Two OFSAA cross country medals for local runners
T.J. Woods of Denis Morris won a silver medal in the novice boys division at the OFSAA cross country championships.
Niagara athletes brought home two medals from the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations cross country meet held at Centennial Park in Etobicoke.
T.J. Woods of Denis Morris won a silver medal in the novice boys division and Sir Winston Churchill’s junior boys team (Simon Dobrovolski, Barron Walker, Jackson Mead, Julian Cirasuoio and Carson Walker) won a bronze medal.
Fifth-place finishes were recorded by Eden’s Graham Tomori in the senior boys division and Blessed Trinity’s Sophia Cino in the senior girls division.
Sir Winston Churchill’s senior girls team was eighth and West Niagara’s novice boys squad was ninth.
Woods, who described the race as hard, wasn’t expecting to win a silver medal.
“There were a lot of really good people there and I was really nervous going into it. My goal was always to get top 10 and I didn’t know if I could do it or not,” the 13-year-old Thorold resident said. “But I guess it happened. I got second and I am really happy.”
The Thorold Elite Track Club medal felt he finished on the podium because he ran a good race and followed his game plan.
“My plan was always to stay with the top pack and at the hill I was going to go hard. After that I was going to see what happens,” the Grade 9 student said. “The hill separated people who were good at hills and the people who weren’t.”
He ended up grabbing the lead on the middle of the hill portion of the course and held it until the last 700 metres.
The third-place finisher in this past summer’s provincial 800 and 1,500 metres was overjoyed to earn silver.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy and I had such a big smile on my face.”
Woods finished three seconds out of first with a personal best time of 12:47 in the four-kilometre race.
“T.J. has had a stellar season so far and this was definitely his best race of the season. We had been working on using his arms more which he definitely did in this race,” Thorold coach Steven Fife said. “The plan was to just go for it, get out hard and be in the lead group, and he did that. He led much of the race and did so confidently.”
Fife is a big fan of Woods.
“T.J. is humble, he’s a great leader and teammate and he’s an awesome representative of his family, his school, his club, and his city. There are lots of people who are very proud of him.”
Next up for Woods are the Athletics Ontario championships at Downsview Park in Toronto and then the U.S. nationals in Tallahassee, Fla.
It was the second straight year the Churchill team had won a bronze medal at OFSAA. Last season, it came third in the novice boys division.
“The junior boys team earning the bronze medal is very special,” Churchill coach Benny Ralston said. “The team has really matured over the past two years and their support of one another has been remarkable.”
RESULTS
Novice girls individual: 47. Gras Candelaria, Denis Morris; 69. Sydney Ray, Notre Dame; 90. Parker Van Krimpen, Centennial; 94. Meena van Grieken, Churchill; 106. Helena Lindley, Churchill; 127. Amara van Grieken, Churchill; 164. Lauren Dunlop, Churchill; 256. Amariah Taylor, Churchill.
Novice girls team: 15. Sir Winston Churchill.
Junior girls individual: 32. Sophia Perri, St. Francis; 86. Adali Cavicchia, Eden; 116. Drew Ankersmit, Eden; 156. Kate Taylor, Eden; 225. Amelia Kong, Eden.
Junior girls team: 19. Eden.
Senior girls individual: 5. Sophia Cino, Blessed Trinity; 40. Chloe Dilalla, Eden; 69. Julia Tremeer, Notre Dame; 94. Zoe Quinn, Churchill; 108. Hailey Taubeneck, Churchill; 135. Thea Quinn, Churchill; 140. Jolanta Clark, Churchill; 191. Abby Brendzy, Churchill.
Senior girls team: 8. Sir Winston Churchill.
Novice boys individual: 2. T.J. Woods, Denis Morris; 9. Rocco Shuker, West Niagara; 11. Evan Blake, Saint Paul; 33. Jose Gras, Denis Morris; 37. Keegan Clark, Churchill; 39. Lucas Sacco, Churchill; 41. Trent Clarke, West Niagara; 88. Chase Larson, West Niagara; 235. Elias Alas, West Niagara; 261. Jesse Li, West Niagara.
Novice boys team: 9. West Niagara.
Junior boys individual: 38. Simon Dobrovolski, Churchill; 60. Barron Walker, Churchill; 79. Griffin Eller, Crossley; 93. Jackson Mead, Churchill; 98. Julian Cirasuoio, Churchill; 106. Joe Zhou, Ridley College; 113 Logan MacRae, Crossley; 141. Carson Walker, Churchill; 170. Adam Freure, Crossley; 221. Grant Letford, Crossley; 233. Jack Ryan, Crossley.
Junior boys team: 3. Sir Winston Churchill; 22. E.L. Crossley.
Senior boys individual: 5. Graham Tomori, Eden; 26. Elijah Bayne, Eden; 41. Kaden Shaw, A.N. Myer; 44. Sebastian Glaser, Governor Simcoe; 56. Matt Kleinsmith, E.L. Crossley; 63. Samuel Dellalian, Churchill; 139. Owen Lewis, Churchill; 156. Owen Masterson, Churchill; 216. Tristan Mallysh, Churchill; 219. Jack Molloy, Churchill.
Senior boys team: 20. Sir Winston Churchill.
