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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, June 13, 2013 | 30 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports S E B A L L F I N A L "Connected to your Community" T I E R 2 B A Loyola runner masters 800m distance in less than a month OFSAA gold and bronze complete medal set for first-year student O'Neill by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff Wildcats claim first-ever Halton baseball title by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Edging away from third base, White Oaks baserunner Eric McLeod quickly but carefully measured the situation. A teammate had just struck out on a pitch that bounced in the dirt, and Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers catcher Ryan Kosmynka had to throw the ball to first base to complete the out. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 x R H E 3 8 4 5 6 1 Iroquois Ridge White Oaks As soon as Kosmynka released the ball, McLeod broke for home, easily beating the return throw with a feet-first slide. "When (Kosmynka) took a few steps away from home plate, I knew I had my chance. I didn't think he could get back in time," said the 17-year-old McLeod, who had legged out a triple to begin the fourth inning. "I knew I was in there." It was just one play in Tuesday's Halton high school baseball Tier 2 final at Oakville Park, but it was a textbook example of the safe but aggressive mentality that helped make the Wildcats so successful this year. White Oaks stole eight other bases on the afternoon and made three key defensive plays to win its first-ever regional baseball championship with a 5-3 victory over the Trailblazers, completing an unbeaten Halton campaign (11-0) after winning two games in the previous two seasons combined. "We compiled four quality coaches this year, which is pretty unheard of (in high school baseball). Just having that many good coaches come out to a team brings out so many players," said White Oaks head coach Joe Prokopec, who was assisted this season by Ryan Candlish, Ben Lander and Ryan McLaughlin. "We felt bad we had to make so many cuts this year, but it allowed us to put the talent on the field we did and to run practices properly." Prokopec said 34 students tried out for the Wildcats squad, and he kept 19 on the roster. "In years past, it's been a struggle to win a game or two," right fielder Thomas Radigan said. "To go undefeated and play as well as we played, it definitely feels really good." White Oaks made the most of its six hits Tuesday, manufacturing runs and capitalizing on nearly every opportunity. Radigan was at the center of the Wildcats see Ridge on p.31 The White Oaks Wildcats won their first-ever Halton baseball championship Tuesday. In top photo, Blake Donaldson high-fives teammates after scoring a run. In bottom photo, Eric McLeod lunges to make a spectacular catch.| photos by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Kristin O'Neill couldn't help herself. She knew she was just supposed to keep her eyes forward and run. But as she rounded the final turn, she couldn't help but sneak a peak at the rest of the field. "I think she just wants to have that reassurance that no one is going to catch her," said Loyola track coach Barb Celestini. As she raced down the final stretch, O'Neill could hear her mom in the stands cheering her on. She took another look back before crossing the line and, indeed, there would be no catching her on this day. Just 17 days earlier, O'Neill had run the 800 metres for the first time. Now she was the provincial high school champion. In a little over two weeks, O'Neill had knocked more than 13 seconds off her time, Kristin O'Neill OFSAA midget girls' 800m champ improving from two minutes, 24.99 seconds at the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference championships to 2:11.76 Saturday at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations meet in Oshawa. The Grade 9 student's time was just over two seconds shy of the OFSAA midget girls' record. That mark might have been in jeopardy had she been challenged down the stretch. "If someone was right beside me I probably could have gone faster, but that was pretty much my fastest," O'Neill said. Celestini said O'Neill had not really been pushed at previous meets so she was not surprised to see her elevate her performance against stiffer competition. A day earlier, O'Neill eclipsed the OFSAA record in the 1,500m when she ran 4:35.79, a whopping 16 seconds better than her time at the south regional meet. see Ability on p.31 If someone was right beside me, I probably could have gone faster.