By Bruce Burton
The Haldimand Press
UXBRIDGE—Above left, Hagersville’s Abby Martin (#1221) is back in the pack for the early part of the race. Above middle, Cayuga’s Ethan Kindree separates himself from the second group of runners in Novice Boys. Above right, Cayuga’s Gaven Mathiesen (shown here at CWOSSA) finished 31st in a strong Junior Boys 5k. —Haldimand Press photos by Bruce Burton.
HALDIMAND—After a stressful season, Ontario high school distance runners finally had their OFSSA (Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Associations) Cross Country Championships.
Coming out of an elementary school environment in which 40 athletes for a race would be considered a large field, to find yourself in a seven-foot-wide chute at the back of 14 other runners in a field of 244 would be an unfamiliar situation. At OFSSA, runners are positioned in the chute according to finishing position at their qualifying meet. The two qualifying teams are on each side of the chute, in single file, with the five individual qualifiers in single file between them.
That was what met Hagersville Novice girl Abby Martin, as she lined up for her first OFSSA Cross Country Championship. Held at Dagmar Ski Resort in Uxbridge, the meet had athletes from almost all of Ontario. Only athletes from the Lakehead do not take part, competing instead in Manitoba.
Because of Martin’s position in the chute, there was little space to maneuver and she found herself well back for the early part of the race. Over the course of the 4km race, however, she managed to work herself up to 59th position for the finish, with a time of 18:09.28, giving her an average of 4:33 per kilometre.
The course, comprised of a preliminary run-out and two loops, had four hills in total, and athletes in every race were collapsing at the finish from the exertion. In the Novice girls’ race, the only girl not seeming to suffer that fate was Birchmount’s Eleanor Voykin, who was familiar with the course and broke her own Course Record, set in the October 12 pre-OFSSA race.
Cayuga’s Ethan Kindree had a better shot for open ground, starting as third CWOSSA individual, and he took advantage of it.
After the original scrum from the starting area and a grassy turn, a distance of about 500m, he came up onto a trail with some running room and found himself in a secondary pack behind a large leading group of 35-40 runners. Over the next 3500m, he moved up to lead the secondary group, and eventually leave them behind, moving into 30th spot by the finish. His overall time was 15:13.34, an average of 3:49 per kilometre.
For the Junior Boys tilt, Cayuga’s Gaven Mathiesen entered as second CWOSSA individual. After a seventh-place finish as a Novice, he had probably hoped for a top-10 spot. But 2021 had several school boards still not allowing sports, possibly producing a watered-down result at some levels.
This year, however, there was no question, as all boards are back at full strength, and Mathiesen’s 31st position and 17:32.51 time, an average of 3:31 per kilometre, left no doubt as to his position amongst Ontario’s distance runners. His spot came as a result of a closing 50-metre sprint with two other athletes after a gruelling 5 km race.
The OFSSA races put a close on school competitions for the year, leaving only those affiliated with Athletics Ontario (AO) and Athletics Canada (AC). The AO Championships are in Kingston on November 13, with the AC titles going on the line in Ottawa on November 26.
