Posts tagged: Ontario Championship

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — The Ottawa Lions left St. Catharines last weekend with 31 medals and its first provincial U18 team title in two years, closing out the Ontario U14/U16/U18 & CE Championships.

Our U18 team finished with an impressive 204 points, 68 clear of London Western Track and Field Club in second place, enough to secure the club’s 10th U18 team title since the championship began crowning a team winner in 2000. The Lions had last won it in 2024.

Team success came amid a broader medal haul that spanned nearly every age group at the meet. Over three days of championship action, Lions athletes combined for nine gold medals, 14 silver and eight bronze.

No Lions athlete had a busier weekend than Maxime Cazabon, who is just 16 but already competing at the top of the U18 ranks. Over three days, he ran the 100 and 200 meters, then turned to the jumps, where he swept gold in the high jump (1.94m) and triple jump (13.59m), added a silver in the long jump (6.32m), and closed out his meet with another silver as part of 4×100 relay team with Alexander Forzley, Ethan Hood, and Logan Morrice. The quartet’s time of  42.47 seconds now ranks as the second-fastest among U18 in club history.

Max Gerundin picked up a pair of medals as he completed the classic middle-distance double, winning the 800 meters in 1:53.35 and taking bronze in the 1500 in 4:01.66, before adding a fourth medal as part of the 4×400 team with Sebastian Johnson, Declan McGinnity, Ethan Hood. The team posted a speedy 3:20.57 to move to second on the U18 all-time list.

As she has done virtually all year, Anabelle Muir proved herself once again to be the class of the pole vault field. The 16-year-old cleared 3.46 meters to take top spot on the podium. Not willing to be a one-trick-pony, Muir jumped into relay duty where she was part of a fourth place finish in the 4×400 and helped the 4×800 team to silver. Running with Autumn Sakiyama, Isla Kittmer, Bianca Arabackyj, the quartet finished in 9:38.7 — good for sixth on the Club’s U18 list.

Among the club’s younger athletes, Eric Combasson repeated his victory from indoors in the U14 tetrathlon. In the race walk, Penny Roy took home the gold in the U16 1500m event.

The Lions saved two of their most complete team performances for the relays. In the 1600-meter sprint medley, the foursome of Yousef Kamel, Alexander Forzley, Logan Morrice and Timothy Kelly-MacLean won gold in 3 minutes 39.10 seconds. A few events later, Kelly-MacLean was back on the track for the 4×800-meter relay, joining Oscar Lorrain, Jake Claydon-St. John and Aidan Savka for a gold-medal time of 8:25.34 — his second gold of the meet.

Full List of Ottawa Lions Medalists

Gold

• Noah Hollinger — Decathlon (U18)
• Eric Combasson — Tetrathlon (U14)
• Max Gerundin — 800m (U18)
• Penny Roy — 1500m Race Walk (U16)
• Maxime Cazabon — High Jump (U18)
• Maxime Cazabon — Triple Jump (U18)
• Anabelle Muir — Pole Vault (U18)
• Yousef Kamel, Alexander Forzley, Logan Morrice, Timothy Kelly-MacLean — 1600m Sprint Medley (U18)
• Oscar Lorrain, Jake Claydon-St. John, Aidan Savka, Timothy Kelly-MacLean — 4x800m (U18)

Silver

• Parker Baetz — Decathlon (U18)
• Kyle London — Decathlon (U20)
• Leo Wallner — Decathlon (Open)
• Oliver Jeglic — 300m (U14)
• Ethan Hood — 400m (U18)
• Norah Nitta Mackay — 400m (U18)
• Jarred Rathwell — Javelin (U18)
• Maxime Cazabon — Long Jump (U18)
• Roxy Gardiner — Triple Jump (U18)
• Norah Nitta Mackay, Roxy Gardiner, Marlowe Fabi, Bianca Arabackyj — 1600m Sprint Medley (U18)
• Alexander Forzley, Maxime Cazabon, Ethan Hood, Logan Morrice — 4x100m (U18)
• Sebastian Johnson, Max Gerundin, Declan McGinnity, Ethan Hood — 4x400m (U18)
• Matisse Joly, Thomas Fenton, Brody Charbot, Silas Harding — 4x800m (U18)
• Autumn Sakiyama, Isla Kittmer, Anabelle Muir, Bianca Arabackyj — 4x800m (U18)

Bronze

• Oliver Jeglic — 80m (U14)
• Sasha Stephenson — 200m Hurdles (U16)
• Jake Claydon-St. John — 800m (U16)
• Max Gerundin — 1500m (U18)
• Alina Shpakovych — High Jump (U18)
• Aidan Savka, Brock Stonham, Ethan Frizzell, Oscar Lorrain — 1600m Sprint Medley (U18)
• Declan McGinnity, Sebastian Johnson, Yousef Kamel, Ethan Frizzell — 4x100m (U18)
• Audrey Webb, Priya Bilcock, Hailey Hayes, Sophie Houle — 4x800m (U18)

Ottawa Lions athletes delivered a wide range of standout performances across sprints, jumps, throws and distance events at last weekend’s Ontario U18/Open Championships, highlighted by two event titles, multiple top-five finishes, and a dozen new personal bests.

