Video by: Leo Solorsano
Article by: Via Dulay and Kajan Thiruthanikasalam
SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- On October 27th, Centennial College welcomed and hosted 20 colleges that participated in the 2018 OCAA Cross Country Provincial Championships presented by Belairdirect, at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Athletic Fields.
Fanshawe's Janelle Hanna took home the gold with a captivating performance in the women's 6k event, finishing the race in 23:44.5. Kaitlyn Shuvera of the Humber Hawks took silver with a time of 23:51.4 while Mohawk's Kaitlyn Pansegrau finished with the bronze with a time of 24:05.5.
For the team results, Fanshawe used the strength of five runners finishing in the top 20 to take home the gold medal with a total of 26 points, an average time of 24:32.4, and a cumulative time of 2:04:29.6.
Humber and Laurier Brantford were tied with a total of 83 points but the Hawks' lower average (26:10.4) and cumulative (2:40:46.6) scores gave them the edge for the silver medal over Laurier Brantford's average (26:23.4) and cumulative (2:52:15.8) scores.
Kyle Rooke, of Mohawk College, capped off his fantastic cross country season with a first place finish at the men's 8k event with a time of 26:44.7. Andrew Brown, from St. Lawrence College, finished second with a time of 26:58.5 while Jason Laporta (Mohawk) took home the bronze with a time of 27:25.4.
St Clair, on the strength of four of their runners finishing in the top 10, took home the gold medal with a total of 24 points with an average time of 27:45.5 and a cumulative time of 2:52:15.4.
Fanshawe took second place with an average time of 28:23.1 and a cumulative time of 2:54:45.4 for a score of 55 points while Sheridan narrowly edged out Mohawk for third place with 66 points, an average time of 28:36.0 and a cumulative time of 2:53:56.2.
After the race, athletes, coaches and staff alike celebrated their season banquet-style at the Ajax Convention Centre where keynote speaker, Dr. David Bailey, who was the first-ever Canadian to break the four-minute mile, enlightened attendees on his presentation about athletics and academics.
Athletes also received their championship medals, banners, certificates and prizes that were generously provided by New Balance Inc. David Korell, Footwear Product Merchandiser and Victoria Siemon, Marketing Associate (Running) of New Balance Canada were in attendance to distribute prizes to all of the athletes.
The following awards were also presented Saturday evening:
Men's First All-Ontario Team
Kyle Rooke (Mohawk)
Andrew Brown (St. Lawrence)
Jason Laporta (Mohawk)
Thador Tekhli (St. Clair)
Rick Nepomucenot (St. Clair)
Tyler Jones (St. Clair)
Cole Czuchnicki (Humber)
Men's Second All-Ontario Team
Luke Groulx (Fanshawe)
Andre Tomasian (St. Clair)
Cole Bond (Sheridan)
Bobby Buck (Loyalist)
Ahad Naim (Laurier Brantford)
Garrick Loewen (George Brown)
Justin Verburg (Fanshawe)
Women's First All-Ontario Team
Janelle Hanna (Fanshawe)
Kaitlyn Shuvera (Humber)
Kaitlyn Pansegrau (Mohawk)
Sammi-Jo Burch (Fanshawe)
Erin Adam (St. Lawrence)
Sophie Glanz (UTM)
Kaitlyn L'Abbe (Georgian)
Women's Second All-Ontario Team
Rachel MacPhail (Fanshawe)
Sarah Law (Loyalist)
Olivia Sidock (Sheridan)
Vanessa Brown (Laurier Brantford)
Ashley Lof (Mohawk)
Amanda Hutchings (Conestoga)
Hannah Carley (Fanshawe)
Female Rookie of the Year: Vanessa Brown (Laurier Brantford)
Male Rookie of the Year: Thador Tekhli (St. Clair)
Coach of the Year: Ryan Gagnon (Mohawk)
Fair Play Award: Nicole Flynn (Loyalist)
Thank you to everyone who made the 2018 Cross Country Provincial Championships possible including all race marshals and volunteers, Belairdirect, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, Speed River Timing, New Balance and the Centennial College Host Organizing Committee:
Darcy Brioux - Senior Cross Country Convenor, Athletics Manager
Joan Healey - Tournament Chair, Varsity Program Coordinator
John Stevenson - Race Director, XC Head Coach
Via Dulay - Sports Information and Marketing Officer
Kaylin Fraser - Head Athletic Therapist
Chris Stewart - Banquet Coordinator, Varsity Program Assistant
Kareem Rodney - Hospitality, Campus Rec and Facilities Coordinator (Ashtonbee)
Shauna Bookal - Volunteers, Campus Rec and Facilities Coordinator (Morningside)
A list of the full results for both the women's and men's races are in the link below.
https://speedrivertiming.com/res/ocxc18.htm
The CCAA Cross Country Running National Championships will be hosted by Seneca College (King City Campus) in King City, Ont., from Nov. 9-10, 2018.