NRHSAA cross country championships
Taylor Mowat would be the first to admit he has had an up and down career as a high school cross country runner.
“I’ve kind of been unlucky every year,” the Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill said Thursday, after easily winning the senior boys race at the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association cross country meet at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls.
In Grade 9, the 17-year-old finished 27th at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations meet. In Grade 10, he was Chuchill’s sixth runner at the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association meet. Last year, he made it to OFSAA and placed 44th despite losing one of his shoes three minutes into the race when a competitor stepped on the back of his foot.
He is looking for good luck and good fortune this year at OFSAA.
“Obviously as a team, we are trying to place the best we can at OFSAA and we’re hoping for a first-place finish or definitely a podium,” he said. “My personal goal is to place in the top 10 at OFSAA.”
He agrees that will be a big leap forward.
“With the training I have been doing, I think I have great potential to do it,” he said. “It’s not that I have ramped up my training, although, I have ramped up my mileage.
“It is about training smarter and not harder. You want to be able to recover well and you want to be able to run well the next day.”
The NRHSAA meet was a chance for Mowat and his teammates to accomplish two goals.
“We were trying to get a look at the competition at SOSSA, but also try to get a bit of a work out in at the same time,” he said.
HARRISON WINS MIDGET BOYS CROWN
Maddox Harrison was taking a cautious approach to the midget boys race Thursday at the NRHSAA cross meet at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls.
“The week before at pre-OFSAA, I absolutely pulled my hamstring so I wasn’t going to go full out,” the Grade 9 student at Governor Simcoe said. “I was going to win and see my competition for zone next week.”
It was mission accomplished Thursday for the 14-year Port Dalhousie resident as he won the midget boys race even with the nagging hamstring.
“It hurts a little bit and I am definitely hoping I can work it out before next week’s race,” the Thorold Elite Track Club member said.
Harrison injured his hamstring 200 metres into the race at pre-OFSAA, but he managed to finish the race and place 60th.
“It was pretty disappointing, to be honest,” he said.
Last year’s District School Board of Niagara Grade 8 cross country champion is already looking forward to next Thursday’s Zone 3/4 combined meet.
“For next week, I am going to stick at the front and see what (time) I can hit,” he said. “I know the guy at the Catholic meet yesterday hit 15:30 and that’s, at most, top 20 at OFSAA.
“I am going to see if I can get that.”
His goals for the season are to make it to SOSSA and go from there.
“Depending on how I get there, I will see if I could make it to OFSAA,” he said. “If I get to OFSAA, top 20 or 25 would be really nice.”
Harrison has been taking running seriously since Grade 4 and loves the sport.
“With all the time and effort you put into it, it’s awesome to see your progress throughout the year,” he said. “It’s nice to see all the hard work result in something good.”
JEFFERY TOPS JUNIOR GIRLS RACE
There was no strategy required for athletes competing in Thursday’s NRHSAA cross country meet at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls.
By merely showing up, all athletes advanced to next Thursday’s Zone 3/4 meet.
“I didn’t have a strategy,” junior girls winner Tessa Jeffery said. “My goal today was just to do an easy run and finish.”
For this season, the targets are much higher for the Grade 10 student at E.L. Crossley in Fonthill.
“My goal is to place in the top 10 at OFSAA this year, move up a couple of places and hopefully do better.”
Last year, Jeffery placed fourth at the SOSSA championships but bettered all those competitors at OFSAA and end up 12th. This past spring, she made it to the OFSAA track and field championships in the 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres, finishing sixth in the province in the latter event.
The 15-year-old competed at pre-OFSAA this fall and ended up 14th.
“I didn’t feel that well on that day,” she said.
Jeffery had been taking running seriously for about two years and is a member of Niagara Regional Athletics.
“I like getting to know other people in running and the atmosphere where you can’t do bad in a race,” she said. “You can disappoint yourself, but there’s no ‘You did bad’ from others.”
She feels she had made good strides in her running since joining NRA.
“I have definitely got more comfortable on the courses and now I am using my speed to my advantage,” she said. “Before, I didn’t know how to increase it or decrease it.”
Long term, she is hoping to pursue running at the university level.
Following are results from the NRHSAA cross country meet held Thursday at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls:
Para: 1. Owen Konkle, Beamsville; 2. Andres Rolon, St. Catharines Collegiate; 3. Spencer Robertson, St. Catharines Collegiate; 4. Joseph Nokeo, Eden; 5. Josh Vandenbeukel, Eden.
Midget girls: 1. Alexandra Nickel, Jean Vanier; 2 Payton Tonnos, Eden; 3. Abby Jackson, Westlane; 3. Lauren Fennell, E.L. Crossley; 5. Hayley Moreley, Eden.
Midget boys: 1. Maddox Harrison, Governor Simcoe; 2. Owen Munnings, Smithville Christian; 3. Adam Kleinsmith, E.L. Crossley; 4. Jacob Rawson, Eden; 5. Preston Fraser, Port Colborne.
Junior girls: 1. Tessa Jeffery, E.L. Crossley; 2. Amy Baggs, Eden; 3. Aria Heil, Grimsby; 4. Molly Devereaux, Greater Fort Erie; 5. Lauren Knafelc, E.L. Crossley.
Junior boys: 1. Adam Woefl, Greater Fort Erie; 2. Colton Sawatzky, E.L. Crossley; 3. Tyler Woodland, Smithville Christian; 4. Eric Campbell, Sir Winston Churchill; 5. Riley Coles, Sir Winston Churchill.
Senior girls: 1. Kate Knafelc, E.L. Crossley; 2. Larissa Adamo, A.N. Myer; 3. Madalyn Noonan, Governor Simcoe; 4. Kaitlyn Palmateer, E.L. Crossley; 5. Monica deBoer, Smithville Christian.
Senior boys: 1. Taylor Mowat, Sir Winston Churchill; 2. Harry Lengyel, Sir Winston Churchill; 3. Ivan Fernandez, Governor Simcoe; Derian Free, E.L. Crossley; 5. Ethan Girard, Sir Winston Churchill.
In addition to primary high school sports sponsors Mick and Angelo’s (https://www.mickandangelos.com) and Johnny Rocco’s (http://www.johnnyroccos.com), BPSN’s coverage of the fall high school cross country season is made possible with the support of the Niagara Olympic Club (https://nocrunners.com).