As he has done at every championship meet he has contested over the past two seasons, Maxime Cazabon once again rose to the occasion in the U18 boys high jump, claiming the title. The Grade 10 student at Garneau secured the win with a first-attempt clearance at 1.82 metres, then went on to clear his winning height of 1.89 metres on his first try as well. Cazabon also recorded a personal best of 6.29 metres to place fourth in the long jump and added a seasonal-best 7.26 seconds in the 60m semifinals.

Also reaching the top of the podium was Anabelle Muir, who captured gold in the U18 girls pole vault with a clearance of 3.20 metres. Muir sat in second place behind Windsor Essex’s Alyssa Rizzo on countback through the early heights, but her second-attempt clearance at 3.20 metres proved decisive and secured the victory. Teammate Charlotte Morales placed fifth with a personal-best clearance of 2.35 metres.

On the track, Alexander Forzley added to the club’s medal haul in the U18 boys 200 metres, earning silver in 23.11 seconds. Earlier in the championship, the Sir Robert Borden student placed sixth in the 60m final in 7.16 seconds after advancing through the preliminary and semifinal rounds.

The final medal for the Lions came in the throws, where Sadie Gilbert competed up an age category to place third in the senior women’s shot put with a throw of 11.69 metres.

Several of the meet’s personal best performances came in the middle-distance events. In his first race since last summer’s OFSAA Championships, Luke Van Brabant produced a personal best of 4:15.09 to place eighth in the U18 boys 1500m. He followed that with a fifth-place finish in the 800m in 2:00.48 — the second-fastest performance of his career.

Brennan Lee also recorded personal bests in both of his events, running 2:01.01 for 800 metres and 4:16.44 for 1500 metres. Isla Kittmer added a new best of 10:34.53 in the U18 girls 3000 metres, finishing 12th overall.

In the field events, Roxy Gardiner bounded her way into the record books, placing fourth in the U18 girls triple jump with a leap of 11.05 metres. The performance moves Gardiner into 10th place on the club’s all-time U18 rankings in the event.

Ottawa Lions athletes delivered a memorable weekend of performances at the Ontario U14/U16/U18 Championships in Brampton, bringing home a flurry of medals and producing a series of all-time club marks across the board.

Leading the way was Maxime Cazabon, who struck gold in the U16 boys’ high jump with a clearance of 1.94 metres. The 15-year-old’s leap matched his personal best and moved him into second place on the club’s all-time rankings for U16 boys.

Also etching his name into the Lions’ record books was Eli Mordel, who claimed gold in the U18 boys’ 110-metre hurdles. Running into a headwind of -2.1 m/s, Mordel stopped the clock at 14.28 seconds, good for second all-time among U18 Lions.

The U18 boys’ 4x800m team delivered a commanding gold medal performance. The quartet of Noah Mansouri, Charlie Mortimer, Oliver Young, and Max Gerundin stopped the clock at 8:12.45, placing them second all-time. Mortimer also picked up individual gold in the 2000m steeplechase.

In the distance events, Brody Charbot turned heads with a stellar performance in the U16 boys’ 2000 metres. His time of 6:11.61 placed him eighth all-time in club history. Charbot later returned to help his teammates—Samuel Larocque, Jaiden Taft, and Oscar Lorrain—claim bronze in the U16 boys’ 4x800m relay, whose 9:17.95 time now ranks eighth in club history.

The girls’ relay squads added to the medal count and record book. The U16 girls’ 4x800m team of Charlie Fee, Autumn Sakiyama, Audrey Webb, and Isla Kittmer earned silver, with their 10:11.46 performance placing sixth all-time for the age group. Sakiyama and Kittmer returned alongside Atalia Williams and Olivia Daigle-Dasah to claim bronze in the U16 sprint medley relay—fourth-fastest in club history. Meanwhile, the U18 girls—Norah Nitta Mackay, Livia Buffone, Chloë Martineau, and Maya Allibon—clocked 4:13.07 for silver and the fifth-fastest mark in club U18 annals.

On the field, Amy Roy continued her rise in the U18 girls’ hammer throw, earning third on the club’s all-time list with a toss of 47.42 metres. She narrowly missed the podium in Brampton but made a significant statistical leap in the rankings.

Rounding out the medal performances, Penny Roy captured gold in the U14 girls’ 800-metre race walk, while Cohen Pinto secured bronze in the U18 boys’ long jump. In the U18 girls’ 4x800m relay, the team of Sofia Lefaivre, Kyra Lauter, Emily Munro, and Farrah Hedderson earned bronze.

Next up for the younger Lions athletes is the Royal Canadian Legion Championships August 8-10 in Calgary.

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