Campbell living OFSAA dream
Sir Winston Churchill’s Eric Campbell, shown in this file shot, won the junior boys division at last Saturday’s Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association cross country championships held at Christie Lake Conservation Area in Dundas.
Prior to last Saturday’s Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association cross country meet, Eric Campbell said it was the dream of every kid to win an OFSAA gold medal.
The Grade 10 student at Sir Winston Churchill is now living the dream following his victory Saturday in the OFSAA junior boys division at Christie Lake Conservation Area in Dundas. Earlier this spring, the 15-year-old won silvers medals in the midget boys 800 and 1500 metres at the OFSAA track and field meet.
“Even now, I’m thinking back and I can’t believe that it actually happened,” Campbell said Monday. “I’m still kind of hyped about it and words can’t describe how I feel right now.”
Winning OFSAA gold sank in for the Niagara Olympic Club member as soon as the race ended.
“As I ran the last stretch, I was thinking in my head that I could really win it and I just had to keep going,” he said. “Finally, when I finished the race, it was omigosh. I had just won and I had so much happiness.”
Campbell had an easy time winning his second straight Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association junior boys title, but it was a different story last Saturday. He ended up winning OFSAA gold by a razor-thin margin of 1.9 seconds.
“When I looked back on the race, I didn’t think he was right on my tail,” he said. “I didn’t know how close it was and that’s kind of scary because if I had even slowed down a bit, I could have lost it all.”
His winning margin was about a metre.
Not knowing he was being pursued so close in a race is not a new sensation for Campbell.
“At that point, I am not really focusing on what is going on around me,” he said. “I’m running as hard as I can to the finish line and my main focus is on that finish line.
“I’m looking right there and nothing else. Pretty much everything is eliminated. I can’t hear anyone or see anything.”
Campbell had a fairly smooth run and was able to get in amongst the leaders early in the race to avoid any jostling.
He won the pre-OFSAA meet on the same course and that advance knowledge proved useful.
“I had a bit of an advantage because I knew the course well,” he said. “I knew where the good areas were and people who didn’t do pre-OFSAA didn’t know how much of the course was left.”
Conditions on the course were extremely muddy and all the runners had to adjust to the swampy conditions.
“It was hard to get your feet out of the mud because it was really deep,” he said. “Every time you stepped in, it was hard to get a grip and it felt like stepping in water the whole way through.”
Equally as challenging was a hill about two kilometres into the course that had been churned into a quagmire by the previous races.
“It was hard to get up and the hill is probably the most important part of the race,” Campbell said. “People usually try and pass you through that point and it’s really important to keep your place going up the hill.”
He stumbled a couple of times on the hill, but avoided any wipeouts.
“What I did to make sure I didn’t slow down was to speed up a little and get out of the mud as quickly as possible.”
Next up for Campbell is the Athletics Ontario provincial cross country meet this weekend in King City. His OFSAA win doesn’t have him feeling any more confident.
“I know the next race is going to be just as hard as the last one,” he said.
Joining Campbell atop the podium at OFSAA was Beasmville’s Owen Konkle. Konkle defended his crown in the para boys division.
St. Catharines Collegiate’s Cassie Kemp won a silver medal in the para girls division with Beamsville’s Shannon Swinson and Saint Michael’s Julianne Miszk placing third and fourth in the same race.
Also winning a bronze medal was Notre Dame’s Santiago Gaitan in the senior boys division.
Winning a bronze medal in the senior boys team event was the Sir Winston Churchill senior boys squad made up of Taylor Mowat, Ethan Girard, Nick Reimer, Harry Lengyel and Sacha Schimmelpenninck.
Other top 10 individual performances were recorded by: E.L. Crossley’s Tessa Jeffrey and Notre Dame’s Alissa Mete, sixth and 10th in the junior girls division; and, Saint Michael’s Andrew McIntyre and Collegiate’s Andres Rolon, fifth and seven in the para boys race.
Below are the complete local results from OFSAA.
Para girls: 2. Cassie Kemp, Collegiate; 3. Shannon Swinson, Beamsville; 4. Julianne Miszk, Saint Michael.
