HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Zachary Jeggo ends high school track career with double OFSAA gold, one silver

By Martin Cleary

Zachary Jeggo is sprinting and hurdling his way off to Simon Fraser University in grand style.

The Louis-Riel high school student-athlete came within 0.14 seconds of completing a rare career triple-double at the OFSAA track and field championships in Toronto and threatened to break a four-decade-old national record.

Jeggo led the lengthy parade of accomplished runners, jumpers and throwers from the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association team, which won 25 medals (11 gold, seven silver and seven bronze) and had 67 finalists. He won gold medals in the boys’ senior 400-metre hurdles and the open boys’ 4×400-metre relay and was second in the senior 400-metre final.

In his previous two OFSAA provincial high school athletics championships, he was the boys’ senior 400-metre and 400-metre hurdles champion in 2024 as well as the boys’ junior 400-metre and 300-metre hurdles winner in 2023.

His individual and team performances also sparked Louis-Riel to victory in the boys’ senior team category with 40 points, which was three more than Sir Frederick Banting.

When Jeggo won his 400-metre hurdles final by three one-hundredths of a second in 51.76 seconds, it was the second-fastest posted time in Canadian high school history. The national interscholastic record is 40 years old and belongs to former Ottawa runner Phillip Hughes of Earl of March at 51.68 seconds.

Jeggo, who will race as a Red Leaf at Simon Fraser in 2025-26, opened his final OFSAA championship by placing second in the 400-metre final in 47.26 seconds, which left him 0.14 seconds shy of first place and his third consecutive double individual gold-medal effort at OFSAA.

But he closed the OFSAA meet in celebratory style, anchoring Riel to the gold medal in the boys’ open 4×400-metre relay in 3:18.17, which was 0.72 seconds faster than Resurrection of Kitchener. Ayoub Shangai, Daniel Cova and Casey Sheftel made successful passes to give Jeggo the baton for the final leg.

Cova also was instrumental in producing one of Riel’s greatest days at the OFSAA track and field championships as he was a double bronze medallist in the 1,500 metres in 3:47.95 and the 3,000 metres in 8:22.54.

Sprinter Jorai Matthea Oppong-Nketiah of Riel battled hard to the finish of the girls’ senior 100 metres and was second in 11.88 seconds. She trailed the gold medallist by 0.03 seconds.

A year after winning the girls’ novice javelin title, Mallea McMullin of Riel stepped up to the junior division and emerged as the best thrower with a winning mark of 39.3 metres. She won by 2.38 metres.

Hillcrest’s Charlie Mortimer placed second in the boys’ open 2,000-metre steeplechase in 5:56.30. He also was seventh in the 3,000 metres in 8:34.00.

Grace Streek of Peak Centre Academy ran 7:01.14 to earn the girls’ senior 2,000-metre steeplechase bronze medal.

Ellie McGregor of Immaculata was a double bronze-medal winner in the girls’ junior 400 metres in 56.82 seconds and the 800 metres in 2:12.34. She was only 0.15 seconds from the silver medal in the 800-metre final.

Parker Baetz of Holy Trinity led the pack in boys’ junior javelin with a best toss of 54.13 metres.

The NCSSAA picked up two medals in boys’ novice and they were both in field events. Maxime Cazabon won gold in the high jump at 1.92 metres, while Max Moir of St. Patrick’s took third place in long jump at 6.33 metres for the bronze.

Jacob Gauthier of Jules-Léger tied for first place in the boys’ visually impaired shot put at 6.84 metres and placed second in both the 100 metres in 15.50 seconds and the 800 metres in 3:01.02. His results helped Léger win the boys’ team title with 25 points.

Léger also captured the girls’ visually impaired team championship with 36 points because of a pair of strong individual showings from Lien Nhan and Latifa Mbianga Tchamabong.

Nhan won the 100 metres in 16.14 seconds and the shot put at 5.85 metres, while Mbianga Tchamabong was second over 100 metres in 17.63 as well as in shot put at 5.51 metres.

Earl of March’s Alex Di Maso was the winner of the girls’ wheelchair 200 metres in 50.62 seconds.

OFSAA BOYS’ RUGBY A/AA SILVER MEDAL FOR ASHBURY

Ashbury College Colts charged into the OFSAA boys’ A/AA rugby championship final, but had to settle for the silver medal.

Defending champion LaSalle turned back Ashbury 14-7 in the well-played final. Ashbury reached the gold-medal match with three consecutive wins over Parkside 24-0, Crescent 15-0 and Holy Cross 26-17.

Cairine Wilson reached the consolation final and fell to Holy Trinity 29-12. Wilson earned the right to play on the final day by winning two of its three games – a 15-14 opening loss to Streetsville, a 36-0 win over St. John Henry Newman and a 19-17 victory over Henry Street.

West Carleton followed a similar pattern of losing its first game, but winning the next two to qualify for the OFSAA boys’ AAA rugby championship consolation final. Northern won the fifth-place match 14-10.

Earlier, West Carleton lost to Medway 15-7 before turning back St. Maximilian Kolbe 11-8 and St. Therese of Lisieux 20-17.

