Novice racer captures OFSAA gold

Practice paid off for Wilson Gostick.

In only his first year of wheelchair racing, the Grade 11 student at Welland Centennial won the men’s 200-metre wheelchair dash last weekend at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ track and field championships in Guelph.

When he crossed the finish line first, there was one thought going through his mind.

“It was a lot of relief,” he said. “All the pressure was off of me now.”

Gostick, who wasn’t expecting to be a provincial champion when the high school season started, won his race by an impressive 6.18 seconds. His time in the race was an impressive 54.8 seconds and he was the only competitor to crack the one-minute mark.

“I worked really, really hard since last year,” the 16-year-old Welland resident said.

And while he wasn’t planning on having an OFSAA gold medal around his neck, that was the goal he had set for himself.

“I just really wanted one, I guess.”

He was motivated by a number of factors,

“It was probably all the coaches and me wanting to make a mark at my school.”

He trained every Thursday and Sunday and every day after school for an hour and a half. Gostick made steady progress on his way to OFSAA. He won the Zone 3 meet with a time of 1:03.86 and then set a record at the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association meet with a time of 1:00.46. At the OFSAA South Regional, he continued to improve by recording a time of 56.47.

Gostick is looking forward to continuing with the sport next season.

“I want to come back next year and do the exact same thing.”

In addition to track, Gostick is a member of the Niagara Penguins wheelchair basketball team.

“My favourite sport is probably basketball because I have been playing it since I was eight.”

That basketball training paid huge dividends for him on the track this season.