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Track
and Field
East
end athletes win trio of medals at OFSAA T&F championships
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 Gisèle-Lalonde
hurdler Leewinchell Jean competes in the junior
boys 100-metre hurdles at the OFSAA provincial
track and field championships in Belleville
on June 1. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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You
know you have a special talent when you have an off year
in competition and still win two bronze medals at the
provincial championships. Such was the result École
secondaire Gisèle-Lalonde hurdler Leewinchell Jean
had at this year’s OFSAA track and field championships
held in Belleville last week.
Last
year’s gold medalist in the midget boys 300-metre
hurdles and silver medalist in the 100-metre event, went
into the provincial championships as the newly-crowned
East Region champion in both events.
With
his confidence level sky high, Jean was hoping to win
two gold medals and possibly set a new OFSAA record. He
had to lower his expectations, however, after placing
fourth in the 100-metres preliminary heats.
Despite
running with an old set of spikes, the Grade 10 student
still managed to improve on his prelim time of 13.45 seconds
to claim a bronze medal in the final with a time of 14.20
seconds.
He
returned to the track on Saturday determined to do better
in the 300-metre hurdles and ran the second fastest time
in morning heats with a 40.67.
Despite
running a sub-40 second time in the final, Jean was nipped
at the wire for second place and had to settle for another
bronze.
Although
not what he had hoped for, the two bronze is still a remarkable
result for someone who does not train on a regular basis
and is not a member of an organized track and field club.
Given
his results and his potential, Jean is now seriously considering
joining the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club to see just
how far he can go.
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Louis-Riel
pole vaulter Caroline Poirier won a bronze
medal in the senior girls event with a leap
of 3.40 metres. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The
east end's third bronze medalist at the OFSAA meet was
Caroline Poirier from École secondaire Louis Riel
who place third in the senior girls pole vault under extremely
windy conditions.
A
Grade 11 first year senior, Poirier battled it out to
the end with the eventual gold and silver medalists, both
of whom are in their final year of high school.
With
a personal best of 3.50 metres, Poirier entered the competition
at three metres and easily cleared the height on her first
attempt. She then passed at 3.10 metres and inexplicably
missed on her first attempt at 3.20 metres. She cleared
the height on her second attempt and then easily cleared
on her first attempt at 3.30 metres.
It
was at 3.40 metres that she ran into trouble. After failing
to clear the bar on her first two attempts, she tried
to abort her third attempt on the run up, but her pole
bounced on the ground and hit the take off pit which counted
as an attempt and just like that she was out of the competition.
Because
she missed on first attempt at 3.20, Poirier had to settle
for third place behind Emily Newton from Mayfield Secondary
School in Brampton who went clear on all six of her attempts
at lower heights before failing to clear at 3.40 metres.
The eventual champion was Katy Magoffin from Woodstock
who managed to clear the bar on her second attempt at
the height.
With
Magoffin and Newton both grad-uating this spring, Poirier
should be the clear favourite next year along with teammate
Annabelle Gagnon who cleared a personal best 3.20 metres
to place fourth in the competition.
Louis-Riel
sent 10 athletes to the OFSAA championships. Sprinter
Kayla Vieux made the final of the junior girls 100-metre
dash and placed fifth in a time of 12.67 seconds. She
then joined forces with teammates Katherine Petrut, Kadiatou
Wann and Megan Roy to finish fifth in the junior girls
4x100 relay after setting a team best time in the prelims.
Other
local athletes who placed in the top 10 in their event
include Katie Newlove from St. Peter High School who rebounded
from a disappointing 8th place finish in the midget girls
1500-metres to place fourth in the 3000-metres in a personal
best time of 10;30.26.
The
previously mentioned Kadiatou Wann finished fifth in the
junior girls long jump with a leap of 4.08 metres, and
Eli Adjibi placed 7th in the final of the senior boys
100-metre dash.
Finally,
former St. Matthew High School hurdler Keira Christie
Galloway successfully defended her senior girls title
in the 100-metre hurdles running for Glebe Collegiate.
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Louis-Riel
pole vaulter Annabelle Gagné cleared
a persona best height of 3.20 metres to finish
fourth in the senior girls event behind teammate
Caroline Poirier. Fred Sherwin/Photo
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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Commons Corner
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Queen's Park Corner
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CANADA DAY AT THE LEGION – Canadian Legion Branch 632 on Taylor Creek Road will be hosting a fun-filled day of family-friendly activities with music and food starting at 11 am. FREE FOR EVERYONE 
ORLEANS FARMERS MARKET every Thursday from 11 am to 4 pm in the parking lot at the Ray Friel Recreation Centre on Tenth Line Road. Shop the freshest seasonal produce, meat and dairy, baked goods, prepared foods, crafts and more while getting to know the folks who grew and made it.
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