Para boys: 1. Owen Konkle, Beamsville; 5. Andrew McIntyre; Saint Michael; 7. Andres Rolon, Collegiate; 13. Spencer Robertson, Collegiate; 14. Josh Vandenbeukel, Eden; 16. Joseph Nokeo, Eden; 24. Alex Giancola, Saint Michael.
Midget girls teams: 6. Sir Winston Churchill.
Midget girls individual: 23. Abby Jackson, Westlane; 26. Bianca Salierno, Churchill; 36. Payton Tonnos, Eden; 52. Hayley Morey, Eden; 62. Lauren Fennell, Crossley; 70. Isabella Goveia, Churchill; 100. Gabrielle Johnson, Johnson; 110. Kaylna Kit, Ridley College; 116. Sarah Chan, Churchill; 123. Ella Duguay, Holy Cross; 126. Emily Reimer, Churchill; 132. Mia Nanini, Jean Vanier; 152. Dayna Ali, Churchill; 221. Pauline Rotz, Eden.
Midget boys teams: 16. Blessed Trinity; 31. Port Colborne.
Midget boys individual: 23. Aidan Reynolds, Denis Morris; 35. Mason Petrucci, St. Francis; 54. Reese Arnold, BT; 55. Adam Kleinsmith, Crossley; 89. Evan Beach, BT; 106. Preston Fraser, Port Colborne; 158. Miles Walker, Churchill; 170. Evan Olm, Port Colborne; 183. Asher Willet, Lakeshore; 185. James Lawson, BT; 186, Liam Cardwell, BT; 223. Wyatt Greenwood, BT; 252. Owen LaMarsh, Port Colborne; 258. Matthew Richardson, Port Colborne.
Junior girls teams: 7. E.L. Crossley; 29. Eden.
Junior girls individual: 6. Tessa Jeffery, Crossley; 10. Alissa Mete, Notre Dame; 40. Amy Baggs, Eden; 50. Crystal Coyne, Crossley; 51. Molly Devereux, GFESS; 57. Aria Heil, Grimsby; 92. Lauren Knafelc, Crossley; 115. Camryn Bylsma, Great Lakes; 116. Maria Abril, Jean Vanier; 179. Demi Maroudas, Eden; 201. Gwynevere Kosuta, Crossley; 223. Molly Hildebrandt, Crossley; 252. Yelyzaveta Bushareb, Eden; 253. Ally Moran, Eden; 261. Sophia Wegener, Eden.
Junior boys teams: 10. Sir Winston Churchill; 20. E.L. Crossley; 35. Blessed Trinity.
Junior boys individual: 1. Eric Campbell, Churchill; 13. Adam Woehl, GFESS; 31. Owen Lockyer, Eden; 36. Colton Sawatzky, Crossley; 70. Riley Coles, Churchill; 98. Matthew Roda, Notre Dame; 141. Trent Thorpe, Eden; 153. Donovan Fenton, Crossley; 161. Nathaniel Smyth, Churchill; 171. Lachlan Nelson, Churchill; 177. Frank Adzijevich, BT; 203 Evan Van Vliet, Crossley; 206. Patrick Fidler, Crossley; 215. Damian Erzar, BT: 219, Lucas Cino, BT; 241. Nicholas Siena, BT; 256. Jacob Martin, Crossley; 273. Saurin Patel, Churchill.
Senior girls teams: 19. Sir Winston Churchill.
Senior girls individual: 16, Kate Knafelc, Crossley; 60. Shayla Kuzyk, Churchill; 95. Larissa Adamo, Myer; 108. Jenna Coles, Churchill; 126. Lauren Macsai, Lakeshore; 130. Mackenzie Damiano, Secord; 137. Monica DeBoer, Smithville Christian; 167. Abigail Greenough, Churchill; 215. Claire Atreo, Churchill; 216. Lauren Brooks, Churchill.
Senior boys teams: 3. Sir Winston Churchill.
Senior boys individual: 3. Sebastian Gaitan, Notre Dame; 14. Nicholas Young, St. Francis; 30. Taylor Mowat, Churchill; 53. Ethan Girard, Churchill; 82. Nick Reimer, Churchill; 84. Harry Lengyel, Churchill; 91. Sasha Schimmelpenninck, Churchill; 92. Jared Attema, Smithville Christian; 101. Ivan Fernandez, Governor Simcoe; 176. Evan Stewart, Eden.
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