Coming off an OFSAA gold medal winning performance in the junior boys’ bracket last November in Peterborough, no one expects the Lo-Ellen Park Knights to duplicate the feat in their first season at the senior level.
But they sure are ready to give it their best shot.
Led by the OFSAA quartet of Sam Rice, Owen Dobson, Nolan Kuhlberg and Jacob Barney, joining upper classmen Liam Lacroix and Kaeden Ward, among others, the Senior Knights are already showing signs of being a force to be reckoned with when the best high-schoolers in the province convene in Uxbridge some six weeks from now.
Rice duplicated his first place finish from the initial preliminary race of the season at Kivi Park a few weeks back, besting Maxime Morin of Theriault to take top spot at the Rumble on the Rock Tuesday afternoon at Laurentian University. Third at Kivi, Dobson would slide in at #6 this week, still more than happy to play the long game when it comes to his running career.
“I’ve run ever since I was young but never really took it seriously until we were quarantined,” noted the 16 year-old grade 11 student at LOE who was recognized as the SDSSAA Male Athlete of the Week earlier this month. “Grade nine was serious and after that, I was very committed to practices, pushing myself to go the extra mile to keep up with the seniors.”
“It’s been a slow progression and I think that this is a good thing,” Dobson added.
The Rumble on the Rock meet hosted by the Laurentian Voyageurs cross-country and indoor track team - Darren Jermyn and company - marked the fourth race of the season already for both Dobson and Rice, with the scenic trails behind the L.U. stadium providing the athletes a bit of a different look.
“This is an interesting challenge, especially with the double loop,” said Dobson. “That’s sort of a different mental thing – but you know what to expect, which is kind of nice. The hills are kind of like markers, where you might win it or lose it. This race almost acts like a workout, preparing you for a race course that is flatter when you really appreciate it.”
Like so many of his Lo-Ellen teammates, Dobson will make the transition from cross-country season, moving on to nordic skiing, then capping off the year with the outdoor track campaign. For all the pros and cons, the fall schedule ranks at the top of his list of favourites.
“I’m biased because I am better at cross-country than track,” he said with a smile. “A longer race requires some extra mental toughness and I like that. I love the outdoors, just love being outside – even on a yucky day like today.”
“It’s part of the grit.”
Joining Sam Rice in doubling up their victories from Kivi Park was Lockerby senior Lauren Pineau, looking awfully impressive in stretching out her lead over second place finisher Maria Aide Rios (Theriault – Timmins) to 46 seconds by the time she crossed the line of the 5.6 kilometre course.
It’s all arguably even more impressive when one considers that the bulk of the off-season training regimen for Pineau was not aimed at cross-country excellence specifically. “I am definitely focusing more on (nordic) skiing than running, but I still do a lot of running,” said the 15 year-old grade 11 phenom.
“I’m doing a lot more ski-based training than last year. General strength and core training sessions obviously helps with both - lots of legs and upper body workouts. I feel that in the future, I can be more successful in nordic skiing than running. It opens up more opportunities, university-wise, in my future.”
With five of the top ten senior girls featuring young women representing out of town schools such as Thériault, Franco-Cité, Manitoulin, Englehart and Scollard Hall, Pineau could not carry quite the same mindset into the Rumble as the comfort level that she discussed right on the heels of her earlier triumph at Kivi Park.
"I know the other runners, but I wasn’t really sure how their training in the summer went,” Pineau acknowledged a couple of weeks ago. “I kind of had a prediction it would be in the order it was. I kind of knew who I was going up against. I know a lot of them personally.”
Other local runners recording top three placements in their age bracket included Nicholas Labrecque (JB – 1st – LOE), Sadie Frantz (NG – 1st – LOE), Caleb Mead (NB – 1st – STB), Lucia Salmaso (JG – 2nd – MMT) and Shiloh Sauvé (JB – 2nd – LOE).
