Emulating that perfect race day feeling is seldom easy – even at events staged only seven days apart.
On a day in which two of the six SDSSAA race winners managed to duplicate their run to a city title with folks from across the north in town for the 2023 NOSSA Cross-Country Championships at Kivi Park, it was only the novice and senior girls that would see the top three locals finish in exactly the same order, from one week to the next.
Some folks, like Raphael Belzile of Macdonald-Cartier, made amends the second time around as the 15 year-old grade 10 student managed to win gold at NOSSA after earning silver at the SDSSAA showdown on the same course.
“I had to make sure I was going faster way earlier,” said Belzile. “Last race, I took it a bit easier at the start because my leg was sore. This race, my leg was feeling better so I could go harder earlier.”
Like so many who hit the secondary school ranks, Belzile has gradually realized some of the opportunities that his talent at maintaining speed through distance might offer. “I’ve been running since grade three but I started to get more serious this summer,” he said. “When I did well last year in cross-country, I started training more.”
“Before I would run every two weeks – but now I am running four to five times a week,” added the relatively new member of Track North. “It’s way more intense.”
As for any kind of preferred venue to train, it’s clear that his first love steers him towards the great outdoors. “I like workouts in the trails where you go two minutes hard, then two minutes a little easier for a mile,” stated Belzile. “And you do that three times.”
Lo-Ellen novice champion Megan Pineau was joined by teammate Lily Bignucolo (junior girls – gold) in repeating as first place finishers at both races, with her 47 second victory on Wednesday (Larkyn Allen of Chippewa in North Bay was second) not a whole lot closer than her SDSSAA win – though it did not feel that way at the start.
“At first, Adrielle (Adrielle Charette – CND – 3rd place) was on my tail and that was really pushing me a lot,” said Pineau. “The second kilometre, she started to back off – but then some of the other girls from North Bay started to catch up. It was really good to have some competition out there to push me.”
As for the OFSAA Championships set for Etobicoke (Centennial Park) on November 4th, this high-school freshman has a couple of sources of solid pre-scouting available to her, including older sister Lauren who earned bronze in the senior girls race. “I’ve been there and walked the course,” said Megan.
“I’m going to try and stick maybe not with the front people, but near the front and let them push me and see how I do there.”
In the race for team banners, it was no contest once again as the Lo-Ellen Park Knights took every single divisional title with the exception of Senior Girls (which went to the Manitoulin Mustangs), though the Novice Girls required a tie-breaker to slip past the Chippewa Raiders.
Following is a complete listing of SDSSAA runners who cracked the top five at NOSSA:
Senior Girls DivisionGeorgia Lepage (STB) – 2nd – 24:08
Lauren Pineau (LCS) – 3rd – 24:46
Katelyn De Poli (STB) – 5th – 25:06
Senior Boys Division
Sam Rice (LOE) – 2nd – 19:48
Owen Dobson (LOE) – 3rd – 20:16
Nolan Kuhlberg (LOE) – 4th – 20:45
Junior Girls Division
Lily Bignucolo (LOE) – 1st – 21:45
Misaki Diavolitsis (LCS) – 2nd – 22:18
Lea Maki (LOE) – 3rd – 22:24
Breanna Sullivan (CND) – 4th – 22:30
Junior Boys Division
Raphael Belzile (ESMC) – 1st – 18:28
Isaac Longston (LCS) – 2nd – 18:37
Lukas Morin (CND) – 3rd – 18:48
Callum Wiss (LOE) – 4th – 18:54
Novice Girls Division
Megan Pineau (LOE) – 1st – 16:37
Adrielle Charette (CND) – 3rd – 17:35
Novice Boys Division
Carson Jewitt (LOE) – 2nd – 14:38
Frank Nzotungwanimana (LOE) – 4th – 14:52
Sam Piette (LOE) – 5th – 14:55
Para Division
Summer Boyer (LAS) - Girls - 1st - 30:22
Dante Ricketts (LAS) - Boys - 1st - 18:19
James Butcher (LAS) - Boys - 2nd - 21:58
Gabe Lapointe (LAS) - Boys - 3rd - 32:09