This was a season for the ages for the trail runners wearing the black and gold of Collingwood Collegiate Institute (CCI).
The Cross-Country team managed to capture the regular season title as well as the three overall titles at the GBSSA Championships. To cap off the 2018 season, the Owls also brought back individual and team medals from the OFSAA all-Ontario Championships – the first time that has happened in school history.
After posting two Georgian Bay Cross-Country Race Series victories to open the season, the runners from CCI kept their momentum going to capture meet titles at Sunnidale Park in Barrie as well as at Little Lake Park in Midland. The sweep of all four series meets meant the coveted Golden Boot would again reside in Collingwood, signifying the series championship for the Owls.
In the end, CCI dominated the season standings with the Midget Girls and Junior Boys finishing in top spot in their series standings while the Senior Girls and Midget Boys finished second overall. To cap off a total team effort the Junior Girls were third as a team and the Senior Boys were fourth.
Hailey Abbott was crowned Midget Girls Champion for the season with four other CCI Midget Girls finishing in the top nine. Anna Carruthers was third in the Senior Girls division with Sanna Huyssen and Sofie Ohrling placing seventh and eighth respectively. Sage Fry was fifth in the Junior Boys standings.
Even given these strong individual performances, it was the total team effort of the Owls that captured the season and that was then on full display at the GBSSA Championships. CCI took to the trails of Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville and continued to dominate. The Midget Girls started the day, paced by Hailey Abbott’s individual GBSSA Championship, with a first place team finish. Cade McSorley then captured GBSSA gold as the Para Race Champion.
The Midget Boys’ race saw CCI finish second as a team clinching a spot at OFSAA for Taiga Young, Jack Garbutt, Oliver Goode, Ben Cornell and Jared Hodgkinson. The Junior Girls led by Kendall Lockhart, Lucy Kraychyk and Emma Cornell then added valuable points with a fourth place team finish just before the Junior Boys added the second GBSSA team Championship of the day. Sage Fry led the team followed by James MacCulloch, Josh Fagan, Cole Mitchell and Oliver Czerny.
The Senior Girls kept the winning ways rolling as they then raced to gold capturing the third race title of the day for CCI. Anna Carruthers led the charge with Sofie Ohrling, Sanna Huyssen, Ali McMullin and Sarah Foster adding their championship touches.
The Senior Boys led by Jack Czerny, Jake Korpi and Will Hurley finished fourth in an unbelievably tough division.
In the end, the Owls captured three team titles, the Overall Girls’ Championship, the Overall Boys Championship and the overall Combined GBSSA Championship. This was the second year in a row that that all three championships have rested at CCI.
In all, CCI qualified four teams and one individual for the OFSAA Championships at the Christie Lake Conservation Area in Dundas. On a cold November 3, the Owls posted a day to remember as they had one of, if not, the most successful trips to OFSAA in school cross-country history.
Collingwood Collegiate has OFSAA medalists like Cheri Titus, Jay Morrill and Heidi Ohrling in their past, but this OFSAA saw Collingwood athletes walk away with team as well as individual honours.
Battling the best in Ontario, each of the four teams representing CCI placed in the top half of their respective fields. The Midget Boys captured 20th in all of Ontario led by Jack Garbutt and Ben Cornell. The Junior Boys followed that up with a 15th place finish led by Cole Mitchell and Josh Fagan. The Senior Girls led by Anna Carruthers' stellar 22nd place result went on to grab 14th in Ontario.
Still, the results of the day included Cade McSorley who finished 2nd in Ontario in his Para race running 3 kilometers in just over 12 minutes.
Then, the highlight of the day was the Midget Girls team of Hailey Abbott, Leah Ray, Meghan Howell, Maddie Calder and Leah McGladdery who podiumed for the first time in Collingwood Collegiate history at OFSAA - taking third place with Hailey grabbing sixth place as an individual in Ontario.
