Locals mine medals at OFSAA cross country
A.N. Myer’s Kristina Etezadi won a silver medal in the junior girls division at the OFSAA cross country championships held last Saturday in Lakefield.
It was a Super Saturday for local athletes and teams at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations cross country championships in Lakefield.
In the individual category: A.N. Myer’s Kristina Etezadi won a silver medal in the junior girls division; Saint Francis’ Mia Biancaniello won a silver medal in the para girls race; E.L. Crossley’s Matthew Kleinsmith garnered a bronze medal in the junior boys race; Sir Winston Churchill’s Zoe Quinn placed seventh in the novice girls division; Eden’s Chloe Dilalla played seventh in the junior girls division; Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf’s Alexandra Nickel was eighth in the senior girls division; Notre Dame’s Julia Tremeer was 10th in the novice girls race; and, Lakeshore Catholic’s Carolyn Buri was 10th in the junior girls division.
In the team events, Eden’s junior girls mined silver and Sir Winston Churchill’s novice girls and junior girls each won bronze medals.
SILVER FOR ETEZADI
Kristina Etezadi capped an excellent high school cross country season by winning a silver medal in the junior girls division at OFSAA.
At the start of the season, the Grade 10 student at A.N. Myer had a goal of placing top five at SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) and getting to OFSAA.
“It was a really cool experience and when I walked into it I didn’t expect it to be such a big thing,” the 15-year-old Niagara Falls resident said.
The Athletics Niagara member cruised to easy victories at the Zone 3 and SOSSA championships but was in chase mode the entire OFSAA race behind eventual winner, Emily Cescon from De La Salle College.
“She took the lead right away and the gap slowly got bigger,” Etezadi said. “I knew her coming into the race and I knew she would be a tough competitor because I had raced her in the summer before.”
She didn’t think she would be nervous before the OFSAA race considering she had exceeded all her expectations but that wasn’t the case.
“Since it was such a big thing, I got nervous but once they did the flag and the guns shot the nerves kind of go away.”
Etezadi was thrilled to win a silver medal.
“It was really, really cool because I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
The silver medal came down to a sprint in the last 200-300 metres.
“I kicked it in, got in front of her and it felt really good to get second place.”
Her performance will be a big inspiration in her running career.
“Next year, I am hoping to do this again in high school cross country and even track and field I am looking forward to the races,” she said. “I have to keep pushing myself in training and working hard with my coaches and getting them to continue to give me tough workouts so I can get better and become a stronger runner overall.”
She celebrated the silver medal when she returned to Niagara Falls last Saturday.
“Some of my family came over and we watched the race because my dad had it on the live stream. Then we had some ice cream.”
Watching the race later was interesting for Etezadi.
“Seeing my kick at the end and how far ahead the other girl was showed how good a competitor she was. Now I know what my competition is and what I need to get better at.”
BRONZE FOR KLEINSMITH
After winning SOSSA, Matthew Kleinsmith set a goal of a top 10 or top five performance at OFSAA.
Like Etezadi, the Grade 10 student at E.L. Crossley exceeded expectations by winning a bronze medal in the junior boys race.
“The race honestly felt very bad,” the 15-year-old Fonthill resident said. “My legs and breathing felt off from the start but I still battled my hardest to stick in for bronze somehow.
“It was still a great feeling to win OFSAA bronze, but I knew that if I ran even close to my best I could’ve been so much more competitive for gold.”
The Thorold Elite Track Club’s bronze medal is food for thought.
“This does make me sort of rethink my seriousness with running, but there are many other strong competitive runners that didn’t show up which would’ve made the race more competitive as well,” he said. “I would say it doesn’t sway my running serious from what it already is. For now I’m just going to keep running with my club as much as I can and see where that takes me.”
He will be competing with his club at an Athletic Ontario race next weekend and nationals are two weeks from now.
“My goal is to try and beat some of the runners who have beaten me in the past but overall just do my best and run my race too.”
MEDAL-WINNING TEAMS
Eden coach Tina Chivers was thrilled with the OFSAA silver medal won by the school’s junior girls team.
“The girls trained hard and worked well together as a team. They motivated and supported each other throughout our training season,” she said. “There was always much encouragement and positivity from each of the girls. This win makes us all proud to say we’re the Eden Flyers.”
A pair of OFSAA bronze medals in the team events surprised Churchill coach Benny Ralston.
“The novice and junior girls exceeded our expectations,” he said. “They have worked so hard all season long and on this big important stage, they rose to the challenge.”
The results have Ralston excited about the future.
“As the overall girls zone and SOSSA champs, this performance at the Ontario championships sets the stage for many more moments on the podium and sets us up for even better results in the coming years,” he said. “I am so proud to coach this fine group of runners.”
Below are the complete local results:
NOVICE GIRLS
Teams: 3. Sir Winston Churchill (7. Zoe Quinn; 20. Thea Quinn; 70. Erica Boles; 73. Anya Namestnik; 80. Tesia Wilson).
Individual girls: 10. Julia Tremeer, Notre Dame; 61. Layla Gallant, Thorold.
JUNIOR GIRLS
Teams: 2. Eden (7. Chloe Dilalla, 48. Megan Denbak; 60. Claire Moran, 70. Anika Rigby); 3. Sir Winston (29. Keira Scott, 34. Abby Brendzy, 64. Jolanta Clarke, 87. Bella Derksen and Anna Maredia).
Individual girls: 2. Kristina Etezadi, A.N. Myer; 10. Carolyn Buri, Lakeshore Catholic; 18. Sophia Cino, Blessed Trinity; 28. Madison Douma, A.N. Myer.
SENIOR GIRLS
Individual girls: 8. Alexandra Nickel, Brebeuf; 31. Lexi Clark, Grimsby; 46. Lauren Fennell, E.L. Crossley; 51. Kate Ybema, Heritage Christian; 87. Isabella Goveia, Churchill.
PARA GIRLS
Individual girls: 2. Mia Biancaniello, Saint Francis.
NOVICE BOYS
Team: 5. E.L. Crossley: (16. Jason Sider, 27. Max Myers, 90. Ryan Succo; 109. Benjamin Hall).
Individual boys: 11. Oliver Crowe, Governor Simcoe; 17. Noah Read, Churchill; 53. Julian Van Hooydonk, Heritage Christian.
JUNIOR BOYS
Team: 6. Sir Winston Churchill (52. Brayden Walker, 54. Owen Masterson, 60. Jared Cook, 75. Giuseppe Perron; 81. Owen Lewis).
Individual boys: 3. Matthew Kleinsmith, E.L. Crossley; 11. Graham Tomori, Eden; 17. Fenway Breckles, Governor Simcoe; DNF. Kaden Shaw, A.N. Myer;
SENIOR BOYS
Teams: 4. Blessed Trinity (37. Evan Beach; 53. Zack Joseph; 56. Luc DiFlavio; 58. Zack Joseph, 58. Evan Beach, 150. Nathan Joseph); 5. Sir Winston Churchill (13. Marco DiFelice, 38. Lachlan Nelson, 81. Matthew McMahon-Taubeneck, 99. Redding Maxwell, 117. Walker Rollo).
Individual boys: 20. Owen Munnings, Smithville Christian; 31. Adam Kleinsmith, E.L. Crossley.
