HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Garneau’s golden Maxime Cazabon a one-man, high-flying athlete, team at OFSAA

By Martin Cleary

Ottawa student-athletes scored four individual gold medals at the OFSAA track and field championships in St. Catharines and they all had something else in common as well.

They loved to fly high, fly far and in the case of one student-athlete fly high and far.

That one student-athlete even went as far as scoring enough performance placement points from his three events to give his school a tie for first place in the boys’ junior team standings.

Maxime Cazabon of Garneau was the individual with the most air time and significant placement points as he won the boys’ junior high jump and triple jump and narrowly missed a triple-medal meet with a fourth-place result in the long jump.

The 25 points he earned from two wins (10 points each) and a fourth-place result gave Garneau 25 points, which was the same as Upper Canada College at the top of the boys’ junior team standings.

Samuel Pemale of St. Peter gave the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association solid and historic representation in the boys’ junior long jump, when he soared to victory that required a rare double countback.

Anabelle Muir of Glebe posted a 10-centimetre win in the girls’ junior pole vault as she matched her lifetime best height, when she sailed over the bar at 3.50 metres.

A pair of boys’ senior student-athletes also loved to be airborne as pole vaulter Eli Mordel of Sir Robert Borden and 110-metre hurdler Taisei Tan of Béatrice-Desloges earned bronze medals in their events.

The NCSSAA team also collected silver medals from Ange-Mathis Kramo of Paul-Desmarais in the boys’ senior 400 metres and Mallea McMullin of Louis-Riel in the girls’ senior javelin.

Cazabon showed he had the potential to win three gold medals as he produced that jumping triple crown at the OFSAA East regional meet in Brockville.

In the triple jump, Cazabon had his best jump on his first attempt and it was a good thing he did it at that moment. After he travelled an unmatched 14.10 metres and 13.83 metres respectively in his first jumps, he recorded three no-distance and one foul results the rest of the way.

Cazabon’s other win was in the high jump, where he reached a season-high 2.00 metres on his second attempt and won by 12 centimetres. He cleared nine different heights on 16 tries, needing three attempts to scale 1.98 metres and finishing his competition with three misses at 2.02 metres.

He saved his best for last in the long jump as he dashed down the runway and flew 6.57 metres on his sixth attempt, which placed him fourth overall.

The boys’ junior long jump was all about Pemale and Jason Chen of Markville. It was likely the most evenly matched competition, whether field or track, in OFSAA history.

After six rounds of jumping, Pemale and Chen had identical best jumps of 6.69 metres. Breaking a tie in long jump requires the event official to revert to each athlete’s second-best jump. In that case, Pemale and Chen also had matching leaps of 6.57 metres.

Using the third-best jump is rare, but necessary this time and Pemale held a slight advantage over Chen of 6.55 metres to 6.42 metres.

The NCSSAA had three student-athletes finish in the top six in the boys’ junior long jump to score points for their schools as Max Moir of St. Patrick’s was sixth at 6.33 metres.

Muir cleared four of her five girls’ junior pole vault heights on her first attempt, including her gold-medal flight of 3.50 metres. After winning the event, she made three attempts at 3.61 metres, but was unsuccessful. Lisgar’s Charlotte Morales was fifth at 3.00 metres.

Tan finished the boys’ senior 110-metre hurdles in third place, after qualifying with the second-best time (14.15 seconds), flying over the barriers in 14.22 seconds.

Mordel, who placed fourth in the 110-metre hurdles in 14.23 seconds, continued his strong high school pole vaulting season by placing third in the boys’ senior event at 4.60 metres. He went out at 4.70 metres, while Christian Futo of Chaminade won at 4.90 metres.

Grade 11 student Mallea McMullin of Louis-Riel came close in her girls’ senior debut to winning her third consecutive OFSAA javelin title. Her best throw of 40.37 metres left her in second place to Annie Seagris of Sandwich at 42.09 metres.

Ange-Mathis Kramo of Paul-Desmarais improved his boys’ senior time by more than half a second from last year’s final to place second in the 400-metre medal race in 48.02 seconds. He cut it close in qualifying, however, ranking seventh in 48.23 seconds for the eight-man final. Ayoub Shangai of Louis-Riel was sixth in the final in 48.47 seconds.

The largest provincial high school track and field championships in North America not only gave medals to the top three student-athletes, but also awarded team points to the top eight in each event. The winner received 10 points, the runner-up earned eight and positions three through eighth picked up six points down to one point respectively.

Here are the other NCSSAA student-athletes who scored top-eight results and earned points for their schools:

BOYS’ SENIOR

· Charlie Mortimer, Hillcrest, fourth, 2,000-metre steeplechase, 5:58.41.

