Laliberté (Macdonald-Cartier) and Jermyn (MacLeod) capped off a three-event tête a tête with a dramatic finish in the 800m race, with Jermyn edging Laliberté by 4/100th of a second (2:26.85 vs 2:26.89).
The tandem also secured the top two spots in both the 400m and 200m events, as the second senior meet of the R.E. Gibson Memorial Rainbow Board Track and Field Series was hosted at Laurentian University on Tuesday.
All Mrozewski (R.L. Beattie) did, for his part, was cover the 400 metre race last Thursday in senior meet #1 in a time of 56.98, two to three seconds ahead of Jermyn and Laliberté, setting up an outstanding matchup come the Champions Meet on June 17th.
Jermyn, the son of long-time Track North coach Darren Jermyn, is no stranger to the track, though his competitiveness has increased in recent years. "I started to really improve in Grade 6," noted the Grade 8 teenager, who will be attending Lo-Ellen Park Secondary in the fall.
"The main factor, I'm pretty sure, was the fact that I grew about six inches that year. Despite all the knee pain, I now had a much longer stride, and I found I could beat more people than when I was one of the shorter guys," said Jermyn.
While Jermyn finished first at both the 200m and 800m distances, Laliberté earned bragging rights in the 400m race. "Middle distance is kind of my thing," said Laliberté, with "middle distance" for Grade 8 runners apparently falling into the 400 metre range.
"If you start slow in the 400m, you still have a chance of catching up, and I've always struggled with my starts."
While it will surprise very few local track followers if Jermyn focuses more heavily on his running career with the Knights, Laliberté still looks to hockey as a primary passion, suiting up with the Nickel City Major Bantam "AAA" Sons in the fall.
The pair were not the only athletes to raise some eyebrows on the track, with several Grade 7 athletes among those who claimed gold in multiple events. Dylann Mazzuchin of MacLeod not only impressed in winning both the 800m and 1500m distances going away, but also added the triple jump to her haul, soaring 8.52 metres, almost three feet further than the second place finisher.
"I felt most confident in the triple jump," said Mazzuchin, who is also a mainstay with a very talented core of young female basketball talent working their way through the ranks with the Sudbury Jam.
"I've done that (triple jump) since grade five, and I've usually placed in the top since grade five," Mazzuchin added. "My mom was also really talented in the triple jump, and I think it got passed down."
Adding beach volleyball to the mix this summer, the 13-year-old multi-sport athlete is pleased her two main sports, at least at this point, remain quite complementary. "In basketball, it's all about stamina, and if you can keep up with the rest of the players on the court," she said. "Obviously, the long distances help with my stamina."
Though Myah Fillion of Macdonald-Cartier competed in only two events, her performance in the 400m was particularly noteworthy. Crossing the line in 1:04.56, Fillion was seven seconds ahead of the second place finisher, and just .34 seconds behind the fastest grade seven boy on the day.
She also finished a full seven seconds ahead of the first place finisher in the grade eight girls 400m race.
"I was really young when I started in track and field, I'm not really sure at what age," stated the young lady who keeps herself busy in the winters as a member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves.
Her training moved forward, her part, due to her participation in a program at Macdonald-Cartier that allows some of the Grade 7 and 8 athletes to train alongside the high school competitors.
"I raced with the school and beat the school record," she said. "I think I can go in around 1:03, but not much faster than that. I used to train more for track and field, since I am busy now with hockey and stuff."
Following is a complete listing of event winners from Senior Meet #2:
Grade 7 Girls
100m dash - Heidi Lamothe (MacLeod) - 14.10200m dash - Heidi Lamothe (MacLeod) - 29.88
400m - Myah Fillion (Macdonald-Cartier) - 1:04.56
800m - Dylann Mazzuchin (MacLeod) - 2:54.86
1500m - Dylann Mazzuchin (MacLeod) - 6:00.90
Long Jump - Morgan Greenslade (Pinecrest) - 3.69m
Shot Put - Dakota Lische-Parke (Northeastern) - 8.36m
High Jump - Sarah Kenny (Lansdowne) - 1.26m
Triple Jump - Dylann Mazzuchin (MacLeod) - 8.52m
Grade 7 Boys
100m dash - Grant Higgins (Churchill) - 12.70200m dash - Nicholas Burke (Northeastern) - 28.10
400m - Nicholas Burke (Northeastern) - 1:04.22
800m - Kendyn Mashinter (MacLeod) - 2:31.57
1500m - Kendyn Mashinter (MacLeod) - 5:10.53
Long Jump - Kendyn Mashinter (MacLeod) - 4.33m
Shot Put - Morgan Byers (Nesbitt) - 9.72m
High Jump - Nicholas Burke (Northeastern) - 1.49m
Triple Jump - Giordano Biondi (MacLeod) - 9.27m
Grade 8 Girls
100m dash - Ariane Saumure (Macdonald-Cartier) - 13.23200m dash - Ariane Saumure (Macdonald-Cartier) - 27.90
400m - Alysha MacEwen (MacLeod) - 1:11.49
800m - Jayde Hurley (R.H. Murray) - 2:50.56
1500m - Jayde Hurley (R.H. Murray) - 5:43.27
Long Jump - Ariane Saumure (Macdonald-Cartier) - 4.52m
Shot Put - Annie Duncan (Pinecrest) - 9.58m
High Jump - Steffi Leers (MacLeod) - 1.45m
Triple Jump - Veronica Dynes (MacLeod) - 8.92m
Grade 8 Boys
100m dash - Hunter Kirkey (Larchwood) - 12.79200m dash - Connor Jermyn (MacLeod) - 26.38
400m - Michael Laliberté (Macdonald-Cartier) - 58.35
800m - Connor Jermyn (MacLeod) - 2:26.85
1500m - Ethan Sheppard (MacLeod) - 4:49.38
Long Jump - Hunter Kirkey (Larchwood) - 5.10m
Shot Put - Danny Neelands (Pinecrest) - 11.89m
High Jump - Joseph Mazur (Levack) - 1.55m
Triple Jump - Curtis Tremblay (Macdonald-Cartier) - 9.63m
