin and Williams represented with murals on the walls of the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton, which already hosts murals of five other local sport stars.

“I’m naturally quiet, so this is a lot for me to take in,” said Tashlin. “At first, I was like ‘Go for it!’ and it has become so much more than I expected. The kids are great. If it was me, I might have given up the fight at the first sign of trouble, so their dedication is impressive.”

Continue read at Athletics.ca

1975 EOL Banquet

First Club practice held 47 years ago today

by linkinbioLocal

Like many of you, I have spent a fair amount of time cooped up in the house since the pandemic began. I’ve spent some of my time revamping sections of the website, making some big updates to Club stats (more on that to come in the next few weeks), and even complied a few top ten lists. While compiling the lists I began to research a fair bit about the Club’s history and one day, last fall, came across a pair of articles describing the first days of the East Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, as the Club was known as for the first 15 plus years of its existence.

On April 25, 1974 the East Ottawa Lions held their first practice at the old Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe track. Scheduled for 6:15pm that Thursday night, under the leadership of head coach Bob Staveley, practice began for “boys  age 12 and up and girls 11 years of age or over” according to an article in The Ottawa Journal. Given the Club’s original sponsorship by the East Ottawa Lions Club, original membership in the Club was restricted to “athletes living within the boundaries north of the Queensway and east of the Rideau River.”

Staveley, who had long believed there had been a need for a second track and field club in the city, established the Lions after having served as the Head Coach of the Ottawa Kinsmen Harriers Track and Field Club for five years. According to The Journal, the original coaches included Owen Froggett, who would help Staveley oversee the field events. Ken Parker, who later founded the Ottawa Athletic Club Racing Team, was the Club’s original distance coach. He was assisted by Rae Ellen Desloges. The sprinters were coached by Dick Cardill, previously of the the Harriers, and his assistant – Greg Moses of Almonte.

The original Board of Directors was led by president Major Angus Read, with Staveley serving as vice-president. Yvon Lanctin was the original treasuer and Froggett the secretary with Paul Moxon sitting as a member at large.

MRR_OTTL21_Feb27_Practice_0677

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.

 

(Ottawa, Canada---20 April 2019) Chaos during the start of the 1200m at the Ottawa Lions' 2019 Easter Bunny Chase development meet in the Dome at Louis Riel High School. Photograph Copyright 2019 Sean W Burges / mundosportimages.com.

Registration open for summer camps

by linkinbioLocal

The Ottawa Lions are pleased to announce registration is now open for our 2021 Youth Summer Camps. Offering half day programs designed for athletes aged 7-11 and 12-14 years old, the program targets the physical “hurdles” our youth may approach by applying progressive motor skill development, physical strength training, and cardiovascular conditioning.

Building on the success of the 2020 Summer Camps, which saw record attendance under COVID-19 protocols, our camps will again return with the same half day format while adhering to both Ottawa Public Health and Government of Ontario guidelines.

Campers will receive a second to none introduction to the sport of track and field. Children will come away from our program with a higher level of self-confidence, increased knowledge of the sport, and a skill set that will not only support them in the events of track and field but provide solid fundamentals for all other sports.

Camps are scheduled to begin July 5th and will run through the final week of August. For more information on the camps, and the rest of our youth program, please visit https://ottawalions.com/programs/youth-program/

If you wish to register your child for one of our camps, please visit http://www.trackiereg.com/2021-ottlsummercamp