43| O akville B eaver | T hursday,N ovem ber 1,2018 insidehalton.com "She's a smart runner," added Andrew Ponsen. "The first half of the race she stayed close and tucked in between a couple of runners and let them do the work." And that may have very well been the difference down the stretch. Holy Trinity's Macken- zie Pearce took a different approach, removing any drama from the midget girls race. She ran the four- kilometre course in 17:13, finishing 49 seconds ahead of her closest rival. "She's a fabulous run- ner. Every practice, she gives her all," said Trinity coach Alyssa Richards. "The two kids we have that made OFSAA last year - she's been keeping up to them. She's been training with the senior girls, so she's been running six ki- lometres instead of the four. We see a lot of poten- tial." Pearce won cross-coun- try titles throughout ele- mentary school, but the potential her coach speaks of was on display when she finished third at the pre- OFSAA meet at the end of September. Running on the same course where the provin- cial championships will be held, the Burlington Track and Field Club member finished third. "I'm excited," she said of competing at OFSAA. "I know there will be more people there, so I'll run my best, and whatever I get, that will be good enough." Pearce took the individ- ual title, and the Loyola Hawks took the midget girls team title. While confident her team could qualify for OF- SAA, Loyola coach Barb Celestini was pleasantly surprised by the victory. GHAC was the first time this season the Hawks were able to have their en- tire team running in the same race. "We needed some young athletes to improve. I told them what we needed was for them to pass one more or two more people, and they all had fantastic rac- es," Celestini said. "Amelia (Cisnero) was eighth last week and finished fourth today, and the rest followed suit." Sophie Francuz was 16th, Maria Cornielle was 33rd and Maria Gamez was 38th, allowing Loyola to edge St. Thomas More 91- 95. Oakville schools claimed four of the six GHAC team titles, with Abbey Park sweeping the senior divisions. Top-10 finishes by Davis Rutledge (third) and Connor Bosy (ninth) paced the Eagles in the senior boys division. Joining them at OFSAA will be Arvin Bal (27th) and Blake Kinch (36th). Steph Evans' ninth- place finish led the Eagles girls team, while Hailey Barish was 20th, Frieda Piepp was 22nd and Sara Di Stefano was 32nd. St. Thomas Aquinas won the junior girls' title with four top-30 finishes. Rachel Marriott was the Raiders' top finisher in fourth, Kristen Clark was 15th, followed by Char- lotte King in 16th, and Alessandra Ishak was 27th. Qualifying for OFSAA were: Senior boys: Declan Adams, Blakelock (sec- ond); Iroquois Ridge: Eth- an Stuart (fifth), Arman- do Aguero (12th); Roland Filler (50th), Nael Ashraf (78th). Senior girls: Sandra Guga, White Oaks (sec- ond); Austine Wang, White Oaks (sixth); Maja Zbojar, Holy Trinity (sev- enth); Katie Schwindt, Blakelock (eighth); *Prar- thana Sarpal, Garth Webb (10th). Junior boys: Cormac Adams, Blakelock (fourth); Adam Gunner, Holy Trinity (fifth); Roman Testani, Iroquois Ridge (seventh); Bruce Liu, Aquinas (14th); Abbey Park: Brodin Drieger (13th), Ethan Turner (21st); Eric Sun (39th), David Ata- nasov (45th). Junior girls: Loyola: Victoria Percival (10th), Madison Anton (20th), Mackenzie Whiddup (25th), Isabelle Cresencia (26th). Midget boys: Dylan Fer- ri, Aquinas (fifth); Massi- mo Montarani, Abbey Park (eighth); *Sasha Han- son, White Oaks (12th). Midget girls: Lily McBride, Garth Webb (sixth); Emily Henahan, Sainte-Trinité (seventh); *Kyra Mediratta, White Oaks (12th). *Will qualify if placing is higher than the eighth individual qualifier from SOSSA championship. COMMUNITY Gabby Eastwood of King's Christian Collegiate chases down Bishop Reding's Hillary Bishop down the stretch in the junior girls' race at the GHAC cross-country championships. Eastwood caught Bishop, edging her by a split second to take the title. Herb Garbutt/Metroland Continued from page 42 PeaceMedal Nominations OPEN UNTIL OCTOBER 18! For more details and a nomination form, visit ymcaofoakville.org/peace Do you know a youth, adult or group making a difference in Oakville through their charitable work? Recognize their commitment to peace by nominating them for a 2018 YMCA Peace Medal ing a or a edal. ing a or a edal $500 awarded for their charitable work! Gabby Eastwood of King's Christian Collegiate chases down Bishop Reding's Hillary Bishop down the stretch in the junior girls' race at the GHAC cross-country championships. Eastwood caught Bishop, edging her by a split second to take the title. Herb Garbutt