MARTIN CLEARY
Minutes after the soggy National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association west conference track and field championships ended Wednesday, the spotlight fell on Hannah-Kelsey Smith of John McCrae and Daniel Desgroseilliers of Merivale.
Both athletes put in more than a full day’s work and left the Terry Fox Athletic Facility with four first-place finishes each and qualified for next week’s NCSSAA championships.
The west conference championship was a qualifying competition for the city finals on May 23-24. The top eight advanced from each event, except the 100 and 200 metres, which saw the fastest 16 move ahead.
Competing in her first NCSSAA west conference meet, Smith was the star of the girls’ midget class. She won the long jump and triple jump with respective leaps of 4.99 metres and 10.78 metres, the 80-metre hurdles in 13.25 seconds and anchored the school’s 4×100-metre relay team to victory in 55.74.
Her performance in the triple jump was a meet record, surpassing the 22-year-old mark of 10.70 metres set by Alicia Blackman of A.Y. Jackson.
Desgroseilliers earned his firsts on the track in the boys’ senior division, sweeping the 110-metre and 400-metre hurdles with respective times of 16.09 and 1:01.54, the 400 metres in 51.49, and the 4×400-metre relay, where he ran the opening leg to help the Marauders to a time of 3:40.48.
Recording three victories each were Claire Smith of Glebe in girls’ midget and Lindsay Spoerri of Merivale in girls’ junior.
Smith was undefeated on the track, leading the way in the 800 metres in 2:21.31, the 1,500 metres in a record 4:49.58, and the 3,000 metres in 11:06.88. In the 1,500 metres, she eclipsed the record set by South Carleton’s Katie Engel of 4:56.0 in 2002.
A sprinter, Spoerri won the 100 metres in 12.77 and the 200 metres in 25.92 and was first out of the starting blocks for her winning school team in the 4×100-metre relay.
Here’s the list of athletes who registered two wins apiece:
* Emma Tashlin, Brookfield, girls’ midget, 100 metres, 13.48, and 200 metres, 27.64;
* Ally Tierney, Sacred Heart, girls’ junior, 80-metre hurdles, 12.20, and 300-metre hurdles, 46.62, record (old, 47.65, Courtney Moffitt, St. Mark, 2005);
* Elizabeth Cleyn, St. Francis Xavier, girls’ junior, long jump, 4.91 metres, and girls’ senior 4×100-metre relay;
* Kayla Maduk, John McCrae, girls’ junior, shot put, 10.45 metres, and javelin, 33.09 metres;
* Vanessa MacMillan, St. Joseph, girls’ senior, 200 metres, 25.48, and 4×100-metre relay;
* Emma Galbraith, Franco Ouest, girls’ senior, 800 metres, 2:16.94, and 1,500 metres, 4:37.80;
* Erin O’Higgins, Bell, girls’ senior, 3,000 metres, 10:47.88, and 1,500-metre steeplechase, 5:16.32, record (old, Jade Hopkins, Merivale, 5:35.32, 2007);
* Julianna Tebrake, Longfields-Davidson Heights, girls’ senior, pole vault, 1.10 metres, and long jump, 5.17 metres;
* Leanna Garcia, St. Pius X, girls’ senior, shot put, 10.79 metres, and discus, 32.43 metres;
* Paul Shermar, St. Paul, boys’ midget, 100 metres, 11.15, record (old, Damion Lowrey, Earl of March, 11.21, 1990), and 200 metres, 22.90;
* Eddie Ekiyor, Mother Teresa, boys’ midget, 400 metres, 55.74, and high jump, 1.65 metres;
* Arjun Walia, Sir Robert Borden, boys’ midget, 1,500 metres, 4:33.25, and 3,000 metres, 10:11.23;
* John Roscoe, Earl of March, boys’ midget, 300-metre hurdles, 49.78, and 4×100-metre relay, 51.32;
* Josh Perry, Earl of March, boys’ midget, shot put, 10.52 metres, and discus, 31.64 metres;
* Liam Meades, Sacred Heart, boys’ junior, 200 metres, 23.84, and 400 metres, 53.67;
* Brendon Howard, A.Y. Jackson, boys’ junior, 1,500 metres, 4:23.50, and 3,000 metres, 9:38.26
* Riley Gibson, Earl of March, boys’ junior, 300-metre hurdles, 44.14, and 4×100-metre relay;
* Brandon Stewart, Omer-Deslauriers, boys’ junior, shot put, 11.06 metres, and javelin, 44.16 metres;
* Adam Palamar, Merivale, boys’ senior, 1,500 metres, 3:55.88, and 4×400-metre relay, 3:40.48.
* Matt Johnson, Redeemer Christian, boys’ senior, pole vault, 3.80 metres, and long jump, 6.29 metres;
* Kevin Chung, Merivale, boys’ senior, triple jump, 13.61 metres, and 4×400-metre relay, 3:40.48.
For full NCSSAA west conference track and field championship results, visit http://www.ottawatimingteam.com
