BY: Zach Worden
SCARBOROUGH — The Centennial Colts cross-country team is coming off a successful season under new head coach Michael Lavigne.
The team participated in three invitational races at Seneca, Fanshawe, and Centennial Colleges before heading off to the OCAA championships at Confederation College.
Sophomore Shezan Dosani highlighted a strong season by Colts runners, showing huge improvement from his freshman year.
At the provincial championships, Dosani finished 30th out of 82 runners, improving on last year, when he came 54th out of 58 runners.
"This was a remarkable achievement, not only did he move up 24 places from the previous year, he had to compete against 24 extra runners to accomplish this feat" Says head coach Michael Lavigne.
After returning from an injury, Dosani was able to turn it on down the stretch of the 2022 season.
"After getting back from my injury, I started training consistently under coach [Lavigne]," he said. "I had to increase my mileage every week to get better at races. I would reflect after my races to
see what things I can work on to get better at the next race.
"This year, we also made weekly logs to keep track of the mileage, pace, and other things to reflect on our training. Hence, consistent training, therapy, and constant reflection have helped me a lot to be a better runner this season."
Coach Lavigne brought a new coaching philosophy to the club which he described as consisting "of four pillars of success: mutual respect, dedication, commitment, and enjoyment."
Those four pillars resonated with athletes like Dosani throughout the season.
"I found the team to be very positive under coach Lavigne," he said. "Every week we would improve our mileage and timings to become faster and better."
Freshman Evan McDonald is another Colt that had some standout performances for the team in 2022.
McDonald finished 35th/82 at provincials and secured top-30 finishes in each of Centennial's three other races.
"I had a fun first season with the team. I learned a lot and know what I need to do in order to come top-14 next year," he said about his first collegiate season. "The level of talent in the OCAA is very different than it is in high school.
"The top OCAA runner competed at the Olympics and is 30 years old, while I'm just an 18-year-old with experience in track but little experience in the distance running."
One of three Centennial freshmen, McDonald now heads into his second year with eyes on continued improvement
He listed qualifying for nationals and a top-14 finish at provincials as two of his goals going forward.
"I have to work on my mindset and mental toughness. I struggled with the mental factor of cross country throughout the season," he said. "I've been working on getting comfortable with the uncomfortable since cross country is definitely not a comfortable thing."
McDonald gives credit to coach Lavigne for the base he installed in his first year at the helm.
"Coach Lavigne is an amazing coach and knows exactly what he wants for the team," he said. "He's very smart and any athlete that wants to improve should listen to every word that he says.
"This season was just the beginning of what will become a very strong team."
Joining McDonald and Dosani on the tracks last year, were Owen Sullivan and Yash Ghatge. The pair of freshmen runners represented Centennial well, Owen 42nd/82 in a time of 33:42, and Yash in 57th place in a time of 36:13 at the OCAA XC Championships. The team placed 9th out of 15 teams.
With a short and intense season, all Colts runners showed remarkable improvement in their given timeframe.
"It is a very intense season in which the athletes must be dedicated to their training, racing, and overall development," said Coach Lavigne. "I appreciated the team's determination and desire to improve. Running is a sport in which other people are in the competition but you are truly racing against yourself."
With all the improvements made on the courses and in competing, Colts runners also had "fantastic growth" as people according to their coach.
"A lot is asked of the athletes on a cross country team, but if they accept the challenges and demands, they will experience positive personal and athletic growth.
"I can definitely say that occurred this year."
With year one under his belt, Coach Lavigne credits the 2022 team with setting the foundation for "a new era of Colts cross-country success."
"I told the team throughout the season that they're laying the groundwork for a successful program. Future teams and individuals can thank this year's program for their achievements."
What will that future success look like for the Colts cross country?
"I'd like to continue to have a strong group of individuals that make up the cross country team," Coach Lavigne said. "I'd like to see the number of athletes on the team grow over the next couple of seasons and build on this year's results."