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“It was a good day for the club,” said coach Andrew Pagé, and he wasn’t joking as Lions athletes picked up four medals on day one of the 2015 National Legion Track and Field Championships held in Ste. Therese, Quebec. Leading the charge was a trio of young ladies who were all crowned Canadian champions on Friday.
World Youth semi-finalist, Keira Christie-Galloway was the odds on favourite to win gold after a season of consistently putting up the fastest times in the country. The St. Matthews High School student didn’t disappoint, winning in a time of 13.80 seconds over Brittany Stenekes of Team Ontario and world youth teammate, Arielle Bykovskaia-Dominique of Quebec.
In the youth girls 1500m, Shona McCulloch captured the third Canadian crown of her life, after winning both the U16 1200m and 2000m at last year’s championship. Despite being a year younger than most of her fellow competitors, McCulloch won in a time of 4:35.76, less than three seconds off her personal best.
Rounding out the national champions was Shyvonne Roxborough, who was crowned Canada’s girl by virtue of winning the U18 girls 100m title. The South Carleton High School student won comfortably in 12.05 seconds into a strong 1.7 m/s headwind. Teammate Colle Thompson was seventh in the final with a time of 12.62 seconds.
Winning the Lions first medal of the championship was Cashman Ford, who picked up bronze in the U16 boys pole vault.
Action continues Saturday and Sunday at the Legion Nationals in Ste. Therese.

While there individual performances may have left them wanting more on the track, both Matt Bedard and Erinn Stenman-Fahey each left the Pan American Junior Championships at Foote Field in Edmonton Sunday night with a bronze medal around their neck and the Canadian flag draped around their shoulders.
Bedard was an 11th place finisher in the men’s 400m hurdles on Saturday before taking the stick on the second leg off Canada’s 4x400m relay team Sunday night to help them to their 3 minute 9.91 second clocking. The event was the first international team selection for Bedard.
For Stenman-Fahey, Sunday’s medal in the 4x400m relay was redemption for the future Iowa State Cyclone after she missed out on individual bronze with a fourth place finish in Saturday night’s 800m final. After moving into the top four with 300m to go in the 800m final, Erinn was unable to out kick Canadian teammate Evelyn Guay, crossing the line in 2 minutes 9.42 seconds, less than a second off the podium.
While he didn’t earn a medal, high jumper Steve Nkusi had the best competition of his life en route to equaling his personal best with a 2.10m clearance. Nkusi cleared each of his five heights on his first attempt before failing to clear what would have been a lifetime best 2.13m. For his efforts, Steve finished in fifth place in his first international competition.

From Athletics Canada:

Posted on: 31 July 2015

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Four Ottawa Lions boarded planes headed for Edmonton Wednesday morning as they get set to compete in this weekend’s Pan American Junior Championship. While Claire Smith and Erinn Stenman-Fahey are first year juniors, they are no stranger to international competition. Erinn was a semi-finalist at last year’s World Junior Championships as a 17 year old, while Claire ran at this year’s World Cross Country Championships. For the men, both Matt Bedard and Steve Nkusi will be making their international debut in Edmonton.
Claire Smith is scheduled to compete on the opening day of competition in the women’s 3000m. Claire qualified for the event by virtue of her commanding victory at the Canadian Junior Championships on the same Foote Field track earlier this month. She is the top ranked athlete in the event with a best of 9:22.75 set earlier this year.
On Saturday, Matt Bedard will take to the line in a very competitive men’s 400m hurdle semi-final where he’ll square off against one of the best juniors in the world, Marvin Williams of Jamaica. Matt, the current Canadian junior champion, will need to place in the top 2 or be among the top 2 fastest losers to advance to the final later in the day.
Also competing Saturday will be Erinn Stenman-Fahey as she lines up in the women’s 800m timed final. A silver medallist at nationals, Erinn will likely have to dip under her personal best of 2:06.97 set last year in Eugene if she is to figure in the medals. The 800m field is highlight by world number one, Raevyn Rogers of the United States, who has run 1:59.71 this summer.
Rounding out the Lions contingent is Steve Nkusi who will look to recreate some of the magic that saw him capture his first national championship earlier this month when he takes to the high jump apron on Sunday. The University of Ottawa freshman is a relative newcomer to the event, having only begun training seriously for the event 14 months ago after playing competitive basketball previously.  However, Nkusi has already raised his personal best to 2.10m, which ranks him 9th heading into the competition.
Lions schedule (all times Eastern)
Watch Live 
Claire Smith – 3000m final – Friday @ 20h50
Matt Bedard – 400mH prelim – Saturday @ 15h10. Final @21h10
Erinn Stenman-Fahey – 800m final – Saturday @ 20h15
Steve Nkusi – High Jump Final – Sunday @ 19h10

