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36 Sports Oakville Beaver Atom A Rangers win tournament PAGE 42 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2006 Eagles roll to Halton cross-country title Loyola, Holy Trinity also qualify teams for upcoming OFSAA meet By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Having just won his race by a substantial margin, Danny Francis paused briefly to catch his breath before making a U-turn and jogging back across the field. "At first, I needed to chill for a second," said the 17-yearold Abbey Park High School student. "Then I had to go cheer my boys on." Francis and his Eagles teammates had plenty to cheer about Wednesday, winning the overall team title at the Halton/Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference cross-country championships at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Abbey Park won the junior girls', junior boys' and senior girls' divisions, adding a second-place finish in senior boys' competition. Loyola and Holy Trinity also qualified teams for the upcoming Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations meet in Thunder Bay. The top two four-person teams in each age division earned spots at provincials, as did the best three individuals not on one of the qualifying teams. Francis, who developed his stamina as a rep soccer player before quitting Brooke Johnston the sport to focus on running, won the senior boys' race with a time of 23:37 -- 42 seconds faster than second-place finisher David Arango of Notre Dame. "I've been working really hard this season. I think I deserve that," Francis said. "(The key) is determination. You just have to see the end and get there as quick as you can." Abbey Park's Brooke Johnston and Loyola's Paulina Maher were the other locals to win races at the meet. Johnston got off to a fast start in the midget girls' race, then held off St. Thomas Aquinas' Colleen Hennessy and Robert Bateman's Jill Makins down the stretch. Hennessy finished second, one second behind Johnston, with Makins placing third. Paulina Maher "It hurt during the race but it was worth it," the 14-year-old Johnston said. "I've improved a lot over the season. I was 16th in my first race, and I just got better from there." Maher, meanwhile, enjoyed a comfortable victory in the junior girls' race, crossing the line in 14:52. Abbey Park's Julia Friesen finished second, 27 seconds off the pace, and Alicia Knox of Loyola came third. Maher's victory was her third in five meets this season, with Friesen winning the other two. "We're back and forth, head to head, every race," said Maher. "I know her because we used to play soccer together... it's friendly competition. There's a lot of talent in Oakville this year. It's actually really nice." Iroquois Ridge's Steph MacNeill was the top local finisher in the senior girls' race, earning her spot at OFSAA with a second-place showing. This will be her second straight trip to provincials, following a 74th-place performance (out of 234) in 2005. "I was training a lot this summer so I knew I had a chance," the 16-year-old said. "Everyone's been so supportive." In team competition, Loyola barely edged Georgetown for the second and final OFSAA spot in the midget girls' division. The Hawks finished with a total of 55 (calculated by adding the placing of the school's top four runners), with Georgetown totaling 57. Loyola's Megan Thackray finished 18th, but was only two seconds ahead of the 20thplace runner. Had she finished 20th, the Hawks would have tied with Georgetown and would have lost the OFSAA spot in a tiebreaker. "You're trying to (finish) as fast as you can, even though you know you're probably not in the top four (of your team)," Thackray said, "just in case someone falls." Despite not having a single runner in the top 13 of the midget boys' race, Holy Trinity earned its way to provincials with a total of 71 -- 42 ahead of Georgetown. "We all had a good race," said 14-year-old Brandon Barbeau, the Titans' top finisher with a 14th-place outing. "(OFSAA) will be hard, it's the best teams from Ontario. I'm just happy to be there and I'll do my best." OFSAA is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4. Following is a complete list of local top-10 finishers, as well as OFSAA-bound athletes, from the Halton/GHAC meet (individual OFSAA qualifiers in italics, team OFSAA qualifiers in bold): Midget girls 1. Brooke Johnston, Abbey Park; 2. Colleen Hennessy, St. Thomas Aquinas; 4. Chantelle Robbertse, King's Christian Collegiate; 9. Megan O'Neill, Loyola; 12. Courtney Heffernan, Loyola; 16. Catharina Sobotta, Loyola; 18. Megan Thackery, Loyola; 25. Katie Lowe, Loyola. Midget boys 2. Jordan North, Abbey Park; 6. Scott Downing, Iroquois Ridge; 10. Brennan McNicoll, White Oaks; 14. Brandon Barbeau, Holy Trinity; 15. Joshua Villa, Holy Trinity; 19. Felipe Rico, Holy Trinity; 23. Bruno Paric, Holy Trinity; 82. Kevin Berk, Holy Trinity. Junior girls 1. Paulina Maher, Loyola; 2. Julia Friesen, Abbey Park; 3. Alicia Knox, Loyola; 4. Jade Johnson, Abbey Park; 5. Ailey Jarvis, Abbey Park; 6. Corinne Smith, Abbey Park; 7. Lindsay Bryant, Loyola; 8. Karina Sils, Oakville Trafalgar; 9. Sarah Malone, Abbey Park; 10. Hannah Reinholt, T.A. Blakelock; 11. Ariane Morency Charbonneau, Loyola; 35. Melanie Cote Lecours, Loyola. Junior boys 2. Nathaniel Green, Abbey Park; 4. Iain Fobes, Abbey Park; 5. Graeme Scott, King's Christian Collegiate; 11. Brett Jones, Abbey Park; 13. Tyler ior Amos, Abbey Park; 17. Robert Logan, Abbey Park. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER ROAD RUNNER: Abbey Park's Danny Francis easily won the sen- See Cross-country page 43 boys' race at Wednesday's Halton/Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference cross-country meet. 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