· Brandon Onana, Franco-Ouest, fourth, long jump, 6.85 metres.

· Ruben Adiele, Ashbury, eighth, 400-metre hurdles, 55.81 seconds.

GIRLS’ SENIOR

· Norah Nitta Mackay, Holy Trinity, fourth, 400 metres, 55.89 seconds.

· Roxy Gardiner, Sir Robert Borden, tied fifth, high jump, 1.55 metres; eighth, triple jump, 11.34 metres.

· Penelope Close, De La Salle, seventh, long jump, 5.39 metres.

· Kyra Lauter, Franco-Ouest, eighth, girls’ open 2,000-metre steeplechase.

BOYS’ JUNIOR

· St. Peter 4×100-metre relay team: Trenton Murdock, Samuel Pemale, Carson Harris, Brandon Bell and Jaden Larrieux, fifth, 44.55 seconds.

· Ethan Frizzell, Osgoode, fifth, 100-metre hurdles, 13.99 seconds.

· Declan McGinnity, All Saints, sixth, 400 metres, 50.38 seconds.

GIRLS’ JUNIOR

· Louis-Riel 4×100-metre relay team: Sam Eve Genier, Keshia Chivaza, Mihaela Lelsi, Cassidy Sookocheff and Adrian Vachon, fifth, 50.37 seconds (49.93 seconds in qualifying).

· Shanae Emmanuel, St. Mother Teresa, fifth, 100 metres, 12.72 seconds (12.68 seconds in qualifying).

· Laurina Nganzeu, Gloucester, fifth, javelin, 32.61 metres.

· Michele Asomaning, A.Y. Jackson, seventh, long jump, 5.06 metres.

· Keshia Chivaza, Louis-Riel, tied seventh, high jump, 1.50 metres.

· Reve McInnes, Glebe, eighth, 3,000 metres, 10:36.74.

BOYS’ NOVICE

· Jake Claydon-St. John, John McCrae, fourth, 800 metres, 2:01.1.

· Graeme Siderius, Colonel By, fifth, 3,000 metres, 9:22.30.

· Josh Walls, St. Joseph, sixth, discus, 41.84 metres.

· Jaiden Taft, A.Y. Jackson, seventh, 1,500 metres, 4:19.24.

· William Lussier, Mer Bleue, seventh, 100 metres, 11.53 seconds.

· Levi Third, Earl of March, eighth, long jump, 5.75 metres.

GIRLS’ NOVICE

· Roan Gerth, Glebe, fourth, 3,000 metres, 10:37.08.

· Brooklyn Reesal, Colonel By, sixth, discus, 30.12 metres.

· Sasha Stephenson, Nepean, eighth, 80-metre hurdles, 13.47 seconds (12.96 seconds in qualifying).

· Freda Isaac-Ighodaro, St. Matthew, eighth, 200 metres, 26.92 seconds (26.77 seconds in qualifying).

HISTORIC OFSAA BOYS’ AAA FIELD LACROSSE SILVER MEDAL FOR MERIVALE

The Merivale Marauders made history at the OFSAA boys’ AAA field lacrosse festival in Grimsby by winning the silver medal, the first time a National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association team has reached the podium.

The undefeated NCSSAA champion easily won its two pool games, turned back a talent-loaded Orangeville team 14-10 in the semifinals, but lost to two-time defending champion Brooklin 13-5 in the final.

Andy Francescut and Isaac McMillan scored two goals each for Merivale and captain Bruce Allen added one in the final.

Allen finished with a tournament-high 15 goals, while McMillan had 12 goals and Francescut counted nine.

In the preliminary round, the Marauders shut out Nantyr Shores 13-0 and Neil McNeil 18-3.

At the OFSAA boys’ A/AA field lacrosse festival in Burlington, St. Mark posted a record of one win and three losses. The Lions defeated Aldershot 8-2, but fell to King’s Christian 7-6, Patrick Fogarty 12-4 and Governor Simcoe 13-4.

ASHBURY CAPTURES OFSAA BOYS’ A/AA RUGBY ANTIQUE BRONZE MEDAL

Third-seeded Ashbury Colts received the antique bronze medal for their fourth-place result at the OFSAA boys’ A/AA rugby championship in Stratford.

The Colts fell 28-12 to Port Perry in the bronze-medal game. Ashbury reached its medal match defeating No. 14 Keswick 32-5 and No. 6 St. Mary’s 14-5 before losing to No. 2 Holy Cross 24-19.

Tenth-seeded Cairine Wilson was winless in two games, losing to No. 7 Trinity 19-15 and No. 15 Birchmount 19-14.

