The following article was submitted by the Collingwood Collegiate Institute Cross-Country team.
The Collingwood Collegiate Institute (CCI) Fighting Owls Cross-Country team has soared through the first half of the Georgian Bay Cross-Country Race Series and also proved they are strong contenders in the province overall with a strong showing at the recent Birchmount Invitational where they placed all six teams on the podium.
The local Georgian Bay Series has reached its mid-season point with meets hosted at Blueberry Trails in Wasaga Beach and at Sunnidale Park in Barrie.
The outstanding early fall weather has suited the Owls well as they have raced to first-place finishes in all six races at each of the meets thus far. The Black and Gold sit atop the Golden Boot standings for the overall team title halfway through the season and have 14 runners ranked in the top five of their respective race divisions.
The novice boys are paced by Alistair Wark who has two race victories to his credit with Lane van der Valk finishing second in both of the Series races.
On the girls’ side, Iris Green and Micah Abbott have taken turns leading their fields finishing first and second in the first two races.
Meanwhile, Adalyn Farnand has a third and fifth to her credit, which adds to an outstanding team rounded out by Lucy Davis.
Also of note is that both the boys’ and girls’ teams have great depth with the novice girls notably sweeping the podium with three of their teams at the most recent meet.
In junior action, the boys’ team of Cole Rouse, Logan Wood, Liam McFarlane, Nolan Liotta, Blake Shaw and Cole Elmes have taken first-place honours in each of the first two meets.
Likewise, the female Owls led by Stella Lennox have captured top spot in their two races with Julia Lehmann, Beatrice Cheek, Leyah Carey and Rachael MacMillan all contributing to the team victories.
The seniors have also proven to be great role models and they have put together solid team performances to stand first overall in their respective divisions.
Johnny Liotta has led the senior boys in the series races with Nathan Sims, Evan Moore, Memphis Palmer Gummer and Evan Pollack all contributing to the back-to-back wins.
The senior girls have also put forth two outstanding races to start the season with two victories created by Sabine Cornell, Ruby File, Sadie Johnson, Sofia Mundle, Elly Moore, Kenzi Wall and Alice Yates.
During the recent “bye week” in the series schedule, the Fighting Owls travelled south to take on some of Toronto’s best schools including Riverdale, Monarch Park, Chaminade and Malvern, among others.
In the end, Collingwood produced six podium finishes over the six races to end up tied for the overall team title at the meet.
The novices set the tone for success on the day with the girls finishing second as a team led by Micah Abbott (fourth), Iris Green (fifth) and Adalyn Farnand (ninth). The boys then went on to take first as a team paced by outstanding performances by Alistair Wark (second) and Lane van der Valk (third).
The Juniors then continued the CCI success with the girls' team taking bronze while the boys were snagging a silver.
Stella Lennox (10th), Beatrice Cheek and Julia Lehmann led the Girls’ squad while the Boys’ pack of Cole Rouse, Nolan Liotta, Liam McFarlane and Cole Elmes combined for their successful result.
The senior girls ran to an impressive third-place finish despite being short several team members. Outstanding runs by Ruby File (fourth), Sadie Johnson (sixth), Alice Yates and Rae LeBlanc manufactured the fine placing.
The senior boys then capped the event with the second Black-and-Gold victory of the day. Wes MacMillan led the first place team finishing third overall, followed by Johnny Liotta (ninth), Nathan Sims and Memphis Palmer-Gummer.
The Owls now look to keep their focused training going to prepare for the season’s second half which will eventually lead to the GBSSA Championships set for Oct. 24 at Highlands Nordic in Duntroon.
The top finishers there will then have the opportunity to take on Ontario’s best at the OFSAA Championships on Nov. 4 in Ottawa.
