(Ottawa, Canada---12 July 2023) Stan Seitz competing in Ottawa Summer Twilight #6. Photograph Copyright 2023 Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Lions win 29 medals at Ontario Masters Championships

by linkinbioMastersProvincial

This year’s Ontario Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships was undoubtedly the best in recent memory for the Lions. Club athletes took home an eye popping 29 medals including 18 gold. On top of that, six meet records were set including a brand new provincial masters record.

Taking home two of those medals was the ageless jumper, Stan Seitz. At 75 years young, Seitz set an M75 record in the high jump with his clearance of 1.20 metres. A three time champion in the high jump at the Canadian Masters Championships, Stan equalled the previous record of 1.10 metres on his opening height before making successive first attempt clearances at 1.15 and 1.20 metres. 

Seitz’s other gold came from the pole vault where he cleared 2.35 metres for victory. 

Making a splash in his masters championship debut, Andrew Heffernan set three championship records. Heffernan, who is more widely known for his success guiding athletes on the international para athletics circuit, set meet records in both the M30 800 and 1500 metre events. 

Heffernan posted a winning time of 2 minutes and 3.09 seconds in the 800, trimming more than two seconds off the previous championship mark set by Trevor Van Nest in 2002. Teammate Fritzlor Auguste picked up the silver in 2:11.90.

Over 1500 metres, the pair of Heffernan and Auguste finished first and second respectively. Andrew’s winning time of 4 minutes and 24.07 seconds was 19 seconds faster than the previous mark set by Jimmy Semes in 2011. Fritzlor finished in 4:49.37.

Teaming up with Michael Conway, Gilles Frenette, and Auguste, Heffernan got his third Championship record in the M30 4×400 metre relay. The quartet took the gold in a time of 3 minutes and 52.20 seconds. 

In another relay, the team of Lionale Nahum, Neil Fine, Michel Smith, and Sancho McCann set a new championship record in the M35 4×100 metre relay. The quartet got the stick around in a time of 50.12 seconds. 

Rounding out the championship records for the Lions, William McLeish set a new mark in the M30 5000 metres. His time of 16 minutes and 6.02 seconds bested the previous standard of 16:22.21 set by Dan Way in 2017. McLeish was also the lead in a Lions sweep of the podium with clubmates Jay Sneddow (16:46.27) and Sam Shi (17:33.10) finishing in the silver and bronze medal positions respectively. 

Below is the full list of Lions medal winners from the Championship.

Ashley Crawford – Silver 100m (W35)

Danette Nearing-Guibord – Gold 100m (W60)

Wendy Alexis – Gold 100m (W65)

Sancho McCann – Gold 100m (M40)

Ashley Crawford – Silver 200m (W35)

Danette Nearing-Guibord – Gold 200m (W60)

Wendy Alexis – Gold 200m (W65)

Sancho McCann – Gold 200m (M40)

Erinn Joseph – Gold 400m (W30)

Ashley Crawford – Gold 400m (W35)

Jodi Forster-Molstad – Bronze 400m (W45)

Andrew Heffernan – Silver 400m (M30)

Michael Conway – Silver 400m (M35)

Marino Sani – Bronze 400m (M60)

Andrew Heffernan – Gold 800m (M30)

Fritzlor Auguste – Silver 800m (M30)

Michael Conway – Gold 800m (M35)

Andrew Heffernan – Gold 1500m (M30)

Fritzlor Auguste – Silver 1500m (M30)

William McLeish – Gold 5000m (M30)

Jay Sneddon – Silver 5000m (M30)

Sam Shi – Bronze 5000m (M30)

Gilles Frenette – Gold 3000m Steeplechase (M45)

Neil Fine – Gold High Jump (M35)

Stan Seitz – Gold High Jump (M75)

Stan Seitz – Gold Pole Vault (M75)

Tom Pincombe – Silver Discus (M45)

Lionel Nahum,Neil Fine,Michel Smith,Sancho McCann – Gold 4x100m (M35)

Michael Conway,Gilles Frenette,Fritzlor Auguste,Andrew Heffernan – Gold 4x400m (M30)

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

For complete results from the Championship, please visit Ontario Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championship

OTTAWA - August 19, 2020: Liz Maguire at the fifth Ottawa Summer Twilight Series meet of 2020, held under COVID-19 protocols at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Lions enjoy weekend of road racing success

by InternationallinkinbioMastersNational

Monday was Patriot’s Day in the United States – a holiday celebrated on the third Monday of April commemorating some of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. For running fans, it’s more commonly known as the day of the Boston Marathon. 

This year’s event in the Massachusetts capital featured a number of current and former Lions in action. Leading the contingent was Josh Cassidy, a mainstay at the event for more than a decade. The two-time Paralympian was 19th to cross the finish line on Boylston Street, stopping the clock in 1 hour 47 minutes and 2 seconds. 

While Monday’s result was Cassidy’s worst performance at Boston, he still managed to find the silver lining. “Coming down Boylston for the final stretch with the incredible support as always is emotional,” expressed Cassidy on Instagram following the race. “Even after a rough one, thousands of people patting you on the back, to say well done.”

The other two current Lions in Boston runners were a pair of masters runners – Liz Maguire and Rob Muir. Maguire finished Monday’s race in 3:18:16 to finish an impressive 10th among the women’s 55-59 age category. In the same age grouping, Muir finished 109th among the men with a time of 3:10:18.

In other road running action, Nicholas Pedersen and Jay Sneddon ventured their way across the country to take on the Vancouver Sun Run Sunday morning. Pedersen, who was battling a nagging injury heading into the race, posted a time of 33 minutes and 59.0 seconds to place 67th in the race of more than 25,000 runners. Nico was 9th in the men’s 19-24 category.

For Sneddon, the Sun Run is always a bit of a homecoming for the man who originally hails from nearby Tsawwassen. The 30-year-old cracked the top-100 as he crossed the line in a time of 34 minutes and 34.0 seconds to placed 84th overall. 

Closer to home masters runners Fritzlor Auguste and Gilles Frenette were in action at the Course Saint Laurent 5k in the Montreal suburb. Auguste, a silver medalist at last year’s Canadian Cross Country Championships, placed 45th overall with a time of 18 minutes and 36.0 seconds. Teammate Gilles Frenette was 58th across the line, stopping the clock at 19:12.0.

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