It is easy to understand why Laurentian Voyageurs’ freshman Chloe Casselman is still kind of figuring out the whole world of top-end cross-country running competitions. A competitive swimmer through much of her high-school days back home in Iroquois (almost halfway between Brockville and Cornwall), the first year Bio-Medical Biology major did not really begin to run distances until her grade 12 year, in the fall of 2025.
Somehow, she surged forward quickly, qualifying for OFSAA in her very first crack at provincials.
“Running just sort of came to me,” said Casselman, who broke through in a big way at the OUA Championships Saturday in Windsor, trailing only fifth year teammate Kylee Fowler among an L.U. women’s team that finished in 8th (of 12), their best showing of the season in the biggest of settings.
“I think it does have a lot to do with swimming, building cardio vascular pace. It must have done something. And I just really love running too, which helps a lot.”
On a day in which the five scoring Laurentian runners all crossed the line over a span covering from 43rd place (Fowler) to 56th place (Charlotte Grenier – with Casselman, Georgia Lepage and Charli Borak squeezed in between), Casselman enjoyed the most significant leap compared to her remaining races this fall.
“It still feels like I can do more,” said the young woman who is attending L.U. along with her twin sister (Katie), with both enrolled in the same program and both part of the Voyageurs XC roster.
“Every race, I just want to see how much better I can do. It feels like I am building off each race. In this one in particular, it was the first time I was leading the pack from Laurentian. Normally, I like to stick behind them, knowing I am on my pace.”
“This time, I was in front, so I thought: what do I do now?”
Fact is running within a large team environment is a new undertaking for Casselman, who teamed up with Katie to form the entirety of the senior girls cross-country team at South Greenville District High School last year.
“We didn’t have a team at OFSAA and I was just wishing I had someone with me, someone who could pat my back or run with me,” said Casselman. “Now, I’ve actually got that. I get to experience it every day at practice.”
After showing plenty of signs of positive trends over the course of the fall schedule, a young Laurentian men’s team struggled to match earlier results, sliding down to 11th place with the quartet of Brock, Waterloo, York and Ottawa all tightly bunched about 50 points ahead.
Four of the five scoring L.U. men are in first or second year in Sudbury, with the foursome of Braeden Estabrooks, Christian Myers, Owen McDougall and Natnael Mulugeta joined by fifth year veteran and local product Brandon Radey.
Following are full results for all 14 runners who represented Laurentian at the Ontario University Championships:
L.U. Women's team (8 kms)Kylee Fowler - 43rd - 31:42
Chloe Casselman - 44th - 31:45
Georgia Lepage - 49th - 32:06
Charli Borak - 52nd - 32:27
Charlotte Grenier - 56th - 32:40
Misaki Diavolitsis - 68th - 33:29
Makenzie Bailey - 69th - 33:30
L.U. Men's team (8 kms)
Braeden Estabrooks - 39th - 25:37
Christian Myers - 59th - 26:26
Brandon Radey - 63rd - 26:36
Owen McDougall - 64th - 26:37
Natnael Mulugeta - 67th - 26:40
T.J. Green - 84th - 27:55
Joshua Lafontaine - 89th - 28:23
Team Standings - Women
1st - McMaster Marauders - 40 pts
2nd - Windsor Lancers - 54 pts
3rd - Guelph Gryphons - 61 pts
4th - Queen's Gaels - 84 pts
5th - Western Mustangs - 156 pts
6th - U of Toronto Blues - 160 pts
7th - Ottawa Gee Gees - 195 pts
8th - Laurentian Voyageurs - 242 pts
9th - Brock Badgers - 251 pts
10th - Waterloo Warriors - 296 pts
11th - Laurier Golden Hawks - 302 pts
12th - Nipissing Lakers - 329 pts
Team Standings - Men
1st - McMaster Marauders - 30 pts
2nd - Guelph Gryphons - 68 pts
3rd - Western Mustangs - 81 pts
4th - Queen's Gaels - 83 pts
5th - Windsor Lancers - 124 pts
6th - U of Toronto Blues - 192 pts
7th - Brock Badgers - 230 pts
8th - Waterloo Warriors - 237 pts
9th - York Lions - 238 pts
10th - Ottawa Gee Gees - 245 pts
11th - Laurentian Voyageurs - 284 pts
12th - Laurier Golden Hawks - 364 pts
13th - Nipissing Lakers - 401 pts
