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Hoyas send more XC athletes to OFSAA than they have in a decade

Hoyas XC to send 25 runners to provincial championships

By Sports

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On a cool and occasionally rainy day at the Duntroon Nordic Center, the Huntsville Hoyas Cross Country team suffered for each other.

They refused to quit through the hills and the mud, and instead focused on what they could control – rest, nutrition, and their commitment to their training and to each other. The results spoke for themselves.

The Overall Girls team finished second, an incredible accomplishment as the Midget Girls category scored zero points on account of only having two runners. The Overall Boys team placed first. And for the third year in a row, Huntsville High School was crowned the GBSSA Overall Combined Girls and Boys Champion.

During the meet, four HHS teams qualified for the provincial OFSAA championships (Midget Boys, Junior Boys and Girls, Senior Girls), while veteran Adam Lavigne qualified as an individual in the Senior Boys category. The 25-person squad represents the largest contingent of HHS runners going to OFSAA in more than a decade.

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(From left to right): Megan Mikhail and Morgan Meaker set the pace early on for the Senior Girls team

“On paper we had a good team, and I was hopeful for a Top 3 overall finish based on our races against our competition earlier in the year,” said Coach Pierre Mikhail. “I guess that’s why we race and don’t compete on paper. I was so proud of those kids, they suffered for each other. I would say that over 95% of our runners had their best races yesterday which is why we won.”

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Four of seven members of the Midget Boys team (from left to right): Wyatt Stewart, Judah Meaker, Colin Welsh, Owen Johnstone

The full results of the meet are as follows:

  • Midget Girls: Ineligible, due to only having two runners compete
  • Midget Boys: Second Place – Notables: Judah Meaker (5th) and Owen Johnstone (6th)
  • Junior Girls: Second Place – Notables: Natasia Varieur (12th), Sam Goldring (16th) and Megan Mensour (19th)
  • Junior Boys: First Place – Notables: Zac Pinheiro (6th)
  • Senior Girls: Third Place – Notables: Madi Smrtka (7th) and Emma Mensour (13th)
  • Senior Boys: Seventh Place – Notables: Adam Lavigne qualified for OFSAA as an individual in 14th

“They felt good going into the race, albeit humbled by the competition at Pre-OFSSA,” said Coach Jen Rosewarne. “The four captains at the Junior and the Senior level really took on leadership roles, getting their peers to walk the courses prior to races, initiating warm-ups, supporting them emotionally.”

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Senior Girls (from left to right): Emma Mensour and Shannon Marshall en route to qualifying for OFSAA

The Hoyas will now take something of a home field advantage into their final meet of the season. This year’s OFSAA Championships are scheduled to be held in the Georgian Bay region at the same Duntroon course that the team just competed on. This could give Huntsville a leg up on teams coming from outside the region, who are more used to running in parks and on golf courses than in the muddy and hilly conditions at Duntroon. The meet will take place November 7.

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One Comment

  1. Mary Spring says:
    November 2, 2015 at 11:28 am

    Congratulations to the HHS Cross Country Running team! Well done. Hard work sure pays off! Thanks to the coaches and parents who support these tremendous athletes. All the best next weekend.