By Dan Plouffe of Ottawa Sportpage
Seeded fourth in the women’s 800 metres, Melissa Bishop of the Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club bolted down the home stretch to gold on Wednesday night at York University as the Ottawa medal haul hit a remarkable total of 20 with four days left in the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games.
“There are so many fans here and I have a lot of people from home and friends and family all around (the stadium),” noted Bishop, who ran a blazing 1 minute, 59.52-second time for her two-lap race and then a snail-pace victory lap as she stopped for hugs in the audience almost every step of the way. “It was so great to have that connection with everybody, and I’m really grateful for it.”
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By Dan Plouffe of Ottawa Sportspage
It wasn’t the best performances of their careers, but the Ottawa Lions throws tandem of Tim Nedow and Sultana Frizell both experienced career highlights nonetheless on Tuesday evening at York University as they won silver and bronze medals respectively at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games.
Nedow’s medal came in his first of two events during the five-day Pan Am track-and-field programme, placing 2nd in the men’s shotput with a toss of 20.53 metres.
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Ottawa Lions athletes picked up 17 medals at this weekend’s Canadian Masters Track and Field Championships in St. Catherine’s, just one behind last year’s haul. Among the haul was nine gold, five silver and three bronze, with jumper Stan Seitz picking up two gold and a silver himself.
For athletes Wendy Alexis, Dave Kary and Robert Muir, the championship was a final prep for the upcoming World Masters Championships taking place in Lyon, France, August 4-16. All three picked up championship medals on the weekend, with Alexis picking up gold in the W60 100m and a silver in the 200m, while Muir (M45) and Kary (M55) each picked up medals in the 1500m.
The complete list of medal winners was as follows:
Linda Tauvette, W55, 100m – Gold
Linda Tauvette, W55, 200m – Gold
Wendy Alexis, W60, 100m – Gold
Wendy Alexis, W60, 200m – Silver
Joe Paialunga, M55, 100m – Silver
Joe Paialunga, M55, 200m – Gold
Marino Sani, M55, 100m – Bronze
Marino Sani, M55, 200m – Bronze
Robert Muir, M45, 1500m – Silver
Dave Kary, M55, 1500m – Bronze
Jean Ferguson, W55, 5000m – Silver
Stan Seitz, M65, High Jump – Silver
Stan Seitz, M65, Pole Vault – Gold
Stan Seitz, M65, Long Jump – Gold
Laura Baker, W30, Long Jump – Gold
Laura Baker, W30, Triple Jump – Gold
Bob Stavely, M80, Javelin – Gold

This week’s IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia featured two young Lion athletes looking to measure themselves against the world’s best. Shona McColloch and Keira Christie-Galloway both hit the track running Wednesday. Christie-Galloway kicked things off in the heats of the girls 100m hurdles. Running in the fifth and final heat, Keira put forth the best effort of her life, crossing the line in 13.63 seconds to finish second and advance to the semi-finals.
Running in Thursday’s semi-finals, Christie-Galloway was unable to replicate her performance of the day before, posting a time of 13.71 seconds and finishing sixth in her heat. She would not advance, finishing 19th overall. “I didn’t get a great start, but it was a great learning experience that makes me want to get faster,” said Keira. “Overall this has been a wonderful experience.”