LOUIS-RIEL FALLS IN QUARTER-FINALS AT HOME OFSAA BOYS’ AA SOCCER

History repeated itself for the Louis-Riel Rebelles boys’ soccer team, and not in a manner they’re particularly fond of.

Competing down the road from their school in Gloucester at Millennium Fields, the Rebelles lost in the quarter-final round of the OFSAA AA Boys’ Soccer Championships for the second year in a row.

And once again the defeat came at the hands of the team that went on to win the gold medal in a match that went beyond regulation.

Last year, the Rebelles lost in penalty kicks and this time it was in extra time to St. Mary’s of Woodstock.

The Rebelles took down the defending champions from Bradford’s Holy Trinity 1-0 in their opening match and carried a clean sheet through four pool games and full time in their quarter-final contest.

The other local representative, Paul-Desmarais, came within a goal of reaching the playoff round but ultimately finished third in its pool with one win, one loss and two ties.

ANNABELLE CHUKWU SCORES WINNER FOR CONCACAF U20 TITLE

Ottawa’s Annabelle Chukwu played a major role in leading Canada to its third career CONCACAF women’s U20 soccer championship in Costa Rica.

Chukwu scored in extra time at the 120+2 mark to give Canada a 3-2 victory over Mexico in the gold-medal game. A few minutes earlier, she was denied the potential winning goal by Mexican goalkeeper Camila Vazquez.

Chukwu finished the championship with five goals, while teammate Teegan Melenhorst had two goals as Canada posted four wins against one loss, which came against Mexico in the round-robin.

Canada, which won the CONCACAF title in 2004 and 2008, shut out the United States 1-0 in the semifinals.

Playing for Canada’s senior men at the Canadian Shield Tournament in Toronto, Ottawa’s Jonathan David scored two gorgeous goals en route to a 4-2 Canadian victory over Ukraine.

ONTARIO MATCH PLAY GOLD FOR AVERY NORDMAN, SILVER FOR LISE JUBINVILLE

Avery Nordman of the Canadian Golf and Country Club won four consecutive matches to capture the Ontario women’s match play golf championship at the Cataraqui Golf Club.

Nordman outlasted Kelly Zhao of Station Creek 2 and 1 in the final. She reached the gold-medal match by defeating Sadie Wu of Toronto 2 up in the semifinals, Andrea Lai of St. Thomas 4 and 3 in the quarterfinals and Natasha Korman of Hamilton 2 and 1 in the round of 16.

Lise Jubinville of the Hyland Golf Club reached the Ontario women’s senior match play championship, but fell to Nachcha Perkins of Halton Hills 7 and 6.

Jubinville posted two wins to qualify for the final – 2 and 1 over Allyson Harrison of Cataraqui in the quarterfinals and 4 and 3 over Stefi Markovich of Lookout Point in the semifinals.

Nordman and Jubinville have both qualified for the 110th Ontario women’s amateur golf championship and the Canadian women’s amateur championship.

ELLA LINDSAY PLACES THIRD IN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL DIVING DEBUT

Ella Lindsay of the Nepean-Ottawa Diving Club made her senior international debut at the Canada Cup of Diving in Gatineau with two top-10 results in three events.

Lindsay, who won five gold medals at the recent Dive Ontario Summer Provincials, and Mathilde Laberge teamed to finish third in women’s open platform synchro with 254.52 points. The United States was first at 273.33 points.

In her other events, Lindsay was 10th in the open platform final at 221.20 points and 11th on the three-metre springboard at 235.75.

INJURY KEEPS JULIE BROUSSEAU OUT OF CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

The seven-day Canadian swimming trials have reached Day 4 at the Saanich Commonwealth Place pool in Victoria, but there’s a notable absence in the field of 700 athletes.

Nepean-Kanata Barracudas’ Julie Brousseau isn’t in the water vying for a spot on the Canadian team to the world championships because she’s recovering from a broken foot, which she suffered about two months ago.

Brousseau, who made her Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, considered competing at the trials, but declined to be fully healthy for the FISU World Summer Universiade Games.

In her first year at the University of Florida, she received conference honours as an all-SEC second team all-star and a member of the all-freshman team. She raced at the NCAA championships and earned four All-American honours as the Gators women’s team placed sixth overall.

Greater-Ottawa Kingfish’s Ashley McMillan placed third at the Victoria trials in the women’s 200-metre individual medley in two minutes, 12.08 seconds. The race was highlighted by Summer McIntosh of Toronto winning in a world-record time of 2:05.70.

McMillan opened her trials with a sixth-place showing in the women’s 100-metre backstroke in 1:06.65.

Jordan Schaepper of the Barracudas took fifth place in the boys’ junior 400-metre freestyle in 3:57.32 and eighth in the 100-metre butterfly in 56.12 seconds.

Molly Barber of Swim Ottawa was fourth in the girls’ junior 50-metre freestyle in 25.99 seconds. She also was seventh in the 100-metre butterfly in 1:02.44.

GO’s Chloe Danks placed fourth in the girls’ junior 100-metre breaststroke in 1:11.43 and was seventh over 200 metres in 2:36.10.