Pre-NOSSA high school race produces some surprises

With slightly less than three weeks remaining until the SDSSAA Cross-Country Championships, contenders are staking their claim, with some shuffling in the ranks from the 2013 races.

Laurentian University was the scene on Friday for the pre-NOSSA competition, with orthern Ontario runners back on the same course on Oct. 22 to decide those who will qualify for OFSAA in Waterloo on Nov. 1.

The city midget boys champion last fall, Ben Lagadin, of Lively, passed on NOSSA and OFSAA one year ago. And while he has not been actively training this summer, his base from soccer has left him in good stead, taking the Junior boys race by well over a minute.

Lagadin covered the six-km course in 25:56, with Jamieson Douville of Elliot Lake in second and Dawson Nootchtai of St. Benedict in third.

"I was going to sprint at the start and then just keep a pace, because I've never ran a six-km race before," said Lagadin.

"It was hard, and tiring. The guy who came in second would catch up to me on every hill, and then I would start to pull away on the second lap."

A surprise winner in the Junior girls event, Karly Hellstrom of Lasalle was hobbling around on crutches only a week and a half ago.

"Chris Binks (physio therapist) just cleared me on Wednesday of this week to amp up my training again," said Hellstrom.

In fact, in chatting with Binks over the weekend at the Cambrian soccer pitch, he explained that what initially was diagnosed as an ankle sprain was actually a case of two bones in Hellstrom's foot being jammed together as she was training with the provincial soccer program in Toronto.

Once the bones were slipped back in place, Hellstrom could race again in a matter of days.

"Going into the race, I was kind of 'iffy' about how it was going to feel," she said. Like Lagadin, Hellstrom would breeze to a comfortable victory, clocking a time of 17:51 (four kms), comfortably ahead of Allison Caswell of Lo-Ellen (18:37).

While both Lagadin and Hellstrom are known quantities this year, Aidan Martel is just beginning to make a name for himself on the SDSSAA cross-country circuit. The Grade 9 student at St. Charles College placed first in the midget boys race, beating Nicholas Lambert of Elliot Lake by more than 20 seconds.

A member of the GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) Impact U15 Boys team, Martel lists soccer as his No. 1 priority, though the sports are quite complementary.

"The endurance training in cross-country makes me a better soccer player," he said. "I'm used to running a lot."

Martel and Lambert would cruise stride for stride through the first lap of the five-km course, with the race winner making his move over the final quarter of the race.

"Usually, I come out too fast, so I tried to slow it down a bit, but still keep up with first place so that I could make my move at the 'wall,'" Martel stated. "I had never met him (Lambert), but we just decided to help each other out, to push each other to go faster."

The midget girls division is showing early signs of being no contest, with Lo-Ellen Park sensation Sydney Tarini posting times that would be more than respectable at the OFSAA level.

Tarini ran away from the field on a course that was roughly 3.2 kilometres long, clocking a time of 14:13, with Katie Keenan of Lockerby in second at 15:24.

Such has been the leap forward by Liam Passi (Lasalle) in the senior boys ranks, that it's easy to forget that the defending city champion is actually Tie Pylatuk of Sacré-Coeur.

With the latter not on hand for the race on Friday, Passi would run to victory, covering a distance of sevem km in 27:25, just 10 seconds ahead of Caleb Beland of Bishop Carter, easily the most improved local runner from one year ago.

A bit of a surprise in the senior girls race, not in the sense that the first-place ribbon was awarded to Lydia Heimonen of Superior Heights (24:25). Rather, the battle of Lockerby Composite teammates behind her produced an upset as Miranda Boudreau (26:07) out ran Sarah McLean (26:52), with McLean looking to defend the city crown that she claimed last October.

Following is a breakdown of the top five finishers in all six races:

Midget Girls
1st - Sydney Tarini (LOE) – 14:13.06
2nd - Katie Keenan (LCS) – 15:24.77
3rd - Hilary Clark (ELSS) – 15:30.01
4th - Carissa Holliday (MSS) – 15:50.24
5th - Leanne Britton-Foster (ELSS) – 16:10.86

Midget Boys
1st - Aidan Martel (SCC) – 21:43.29
2nd - Nicholas Lambert (ELSS) – 22:06.56
3rd - Jacxson Cress (LIV) – 22:54.39
4th - Mathieu Dokis-Dupuis (ESMC) – 23:05.15
5th - Mark Thom (STB) – 24:18.80

Junior Girls
1st - Karly Hellstrom (LAS) – 17:51.33
2nd - Allison Caswell (LOE) – 18:37.87
3rd - Paige St Jean (LOE) – 20:26.02
4th - Kara Passi (LAS) – 20:27.51
5th - Kennedy Parks (ESP) – 20:42.47

Junior Boys
1st - Ben Lagadin (LIV) – 25:56.22
2nd - Jamieson Douville (ELSS) – 27:10.21
3rd - Dawson Nootchtai (STB) – 27:40.68
4th - Chris Dodds (LOE) – 28:05.27
5th - Stavros Gallant (LCS) – 28:10.11

Senior Girls
1st - Lydia Heimonen (SHCVS) – 24:25.90
2nd - Miranda Boudreau (LCS) – 26:07.69
3rd - Sarah McLean (LCS) – 26:52.86
4th - Karly Piro (STB) – 27:45.32
5th - Ashley Sandre (LCS) – 28:04.65

Senior Boys
1st - Liam Passi (LAS) – 27:25.38
2nd - Caleb Beland (BAC) – 27:35.81
3rd - Colton Lafrance (ESP) – 28:03.46
4th - Logan Emiry (ESP) – 28:54.94
5th - Walker Houghton (Englehart) – 29:55.75