Julian Luoma was already extremely fast. Now he has a cross-country training partner locally almost his equal.
A junior at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, Luoma recorded the best finish of any SDSSAA athlete at the 2025 OFSAA Cross-Country Championships in Brampton on Saturday, placing ninth in a field of 270 or so, covering the 5km distance in a time of 16:54.25.
The best news, from a local perspective, was that Maxime Belzile of E.S. Macdonald-Cartier was right on his heels, crossing the line in 16:58.96, good for tenth place.
After cracking the top-five at OFSAA one year ago as a novice, Luoma certainly had a far greater comfort level as he made a return visit in grade 10.
“I was less nervous this year because I knew what I was getting into,” said Luoma, whose first and foremost sport remains nordic skiing, the pursuit he wishes to follow beyond high-school.
“As far as the race itself, the course was a bit different. Last year was a golf course so I had a bit of a different approach, technically speaking.”
Perhaps because of the very nature of the non-standardization of the race trails that exist within this version of running, Luoma takes a more organic approach to get a feel for just how well he may or may not be performing on a given day.
“I tend to gauge my pace when I train or race not off the speed but more by feel,” he said. “I just think that the feel incorporates more how tired your body might be. I want to be hurting a bit in the race. There’s a certain amount of hurt that I know is good.”
Following is a complete listing of all of the Sudbury athletes who cracked the top 100, putting them in roughly the top third of their field:
Senior Boys Division (6km)Raphael Belzile (ESMC) – 55th – 20:38.18
Jack Ellis (SSS) – 88th – 21:11.62
Isaac Longston (LCS) – 93rd – 21:17.92
Senior Girls Division (6km)
Lily Bignucolo (LEP) – 42nd - 23:56.36
Megan Pineau (LEP) – 92nd – 25:11.92
(team was 9th overall – Lea Maki / Alessandra Melo / Bridget Osezua)
Junior Boys Division (5km)
Julian Luoma (LEP) – 9th – 16:54.25
Maxime Belzile (ESMC) – 10th – 16:58.96
Karim Kaidi (Hanmer) – 92nd – 18:45.55
Junior Girls Division (5km)
Lia Paille (LEP) – 57th – 20:55.35
Ewa Breckon (LEP) – 78th – 21:29.03
Novice Boys Division (4km)
Dax Hester (LEP) – 32nd – 14:44.41
Lincoln Elliott (LEP) – 74th – 15:25.91
Zidan Eldahhan (LEP) – 92nd – 15:36.61
(team was 7th overall – Camden Poirier / Fisher Picken)
Novice Girls Division (4km)
Mila Drozdowsky (BAC) – 46th – 17:11.65
Mixed Para Division (4km)
Dante Ricketts (LAS) – 15th – 18:54.42 (intellectual – 14th of 53)
Sophia Carlson (MMT) – 41st – 24:22.34 (ambulatory – 1st of 3)