For Shona McCulloch, some issues with over hydration impacted her performance as she crossed the line of the 3000m in 11th place. McCulloch’s time of 9 minutes 44.74 seconds was well off her personal best of 9:26.50 set just one month ago in Ottawa, and her comments on Twitter following the race reflected that reality. “It wasn’t my best race but I’m thankful for the opportunity to compete in a world class event!”
The two women were joined in Cali by jumps coach Leslie Estwick, making them the largest Lions contingent at the World Youth Championships since the 2007 championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic when the club was represented by Karelle Edwards, Oluwasegun Makinde, Kyle Milks and coach Darcy Cumming.

“More races. Get sharp.” That’s what 800m runner Melissa Bishop had to say when Flotrack asked her what she needed to get in the 1:59’s after winning in Madrid on Sunday in 2:00.13. What Bishop didn’t realize is it would only take one race, breaking her own club and provincial record Tuesday night in Luzern. The Eganville native crossed the line in 1 minute 59.52 seconds to finish third at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Meeting. The previous record of 1:59.70 was set at the NTL Victoria last season.
At the 400m mark, Bishop sat in fifth, but was already making her move to catch up to the lead pack, which hit the bell at 56.5 seconds. “It got out hard. I kept moving with the pack”, said the 2012 Olympian. “Felt like I got a little boxed in off the corner with 100m to go, but I’ve just got to respond to that.”  Respond she did, as lane one opened up, Melissa sprinted home for third.
Looking forward, Bishop will race next week at the Pan Am Games in Toronto with the semi-finals taking place Tuesday at York University, with the goal of making a run for gold in the final on Wednesday night. “It’s going to be great. I mean home town crowd, home field advantage. It works to my advantage.”

The final two days of the 2015 Canadian Track and Field Championships brought about 14 Championship medals for the Ottawa Lions and included seven Lions securing spots on Team Canada for the upcoming Pan American Junior Championships and IAAF World Championships in China this August.
Among the senior ranks, a club record four athletes secured their ticket to the Bird’s Nest in Beijing – highlighted by gold medal victories from throwers Sultana Frizell and Tim Nedow. Frizell secured her sixth Canadian title on her first throw Saturday night – 70.59m. The Perth native would extend her lead to 70.97m in the second round to win by more than four metres.
Like Frizell, Nedow was the class of the shot put competition, winning the competition on his first throw – 19.38m. However, in the fifth round, the Commonwealth bronze medalist would put the shot out to a club record 20.53m to confirm his third straight national title. Tim had previously set the club record earlier this season at the Kansas Relays with a throw of 20.51m.
Also securing her berth was Melissa Bishop by virtue of a silver medal in the 800m. Bishop, was looking for a three peat in the 800m, but was narrowly out kicked at the line by Fiona Benson of B.C. – 2:08.52 to 2:08.60. In the men’s 110m hurdle final, Sekou Kaba ran the race of his life, setting a new club record of 13.43 seconds to capture bronze in one of the strongest national finals in history. Kaba was ecstatic about the performance, taking to Twitter afterwards, saying, “As much as I hate to lose, I accept tonight’s L with great pride. PB, club record, World Champs standard and Olympic standard…..just wow!”
In the Junior Championships, both Matt Bedard and Claire Smith ran to victory on Sunday afternoon to secure their spots on Team Canada for the Pan Am Junior Championships. Bedard, who just finished his freshman year at North Dakota State University, stumbled over hurdle nine before regaining his stride and sprinting across the line in 52.74 seconds. Smith was a little more decisive in her victory, as she broke from the pack with less than three laps to go and ran to a comfortable victory in 9:49.87.
Rounding out the list of athletes to earn their spot on Team Canada was Erinn Stenman-Fahey, who qualified for the national junior team for the second year in a row after finishing second in the 800m. The future Iowa State Cyclone found herself in a one on one battle down the home stretch with future teammate Evelyne Guay, but Guay was able to sneak out the victory – 2:10.15 to 2:10.46.
Other medal winners from the Saturday and Sunday’s competition include:
Shanna Boutilier Para Ambulatory 200m – Gold
Josh Cassidy T54 5000m – Gold
Stuart McGregor Para Ambulatory 400m – Gold
Josh Cassidy T54 1500m – Silver
Larissa Brown Para Ambulatory 200m – Silver
Jon Dunkerley Para Ambulatory 200m – Bronze