www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, September 27, 2012 · 30 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 NO TIME TO HESITATE: While the rest of the field fiddled with their watches at the start of the Oakville Half Marathon, Lucas McAneney (second from right) was more concerned with getting out ahead of the field. His strategy obviously worked. McAneney (below) was the first to break the tape, finishing in one hour, 10 minutes and 56 seconds -- more than two minutes ahead of fourtime champion Predrag Mladenovic -- to win the half marathon. STEVEN DER-GARABEDIAN SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Records fall at Oakville Half Marathon Alison Drynan's absence from the record book didn't last long. The Toronto runner, who established the women's 10K record for the Oakville Half Marathon, 10K and 2K in 2010, had her mark beaten by this year's winner Amanda McLeod of Port Colborne. McLeod shattered the record taking a whopping minute and 18 seconds off the previous best, finishing in 37 minutes and 39 seconds. McLeod finished more than four minutes ahead of last year's 10K champ, Mary Nash of London, who was second. But Drynan would establish another record when she crossed the finish line less than an hour later, setting a new standard in the half marathon with a time of one hour, 23 minutes and six seconds, taking one minute and eight seconds off the record set last year by Mississauga's Tammy Purdy. Oakville's Elizabeth Primrose also eclipsed Purdy's time, finishing in 1:24:04, on her way to a secondplace finish in the women's half marathon. With the victory in the half marathon, Drynan become the first runner to claim both a half marathon and 10K title at the Oakville race since it was established in 2007. In fact, Drynan is only the second repeat winner of any kind. The other runner to lay claim to multiple wins at the Oakville event is Predrag Mladenovic, who won the half marathon in four of the first five years the race was held. Mladenovic was denied a fifth title this year when Lucas McAneney crossed the line first in 1:10:56. The four-time champ was second in 1:13:22. Andrew Gutzmore, the only other person to win the half marathon besides Mladenovic, finished seventh. Oakville's Tyler Chacra cracked the top 10, finishing in 1:20:20. The reigning champ in the men's 10K was also relegated to second place when Mississauga's Sergio Raez Villanueva took the 10K title in 35:05, 27 seconds ahead of 2011 winner Joshua Kramer. See page 31 for more results from the race. Renouf brothers power Blades past Hamilton, extend win streak to six By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF For the past two seasons, the Oakville Blades have not had a player crack the top 35 in league scoring. Three weeks into the season, it's pretty clear that won't be the case this year. Jonah and Nathan Renouf sit atop the Ontario Junior Hockey League scoring race. Acquired from Milton in the off-season, the 18-yearold twin brothers have combined for at least six points in five of Oakville's seven games. They hit a new high when they each recorded a goal and four assists in Monday's 11-4 destruction of the Hamilton Red Wings. "Honestly, it's a surprise to me, too," said Jonah, whose 19 points lead his brother by two. "I didn't think we would make such an impact. It's gone way beyond my expectations." The same could be said of the young Blades, who have now won six straight since being edged 3-2 by Georgetown in the season opener and cracked the national top-20 rankings. After a strong season in Milton, the Renoufs earned scholarships to play at Quinnipiac next year. Rather than relax now that their future is settled, they worked even harder in the summer to make sure they are prepared for Division 1 hockey. They worked out at Beyond the Next Level and skated with OHL and OJHL players every day. Jonah said that has paid off in he and his brother adding some more speed. "We couldn't get that first step on guys last year but we're both seeing that extra quickness, which leads to more odd-man rushes." That has been particularly beneficial on the Blades' powerplay, which has racked up an astounding 17 power-play goals in the last four games, including eight in Hamilton on Monday. The Renoufs scholarships actually ended up benefitting the Blades. Quinnipiac suggested that it might serve their development better if they played on a team that practised more than once or twice a week, as Milton did. Now with the Blades, they've formed a potent line with Patrick Chore, whose hat trick Monday boosted his season goal total to eight, second most in the OJHL. But even on the rare occasion when the Blades top line isn't firing on all cylinders, Oakville has man- aged to have someone step up to fill the void. Friday, rookie Rory Bell, pointless in his first five games, exploded for three goals and two assists in an 8-4 win over North York. "He was telling us he was a goon," Renouf said with a laugh, "but he's a pretty wellrounded player. That whole line with (Kris) Bennett and (Matt) Alvaro, they're all 95s and 96s (birth years). It's pretty impressive to see them come together." Bennett also had five points, including a pair of goals, while Alvaro had three assists. Notes: Greg Campbell and Marc Silvestri each had a goal and two assists Monday... the Blades host Burlington Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. They follow that with road games in Georgetown Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Milton Sunday (3:30 p.m.)