OCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
HISTORY MADE AT 2013 OCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
For OCAA Cross Country Runners, the Provincial Championship is a grueling test of endurance and skill. On a good day, runners are pushed to their absolute limit. Crossing the finish line with nothing left but the determination to finish the race, it is one of the most primitive forms of sport.
Redeemer hosted 200 of these determined racers on Saturday at the 2013 OCAA Provincial Cross Country Championships. The women's and men's races showcase the top college runners in the province and a number of the top runners in the country.
Cross Country running is an exhausting sport in itself, but competing on one of the most difficult courses of the season at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area in Ancaster, Ontario adds a new dimension to the Championship race. On Saturday,as runners arrived at the race site, they were greeted with torrential downpours and wind gusts of up to 70km/hr, making the tough Ancaster course even more difficult. The rain and wind lasted the entire Championship event, making for a very memorable OCAA Provincial Championship.
Fanshawe College became the first program to win five consecutive men's team titles at the 2013 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
Fanshawe saw four of its runners place in the top 13, giving it 24 team points, 25 more than runner-up Humber College. St. Clair College finished in the bronze medal position with 76 points.
Fanshawe tied the previous record of four consecutive men's team titles last season. St. Lawrence College (Kingston) set the previous record from 1978-1981.
The Falcons were led by Clint Smith (Petrolia) who won his second straight individual title in an 8 km time of 28:04, five seconds ahead of silver medalist Riley Hubbard-Olesky (Oshawa) of Fleming College. Smith earned two silver medals in 2010 and 2011 before his back-to-back golds. Smith becomes the eighth student-athlete to successfully defend his individual championship.
Sean Sweeney (Toronto) of George Brown College finished third in a time of 29:00 flat. With a fourth individual bronze medal to go along with his gold won in 2011, Sweeney becomes just the second person to win five OCAA individual medals, matching OCAA Hall of Fame athlete Rodney Alderdice of Mohawk College who accomplished the feat in the early 1990s.
The top seven runners are named to the first all-Ontario team. In addition to the individual medalists, all-Ontario first-team members include Josh Lumani (London) of Fanshawe (4th - 29:07), Nathaniel Green (Etobicoke) of Humber (5th - 29:10), Gavin Shields (Cambridge) of Confederation College (6th - 29:14) and Daniel Bright (Brampton) of Fanshawe (7th - 29:22).
Eighth to 14th place finishers are named to the all-Ontario second-team. They include John Trojansek (Windsor) of St. Clair (8th -29:31), Jordan Langridge (Brighton) of St. Clair (9th - 29:54), Ryan Fennell (Aurora) of Georgian College (10th - 30:01), Jesse Bruce (Etobicoke) of Humber (11th - 30:10), Jessie Wilcox (Hamilton) of Mohawk (12th - 30:23), Kevin Patterson (Dundas) of Mohawk (13th - 30:26) and Sean Coleshill (Stouffville) of Fanshawe (14th - 30:28).
Earlier in the day, St. Clair won the women's team title, unseating two-time defending champion Humber. St. Clair placed four runners in the top 19 for 34 team points, 11 more than runner-up Humber. Sault College narrowly missed out on team silver, settling for bronze with 46 points.
Courtney Brohart (Sarnia) became the second straight runner from St. Lawrence-Kingston to win women's individual gold, finishing the 5 km race in a time of 22:06. Richelle Moore won the event last year.
Taking silver was Humber's Cara Coults (Etobicoke) in a time of 22:25. Donia Oumesrour (Windsor) of St. Clair finished in the bronze position in a time of 22:31.
Like the men, the top seven runners are named to the first all-Ontario team. In addition to the individual medalists, all-Ontario first-team members include Kodi Morgan (Windsor) of St. Clair (4th - 22:47), Joanita Louw (South Africa) of George Brown (5th - 23:02); Stephanie Braithwaite (Peterborough) of Seneca (6th - 23:04) and Tessa Kasch (Sault Ste. Marie) of Sault (7th - 23:05).
Members of the all-Ontario second-team include Amanda Matthews (Windsor) of St. Clair (8th - 23:09), Rebecca Jaros (Kingston) of St. Lawrence-Kingston (9th - 23:15), Jocelyn Fry (Milford Bay) of Fanshawe (10th - 23:20), Coby Phillips (Etobicoke) of Humber (11th - 23:29), Erin Mallinger (Sault Ste. Marie) of Sault (12th - 23:36), Aislyn Ireton (Perth) of Sault (13th - 23:38) and Oliva Patton (Brighton) of Fleming (14th - 23:38).
At the OCAA Championship Awards Banquet, athlete's were treated to an appearance by Canadian marathon runner Krista DuChene.
DuChene is a Brantford, Ontario native who, just one week ago, was named the 2nd fastest marathon runner in Canadian history. DuChene and fellow Canadian marathon runner Lanni Marchant, both broke the Canadian record on October 20th at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Marchant came in 32 seconds faster than DuChene.
Duchene captivated the OCAA running audience with an inspiring speech, that proved to be very fitting for the group of athletes after such a difficult day of running.Â
The official Championship Results can be found here: http://www.chiptimeresults.com
Nearly 200 runners competed at Dundas Valley. The cross country racing season concludes on Nov. 9 when Humber College plays host to the 2013 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Cross Country Running National Championships.
Please Click on the below images for information regarding each category!
