Campbell and Petrucci tops at SOSSA

Eric Campbell made it three straight Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association cross country titles Thursday at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls.

After winning the SOSSA junior boys title in both his Grade 9 and 10 years, the Grade 11 student at Sir Winston Churchill won the senior boys title in his first year in the division.

“That’s crazy and I am just so happy that I was able to clinch first this year,” the 16-year-old said. “I thought it was going to be really tough this year and it was. I was quite tired at the end.”

The Niagara Olympic Club member had a definite plan of attack for the race.

“My coach wanted me to take it out a little hard to try and tire out the rest of the competition so that my other teammates could come up,” said last year’s Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ junior boys champion. “I just kept going, running my pace and I ended up winning.”

His strategy was a lot different from last week’s Zone 3/4 championships, where he placed third overall.

“Last week, we were just trying to help our fourth runner get a little faster and it was a little workout we did,” Campbell said. “After that, we started taking it out a little bit harder and we ended up going, three, four, five. It was a good workout.”

Campbell had no problem sacrificing personal glory for team gain.

“This year, I am trying to focus on helping my teammates out and winning as a team at OFSAA,” he said. “We have a really good team coming in to OFSAA and we have a lot of potential.”

PETRUCCI CLAIMS SOSSA GOLD

Mason Petrucci flipped his cross country results around this year.

Last season, the Grade 10 student at St. Francis won the Zone 4 meet and placed second at SOSSA in the novice boys division. On Thursday, after placing third in the Zone 2 (Niagara Catholic Athletic Association) meet, the 15-year-old St. Catharines resident won the junior boys division at the SOSSA meet.

“This year, I am setting new goals and I came here today wanting to get the SOSSA championship that I lost last year and I thought that I did a good job of that,” he said.

Petrucci is aiming higher for two reasons.

“It’s my competitiveness and I always want to win,” he said. “At OFSAA this year, I want to give it my all and see how I do.”

Petrucci has been a member of the Thorold Elite Track Club since the last cross country season and that training has boosted his results.

“My coach Steven Fife has groomed me to become more of a complete runner and not just a cross country runner,” he said. “I have also gone to OFSAA for track and field in the 300-meter hurdles and 800 metres.”

Thursday’s race was much closer than last week’s Zone 2 meet. Petrucci and Crossley’s Adam Kleinsmith were both sprinting to the finish line.

“You have to really push yourself and you have to be a hard person if you want to run that fast,” Petrucci said.

FROM HOOPS TO HILLS

Basketball’s loss is running’s gain.

This year, Nate Rose chose running over basketball and that decision was validated Thursday when he won the novice boys division at the SOSSA cross country meet.

“I was ready to commit because I knew that I had some talent and I was a little better at it than basketball,” the Grade 9 student at Sir Winston Churchill said. “I had the motivation to do a lot better than I had before.”

It was an easy choice for the former Niagara Tigers travel player.

“I just enjoyed it a little less and I wasn’t getting a lot of playing time,” he said. “The Tigers were a tough team to get playing time on.”

Last year as a Grade 8 student, he placed second at the District School Board of Niagara cross country meet.

“My goals were to improve and start working hard,” said the member of the Thorold Elite Track Club.

He trains almost every day.

Last week, he was the overall winner at Zone 3/4 meet and that result gave him a high boost of confidence heading into this week. His goal was to be SOSSA champion.

“I had that expectation for myself,” he said. “I knew my competition for one, everyone said I had a good chance and I just believed in myself.”

He’s not expecting to cross the line first at OFSAA.

“My goal for OFSAA is top 20,” he said. “I know there are a lot of tough runners in Ontario and we are one of the fastest provinces. It is tough to do well.”

KOBE COMES FIRST

Kobe Selman is a long-time disciple of the sport of running.

“Ever since Grade 7, I have been running and it has become my passion,” the 18-year Collegiate student said Thursday, after winning the para boys division at the SOSSA cross country championships.

He is inspired by his teammates and coaches at Collegiate.

“They push me to the limit and that’s the way I like it,” he said.

Collegiate is glad to have the talented runner.

“Kobe is in the first year at our school after transferring over from Simcoe because his program closed there,” coach Dave Poirier said. “He is a good kid and we are just so happy to have him.”

Selmnan possesses all the attributes to be a successful runner.

“He’s really competitive and he really wants to win all the time,” Poirier said.

Selman has one goal in mind.

“I want to make it to OFSAA,” he said, after doing just that Thursday.

The top two teams and the top five individuals not on qualifying teams advance to the OFSAA championships. Below are the local runners and teams who met that criteria.

Novice boys: 1. Nate Rose, Churchill (14:42.9); 2.Marco Difelice, Churchill; 4. Gavin Stone, Centennial; 8. Zachery Joseph, Blessed Trinity.

Novice boys team: 1. Sir Winston Churchill (Rose, Difelice, 9. Matt Taubebeck, 18. Waker Rollo and 53. Maxwell Redding).

Junior boys: 1. Mason Petrucci, St. Francis (17:06.7); 2. Adam Kleinsmith, Crossley; 3. Reece Arnold, Blessed Trinity; 4. Evan Beach, Blessed Trinity; 5, Owen Minnings, Smithville Christian.

Junior boys teams: 1. Sir Winston Churchill (6. Nate Smyth, 7. Miles Walker, 10. Lachlan Nelson, 15. Jeff Dommasch and 20. Alex Hall); 2. Eden (Arnold, Beach, 16. Ryan Michtics, 30. James Lawson and 37. Marcus Celia).

Senior boys: 1. Eric Campbell, Churchill (19:47); 2. Owen Lockyer, Eden; 3. Carter McMaster, Eden; 5. Sacha Schimmelpenninck, Churchill; 6. Adam Woehl, GFESS.

Senior boys teams: 1. Churchill (Campbell, Schimmelpenninck, 8. Josh Bezanson, 12. Taylor Mowat and 44. Jon Clark); 2. Eden (Lockyer, McMaster, 9. Evan Stewart; 22. Hunter Willis and 49. Trent Thorpe).

Para boys: 1. Kobe Selman, Collegiate (12:808); 2. Jospeh Nokeo, Eden; 3. Julio Rolon, Collegiate; 4. Braydon Turner, Thorold.