Posts in category: Provincial

The Ottawa Lions turned in another strong showing Saturday at the Ontario U20 and Open Championships in Windsor, piling up medals and personal bests to remain firmly in the hunt for provincial titles. After two days of competition, the Lions sit atop the U20 team standings with 86 points—six ahead of Speed Academy and Project Athletics—while the Open division squad sits third overall, just eight points shy of top-ranked Royal City Athletics Club.

Sprinters once again led the charge, with Zachary Jeggo taking gold in the U20 men’s 400 metres in 47.37 seconds. He was joined on the podium by Ayoub Shangai, who claimed bronze in 48.05, while Ange-Mathis Kramo narrowly missed the medals in fourth at 48.08. William Sanders (7th, 49.44) and Kyle London (8th, 49.61) rounded out a strong Lions presence in the final.

In the U20 women’s 100 metres, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah secured silver with a wind-assisted 11.46—another podium performance for the young sprint standout.

Middle-distance veterans added to the medal count as Stephen Evans (3:50.83) and André Alie-Lamarche (3:52.43) went 2–3 in the Open men’s 1500 metres, while U20 runner Saul Taler ran a personal best 3:54.90 for fourth in his division. On the women’s side, Tessa Knight placed fourth in the U20 2000m steeplechase with a time of 7:39.79.

In the field, Jessica Gyamfi added a second medal to her weekend tally, throwing 40.93 metres to capture bronze in the Open women’s discus. Liam Davis impressed in both the hammer and shot put, setting personal bests in each. He finished sixth in the hammer (46.96m) and claimed silver in the shot put (15.90m), a mark that ranks him sixth all-time in club history. Connor Fraser took bronze in the same event with a throw of 15.52m.

The podium finishes by Davis and Fraser mark the first time two Lions have stood on the senior shot put podium at the Ontario Championships since 2001, when Brennan Jack (gold) and Ryan Rowat (bronze) accomplished the feat.

In the U20 men’s high jump, Fallo Douramodou cleared 2.00 metres for the first time to earn silver and move to #7 on the club’s all-time list. Maria Okwechime recorded a seasonal best 5.88m for sixth in the Open women’s long jump, while Emmett Pindar jumped a personal best 13.62m for sixth in the U20 men’s triple jump.

On the relay front, the Lions collected five more medals:

• Gold in the Open women’s 4x100m (48.23 – Basu, McQuinn, Ogunremi, Cenac)
• Bronze in the U20 men’s 4x100m (43.11 – Meikle, London, Costanzo, Sanders)
• Gold in the Open men’s 4x800m (9:13.56 – Kaye, Sikka, Padoin-Castillo, Goold)
• Silver in the U20 men’s 4x800m (8:10.88 – Zielonka, Heins, Puvan, Taler)
• Silver in the U20 women’s 4x800m (10:03.34 – Knight, McIntyre, Johnston-Zemek, Dewar)

With one day to go, the Lions remain in strong contention for both the U20 and Open team titles, backed by momentum and depth across the board.

Jessica Gyamfi delivered the Ottawa Lions’ first medal of the weekend Friday evening, striking gold in the open women’s shot put to kick off the Ontario U20 and Open Championships at the University of Windsor’s Alumni Stadium.

The University of Ottawa student continued her strong outdoor campaign by launching the 4-kilogram implement 12.79 metres—enough to edge out Dalyssa Huggins of the York University Track Club by 16 centimetres. Gyamfi returns to action Saturday afternoon in the discus, an event in which she’s made significant strides recently, improving her personal best by more than three metres over the past month.

Also in the throws circle, Sadie Gilbert placed fifth in the U20 women’s shot put. The recent Paul-Desmarais graduate saved her best for last, registering a mark of 11.79 metres in the final round—her third-best throw to date.

With temperatures hovering in the 30s, Zachary Sikka braved the heat in the open men’s 5000 metres to place seventh in 15:56.83—the second-fastest time of his career.

The bulk of Friday’s schedule centred on the 400-metre preliminaries, where the Lions’ depth was on full display. Six junior men earned spots in Saturday’s timed finals, with three advancing to the A final. Zachary Jeggo led the charge with a time of 48.69 seconds, followed closely by Ayoub Shangai (49.18) and Ange-Mathis Kramo (49.31). William Sanders (49.73), Kyle London (49.53), and Safwan El Mansari (49.98) all advanced to the B final.

On the women’s side, Olympian Lauren Gale topped all open qualifiers with a smooth 53.08 clocking to secure her place in the A final. She’ll be joined by Alexandra Telford (57.04), while Cora McQuinn, Courtney Cenac, and Elliot Tyman will compete in the B final.

In the U20 women’s division, both Shannon Dewar and Sophia McIntyre advanced to Saturday’s B final after solid performances in their preliminary rounds.

Action continues through Sunday in Windsor, where the Lions will look to defend their provincial U20 title. Live results are available at: https://athleticsontario.anet.live/meets/54609

Maxime Cazabon delivered a dominant performance at the Athletics Ontario U16 & U20 Indoor Championships last weekend, securing two gold medals and two bronze medals to lead the Ottawa Lions at the provincial meet.

Cazabon, a rising star in Canadian athletics, completed the rare 60-meter and high jump double. The Grade 9 student at Garneau High School opened the meet with a new club U16 record of 7.20 seconds in the heats of the 60m (breaking the previous record of 7.24 set by Toluwalope Makinde in 2008) before quickly transitioning into high jump mode. He cleared 1.84 meters to comfortably take the top spot. After a brief recovery, Cazabon returned to the track, clinching gold in the 60-meter final with a time of 7.23 seconds — the second-fastest of his career.

Despite his two gold medals in a matter of hours, Cazabon wasn’t done. In his first-ever triple jump competition, he leaped to a silver medal-winning distance of 12.57 meters. Between his six jumps, Cazabon also found time to win bronze in the 300-meter event with a time of 37.75 seconds. A standout on the volleyball court as well, Cazabon’s multi-sport versatility suggests he may soon be competing in combined events, given his impressive all-around performances.

Balqis Chouikhi continued her strong form in the women’s pole vault, securing silver in the U20 division with a 3.35-meter clearance. This result mirrored her silver at last month’s senior women’s provincial championships, further highlighting her consistency across age groups.

Eli Mordel also impressed with a personal best of 4.25 meters in the U20 men’s pole vault, earning bronze and moving to No. 2 on the club’s U18 all-time list. This performance marks a significant step forward for the young vaulter as he climbs the national rankings.

“The club is incredibly proud of all our athletes who competed last weekend in Toronto,” said Club Head Coach Richard Johnston. “Their hard work and dedication were on full display, and it’s great to see their efforts rewarded on the podium.”

The Athletics Ontario U16 & U20 Indoor Championships brought together the province’s top young track and field talents, providing a competitive platform for emerging athletes. For Cazabon and his teammates, the event served as both a stepping stone towards the Canadian Indoor Championships later this month and the forthcoming high school season.