After a week of training under the sun in what has become an annual pilgrimage to South Carolina, Ottawa Lions athletes kicked off their outdoor season with a strong showing at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge, posting multiple personal bests and top finishes.
Leading the way was Daniel Cova, who delivered a pair of standout performances – taking top spot in the1500 metres and capturing a bronze over 3000 metres. The future Iona University student eclipsed the four-minute barrier for the first time, taking victory in a time of 3 minutes and 59.27 seconds. At 3000 metres, Cova took home bronze and another personal best with a time of 8:36.55 – to move to 16th on the Club’s all-time U20 list.
Teammate Mikel Fortier also excelled at 1500 and 3000 metres, posting new lifetime bests in both events. Fortier, became the 24th U18 athlete in Club history to break 9 minutes for 3000m when he placed 14th in 8:59.15. At 1500m, Fortier won bronze behind Cova, running a personal-best 4:14.56.
Coming off a strong indoor season, Ellie McGregor demonstrated she’s well positioned to excel this spring on the high school circuit. The grade 10 student at Immaculata placed 13th in the Collegiate section of the 400 metres in a speedy 57.96 seconds – just three hundredths off her personal best. Teammate Shannon Dewar finished 22nd in 59.38 seconds and earlier won the open section of the 800 meters in 2:20.91, trimming nearly four seconds from her previous best.
Sprinter Livia Buffone also produced a pair of impressive results in both of the short sprints. Buffone opened with an impressive early season personal best of 12.89 seconds in the 100 metres – leading the Lions’ women. As a follow up, she trimmed a half second off her previous best at 200 metres, placing 30th in the Collegiate section in 26.84 seconds.
Relays provided another highlight for the Lions, as the men’s 4×800-meter relay team of Brennan Lee, Charlie Mortimer, Mikel Fortier, and Daniel Cova combined for a time of 8:13.33, securing a strong seventh-place finish. In addition to the impressive finish, the time ranks as the fourth fastest among U20 men in Club history. The 4×200 relay team of Jonah Gratton, Jesse Costanzo, Xavier Placid, Jamie Meikle also ran their way into the top-10 rankings. The quartet placed 13th in the Collegiate men’s relay with a time of 1:32.30 – the seventh fastest for a U20 relay team in Club history.
With the outdoor season now underway, the Ottawa Lions’ athletes have set a high standard, and their performances in Myrtle Beach signal an exciting path ahead as they prepare for the high school and summer seasons.
