33| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 1,2018 theifp.ca 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Saturday Nov. 3rd, 2018 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters SportsPlex Georgetown Raiders vs. Toronto Jr. Canadians Nick Evangelho ran cross-country in elementa- ry school, but he didn't know what to expect in the longer high school races this year. He had never run a race longer than 2.5 kilometres, so making the jump to a four-kilometre course was a bit of an unknown. It turns out the first 2.5 kilometres may have just been a warmup. The Grade 9 Christ the King (CtK) stu- dent posted a 32-second vic- tory over teammate Simon Harris to take the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Con- ference midget boys' cross- country title, finishing in 15 minutes, 16 seconds. "I felt like I had to push myself," said Evangelho, who considers hockey and soccer his primary sports. What he's really ended up doing is pushing his teammates, though. Har- ris, who finished seventh a week earlier on the same Hilton Falls Conservation Area course at the pre- GHAC race, knocked 33 seconds off his time to take the silver medal. "He's always within the top 10, top five," said CtK coach Larua Zavaglia, "but today was his best race." The Jaguars placed five runners in the top 20 to claim the midget boys' championship and qualify for OFSAA, which will be held Nov. 3 at the Christie Conservation Area in Dun- das. "Right from the begin- ning of the year we knew they could do well. They're a great team and they push each other and that defi- nitely helps make everyone better, especially when you have Nick at the front," said Zavaglia. "It's a great target for them to have." In addition to the Jag- uars' one-two finish, Cody Merritt was ninth and Sea- mus Doherty was 12th. The Jaguars were so dominant that even adding in their next two runners, Mark Jeffery in 20th and Mark Dewmyn in 37th, CtK still would have topped their Guelph Street rivals, Georgetown, by four points. "A few of our guys stepped up to the competi- tion today," Evangelho said. It's a promising result for the Jaguars. Even with- out Evangelho running at the pre-OFSAA meet in September, CtK finished fourth among 53 teams. Harris finished 17th at the meet and had Evangelho finished with the same 32- second margin he had at GHAC, he would have placed sixth. That result would have bumped CtK up to second. "We're looking forward to seeing how they can do at OFSAA after their strong finish today," Zava- glia said. Georgetown is also heading to OFSAA after its second-place finish at GHAC. The team will con- sist of Teo Athanese (13th), Nolan Smith (15th), Rowan McDonald (22nd) and Eth- an Mattison (35th). CtK's senior girls' team, led by Hannah English's 12th-place finish, is also go- ing to OFSAA. Also on the GHAC silver medallist team is Autumn Klimsiak (25th), Emma Tutt (34th) and Sophie Walker (37th). CtK also had two indi- vidual qualifiers, Nicole Britton, who was fifth in the junior girls' race, and Eric Caricato, who was 10th in the junior boys' race. Georgetown's Michael Hamilton (11th in senior boys) and Abigail Short (11th in junior girls) may al- so advance. They secured the eighth individual qual- ifying spots and if their overall placing is better than the eighth individual from SOSSA, the other co- host conference for provin- cials, they will move on to OFSAA. COMMUNITY Christ the King's Nick Evangelho sprints toward the finish on his way to victory in the midget boys' race at the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference cross-country championship at Hilton Falls Conservation Area. Evangelho's win highlighted a Jaguars' team victory that saw Christ the King place five runners in the top 20. Herb Garbutt / Metroland EVANGELHO LEADS JAGUARS TO GHAC CROSS-COUNTRY TITLE HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com Meet the people in your neighbourhood. VISIT THEIFP.CA TO LEARN ABOUT LOCAL PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITY