London’s Ian McAllister wins back-to-back Ontario highschool XC championships

On Nov. 4, distance runner Ian McAllister from London, Ont. etched his title within the historical past books on the 2023 Ontario Excessive College XC Championships (OFSAA XC), held at Toronto’s Centennial Park. He gained his second consecutive OFSAA XC title.

McAllister’s second straight victory was historic, as he grew to become solely the twelfth runner since 1957 to win two consecutive Ontario highschool XC titles. His achievement locations him in an unique membership, alongside Canadian operating legends reminiscent of Moh Ahmed, Kevin Sullivan and Bruce Kidd, who’ve additionally completed this uncommon feat.

Final 12 months, McAllister gained the senior boys title in a tightly contested picture end. This 12 months, dealing with the problem of defending his title, McAllister delivered one other stellar efficiency, crossing the end line in 18 minutes and 21 seconds. He outpaced Brockville’s Travis Gaffney, who took second place, trailing 13 seconds behind. Toronto’s David Jiang took the bronze, ending in 18:40.

In a post-race interview with RunnerSpace, McAllister revealed his plans to proceed racing after his OFSAA win at Athletics Canada XC Nationals and at a number of meets within the U.S. His older brother, Heath, is at present in his freshman 12 months on the College of Michigan, competing on their monitor and area workforce. Notably, Heath represented Workforce Canada within the U20 race on the 2023 World XC Championships in Bathurst, Australia.

The Ontario highschool cross-country championships are famend as one of many premier highschool meets in North America. Quite a few former OFSAA champions have gone on to characterize Workforce Canada on the Olympic Video games and World Athletics Championships, reminiscent of Ben Flanagan (2012), Justyn Knight (2013), Gabriela DeBues-Stafford (2012) and Kate Van Buskirk (2005).

Within the girls’s senior 6K occasion, rising expertise Emily Cescon of Toronto secured victory with an 11-second lead over her shut good friend and coaching accomplice, Stephanie Bertram. Each Cescon and Bertram prepare collectively below coach Ethan Davenport on the Toronto Observe Membership, though they compete towards one another in highschool competitions. Each athletes have dedicated to the College of Michigan to additional their athletic careers in 2024, coaching below former Canadian middle-distance runner Kevin Sullivan.

Hanna Hollins from Pickering accomplished the ladies’s senior 6K podium in 21:39.

Males’s 4K novice

William Thomas – 12:43 (Riverdale Collegiate, Toronto)
Timothy Woods – 12:46 (Denis Morris HS, St. Catharines, Ont.)
Emmett Leary – 12:53 (Georgian Bay SS, Midland, Ont.)

Girls’s 4K novice

Rebecca Pribaz – 14:12:40 (Northern SS, Toronto)
Kate Nagy – 14:16:40 (Newmarket HS, Newmarket, Ont.)
Micah Carswell – 14:26:91 (Père-René-de-Galinée SS, Cambridge, Ont.)

Males’s 5K junior

Brody Clark – 14:34:30 (Milton District HS, Milton, Ont.)
William Scharf – 14:40:47 (Riverdale Collegiate, Toronto)
Jack Gregory – 14:43:68 (Napanee SS, Higher Napanee, Ont.)

Girls’s 5K junior

Eleanor Voykin – 15:50 (Birchmount Park HS, Toronto)
Riley Innes – 16:30 (Sir William Mulock HS, Newmarket, Ont.)
Keiva Birmingham – 17:12 (Northern SS, Toronto)

5 up-and-coming Canadian feminine athletes it’s best to observe

Males’s 6K senior

Ian McAllister – 18:21 (London Central, London, Ont.)
Travis Gaffney – 18:34 (St Mary’s HS, Brockville, Ont.)
David Jiang – 18:40 (Higher Canada Faculty, Toronto)

Girls’s 6K senior

Emily Cescon – 21:25 (De La Salle Faculty, Toronto)
Stephanie Bertram – 21:34 (Lawerence Park, Toronto)
Hanna Hollins – 21:39 (Dunbarton HS., Pickering, Ont.)

Combined Para 4K

High male: Anthony Cigan – 14:39 (St. Joeseph CHS, Thomas, Ont.)
High feminine: Ella Heeler – 19:05 (Regiopolis-Notre Dame SS, Kingston, Ont.)

For full outcomes from the 2023 OFSAA XC Championships, please refer right here.