Glebe, the 13th seed, won two of its first three matches at the OFSAA boys’ AAA rugby championship in Barrie to qualify for the consolation final, where it lost to No. 6 Oakville Trafalgar 28-7.

The Gryphons lost their opener 15-12 to Medway, but rebounded with wins over St. Theresa’s, 14-10, and Kingston, 12-5.

Ashbury and Cairine Wilson had matching 2-1 win-loss records at the OFSAA girls’ A/AA rugby championship in Stratford, but missed advancing to the third-day playoff round.

The Colts defeated Lasalle 28-5 and Lambton Central 17-12, but lost to eventual bronze-medallist Smiths Falls 36-0. Wilson blanked Pairs 48-0 and defeated St. John Henry Newman 21-12, but fell to Centre Dufferin 10-5.

At the OFSAA girls’ AAA rugby championship in Lindsay, Glebe won two of its three games, while South Carleton posted one victory in three matches.

Glebe defeated Barrie North 17-5 and Ursuline College 10-7 and lost to Thomas A. Stewart 22-7. South Carleton turned back St. Francis Xavier 26-7, but fell to John F. Ross, 33-17, and Barrie North, 15-14.

HILLCREST, PAUL-DESMARAIS REACH OFSAA SOCCER QUARTERFINALS

Hillcrest Hawks finished first in their pool with two wins and two ties at the OFSAA boys’ A soccer championship in Oakville, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The Hawks suffered their only defeat in the quarterfinals by a 3-2 score to St. Jean Brebeuf.

Hillcrest defeated Gaetan Gervais 2-1 and Bronte College 7-1 as well as tying Lambton-Kent 2-2 and South Huron 1-1 in its preliminary round.

At the OFSAA boys’ AA soccer championship in Milton, Paul-Desmarais was edged 5-4 in an overtime shootout by St. Paul in the quarterfinals.

Desmarais reached the playoffs by defeating L’Essor 2-1 and St. Benedict 5-1, tying St. Mary 1-1 and losing to King’s Christian 2-0.

Louis-Riel managed only one win in four pool games at the OFSAA boys’ AAA soccer championship in Grimsby.

Riel defeated St. Mary’s 2-0, but lost to Holy Names 1-0, Mother Teresa 2-1 and Father Leo J. Austin 6-1.

At the OFSAA girls’ AAA soccer championship in Kitchener, Glebe won two games, lost a pair of games and missed the playoffs.

The Gryphons defeated Riverdale 1-0 and Loretto Abbey 3-0, but fell to Father Leo J. Austin 3-2 and John F. Ross 3-1.

NCSSAA BASEBALL CHAMPS ST. MARK EARN ONE WIN AT REGIONALS

St. Mark was the ninth seed at the OFSAA Eastern baseball tournament in Toronto and scored one victory in four matches.

The National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association champion defeated St. Therese 9-5, but were downed by Thousand Islands 7-4, Collingwood 12-0 and St. Theresa 10-1.

END NOTES

· For the second time in as many years, Canada won the bronze medal at the HSBC SVNS women’s world rugby sevens championship in Bordeaux, France. In the third and final game of the world championship series, Canada defeated the United States 21-19 to finish in third place in Bordeaux and earned enough points to pass France and the U.S. to move into third place in the final standings. Gatineau’s Pamphinette Buisa was a regular player on the Canadian roster and scored a late try in Canada’s 29-14 win over Fiji in the quarterfinals. A game-ending try and convert gave New Zealand a come-from-behind 19-17 win over Canada in the semifinals. Canada finished its round robin with a 2-1 record.

· Canada upset the United States 67-65 to win its first-ever gold medal at the FIBA men’s U18 AmericCup basketball championship in Leon, Mexico. The U.S. had won the last seven titles. The 12-player Canadian roster included Godson Okokoh and Emmanuel Oko-Oboh, both of Ottawa. Okokoh played 22 minutes and 46 seconds in the final, scoring six points, grabbing a game-high eight rebounds and adding two blocks. The small forward averaged nine points and 5.4 rebounds over five games. Oko-Oboh didn’t play in the final.

· The Carleton Golf and Yacht Club team of Trevor Luedee and Jamie Pilkington won the BDO National Golf League championship at the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (Heatherlands course) in Caledon, ON. They scored 38 Stableford points over 18 holes, but needed a one-hole playoff to defeat Jeff Best and Richard White of the Princeton Golf Club in Princeton, B.C.

· Brothers Zakary and Jacob Kaiser of Ottawa were 46th and 68th respectively in the second World Cup BMX cycling competition in Sarrians, France. In the opening World Cup, Jacob was 86th while Zakary took 93rd.

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