More than 1500 high-school athletes gathered Monday at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa, site of the 2024 OFSAA Cross-Country Championships.

The trails that run along the shoreline of the Rideau River were brimming with anxious teens, with the race schedule dictating that Novice Boys would compete in the third event (of seven) of the day.

With Lo-Ellen freshman Julian Luoma leading the way with a standout performance for the school that has seen many over the years, the SDSSAA contingent would shine in this particular age bracket, with no less than three separate runners finishing among the top 33 in the province.

(Julian Luoma (LEP) - 5th; Maxime Belzile (ESMC) - 21st; Lex Gorval (Champlain) - 33rd)

Unfortunately, the Sudbury momentum somewhat fizzled out there.

While there were a handful of other results that were certainly noteworthy as locals broke through on the biggest of stages, the fact is that no other division (with the exception of para – more on that in a bit) featured a Sudbury athlete who would slot in better than the 38th place.

In cracking the top-five in the Novice Boys race, Julian Luoma became the first LEP athlete to reach that standing or better since Ryan Bradshaw medalled in 1996. The performance by Luoma is the best seen on a local level since Calum Passi (Lasalle Secondary) captured bronze at the 2017 OFSAA XC Championships (Novice Boys).

"I didn't really know how fast they were going to be going into the race," noted the young man who is equally as accomplished as a nordic ski standout. "I mostly just stayed on a pace that I wanted and then tried to stick with people one at a time."

"I tried to stay in the top ten leading up to that big hill at the start, and from there, I was just trying to move up one place at a time to finish as high as I could."

And still, the best might be yet to come.

Lo-Ellen coach Colin Ward noted that his new young prodigee might be the most impressive grade nine athlete that he has ever worked with, simply in terms of endurance sports.Ward was even more excited when Luoma exclaimed that he can't wait to race again next fall - shortly after crossing the finish line this year.

"I have a very different training plan that I will be doing next year, more sprint oriented, focused on speed," said Luoma. "That was really what held me back in this race."

Finishing 45 seconds back but making his way to the top 25 (in a field of 270), Maxime Belzile was thrilled with the placement, one that he hoped for but tried not to cling to too dearly.

"I thought I could probably get top-60, but my goal was really a top-30," Belzile noted this week. "I was really proud of myself and thought I ran as good as I could. I wasn't really sure I could get top thirty, but I was really happy that I did."

If Belzile sounds somewhat more grounded than most grade nine runners taking their first crack at OFSAA, it might have something to do with is older brother Raphael, the young man who finally got the better of Shiloh Sauve in the senior boys race, the tandem placing 92nd and 102nd respectively with just ten seconds between them.

"He told me that runners there (at OFSAA) are really, really good and not to underestimate them," said Maxime, who is now preparing to attend the Athletics Ontario Cross-Country Championships as well as a member of the Track North Athletic Club.

Outside of the novice boys division, the next best SDSSAA (non-para) performance came courtesy of Carson Jewitt, the grade 10 student who also competes with the Sudbury U16 AAA Wolves.

Bypassing the city championships due to illness after earning gold at every preliminary race, Jewitt was still not 100% as he tackled the NOSSA course in Sault Ste Marie a little over a week ago.

“I was a lot better in Ottawa,” said Jewitt, who placed 10th at NOSSA but helped his team join the b>Lockerby Vikings as the representative junior boys squads in the north. “I knew in the Sault that I was there for like 4km and then I started to cough. I knew that I could run what I needed to run to win the north.”

“Going into OFSAA, I knew I could keep up with the guys in the north and then excel because I was feeling way better than I did at NOSSA.”

That confidence would give way to a race plan that was far more aggressive as Jewitt weaved his way through a field of 267 runners. “My plan going in was to come out with the middle pack because there’s a big hill right off the start and then push that hill and try and get into the top 75,” he said.

“Then, I would hang in and see what happens from there.”

With five SDSSAA runners in the top 150 of the division, the local junior boys contingent were as deep, if not as top-heavy as the novice lads.

Meanwhile, Lasalle Lancers continue to distinguish themselves on the Para front as Dante Ricketts finished 8th overall in the race that combines special needs youngsters from an intellectual, ambulatory and visual impairment standpoint. Joining Ricketts in that race, from a local perspective, were Sophia Carlson of Marymount as well as fellow Lancer, Summer Boyer.

The Lo-Ellen Park Knighs novice girls secured the only two top-150 slots in that grouping from a local perspective as Lia Paille followed up her victory at NOSSA by darting across the line in 58th place, with teammate Ewa Breckon next in line at 108th.

The SDSSAA senior girls also feature a sflip-flop of sorts as Lily Bignucolo saved her best for last.

While the Lo-Ellen senior finished 116th overall in a time of 26:39.25, Bignucolo was able to fend off Valérie Vaillancourt of Sacré Coeur, the young woman who claimed gold at both the city and NOSSA meets.

Just one notable to report in the junior girls race as Megan Pineau just barely slipped into the top 100, earning the 99th position with a time of 22:21.43.

Following is a complete listing (to the best of our abilities) of the SDSSAA runners who finished in the top-150 of their age group:

Novice Boys
5th – Julian Luoma (LEP) – 13:50.43
21st – Max Belzile (ESMC) – 14:35.75
33rd – Lex Gorval (CHMP) – 14:46.25
51st – Sam Lazare (LEP) – 15:02.68
146th – Peter Pagnutti (HOR) – 15:56.09

Novice Girls
58th – Lia Paille (LEP) – 16:56.60
108th – Ewa Breckon (LEP) – 17:53.60

Junior Girls
99th – Megan Pineau (LEP) – 22:21.43

Junior Boys
38th – Carson Jewitt (LEP) – 18:02.21
106th – Narayan Shukla (LEP) – 19:15.08
122nd – Matteo Ceccon (STB) – 19:26.66
124th – Ewan Duncan (LCS) – 19:27.78
139th – Gord Farrell (LCS) – 19:46.63

Senior Girls
116th – Lily Bignucolo (LEP) – 26:39.25
127th – Valerie Vaillancourt (SC) – 26:51.15
150th – Lea Maki (LEP) – 27:26.84

Senior Boys
92nd – Raphael Belzile (ESMC) – 21:57.34
102nd – Shiloh Sauve (LEP) – 22:02.93

Para Boys - Girls
8th - Dante Ricketts (LAS) – 17:59.80
37th – Sophia Carlson (MMT) – 23:44.94
67th – Summer Boyer (LAS) – 34:24.17