Orléans-area athletes had their most successful OFSAA provincial track and field championships ever this year, winning nine medals in total, including double gold by École secondaire publique Louis-Riel runner Zachary Jeggo in the senior boys 400 metres and 400-metre hurdles.

Gold medals were also won by fellow Louis-Riel Rebelles Mallea McMullin in the novice girls javelin and Tahlia Aird-Greaves from École secondaire publique in the novice girls long jump.

Jeggo has fully established himself as the quickest high school athlete over 400 metres in the province by adding the two gold medals to the double gold he won last year as a Grade 10 junior. Better yet, as a Grade 11 student, he still has a year left of high school eligibility.

McMullin’s future is also very bright. The Grade 9 phenomenon continued her dominance in the novice girls javelin with a throw of 40.04 metres on her fourth attempt which was 1.2 metres past her nearest rival. It also equaled her record-setting throw at the OFSAA East Region qualifying meet in Belleville a week earlier.

The east end’s third gold medal was won by Aird-Greaves in the novice girls long jump. It was also the first gold medal handed out at the meet.

Competing in the opening event at her very first OFSAA provincial championship, the Grade 9 student was able to shake off whatever nerves she made have felt to out-distance her competition and finish in first place.

Aird-Greaves was at risk of finishing off the podium with two jumps remaining when she uncorked a leap of 5.41 metres on her fifth attempt to catapult herself from fourth to first place. She then sat back and watched as her nearest rivals fell short of her mark and she ultimately won the gold medal.

The next day, she managed to qualify for the final in both the novice girls 80-metre hurdles and the 100-metre sprint.

In the first of the two finals, Aird-Greaves finished in third place in the hurdles to win her second medal of the meet. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to recover quickly enough for the 100-metre final, which took place just 30 minutes later, and she ended placing fifth.

The east end’s other medals were won by Maxime Chartrand from Louis-Riel who placed third in the novice boys pole vault; Daniel Cova, also from Louis-Riel, who placed third in the Open Boys Steeplechase; and Taisei Tan from École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges who placed second in the junior boys 100-metre hurdles and third in the 300-metre hurdles.

Here is a complete list of area athletes who qualified for OFSAA Provincials...

Novice Girls
100 metres 5th Tahlia Aird-Greaves, Gisèle-Lalonde 12:46
80-metre hurdles 3rd Tahlia Aird-Greaves, Gisèle-Lalonde 11:75
Long Jump 1st Tahlia Aird-Greaves, Gisèle-Lalonde 5:41m
3000 metres 9th Laila Lebel, Colonel By 10:51.06
Discus 18th Mallea McMullin Louis-Riel 19.81m
Javelin 1st Mallea McMullin Louis-Riel 40.04m

Junior Girls
80-metre hurdles 16th Ella Robertson, Colonel By 13.02
4x100 relay 17th Louis Riel 52.53

Senior Girls
100-metre hurdles 11th Danica Mulvihill, Louis Riel 15.30
High Jump 9th Andromeda Bromwich, Colonel By 1.55m
4x100 relay St. Peter DQ

Novice Boys
Pole Vault 3rd Maxime Chartrand, Louis-Riel 3.10m

Junior Boys
400 metres 4th Ayoub Shangai, Louis-Riel 50.29
800 metres 15th Austin Walker, Colonel By 2:03.66
100-metre hurdles 2nd Taisei Tan, Béatrice-Desloges 13.52
300-metre hurdles 3rd Taisei Tan, Béatrice-Desloges 39.45
4x100 Relay 19th Louis-Riel 46.40

Senior Boys
400 metres 1st Zachary Jeggo, Louis-Riel 47.82
3000 metre Daniel Cova, Louis-Riel DNF
110-metre hurdles 5th Timéo Atonfo, Gisèle-Lalonde 14.32
110-metre hurdles 12th Mason Brennan, Colonel By 14.94
400-metre hurdles 1st Zachary Jeggo, Louis-Riel 53.72
Long Jump 7th Timéo Atonfo, Gisèle-Lalonde 6.53m
3000 metre Open Steeplechase 3rd Daniel Cova, Louis-Riel 6:06.94
3000 metre Open Steeplechase 6th Owen Siderius, Colonel By 6:15.54
4x100 Relay 6th Colonel By 43.22
4x100 Relay Louis-Riel DQ