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24 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 6, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2007 24 Forest Trail makes impressive debut Oakville's newest school didn't need much time to establish itself as a crosscountry power. Forest Trail earned four of the eight pennants in the Halton District School Board's East Junior Cross-Country Meet. E.J. James was the only multiple pennant winner in the senior event, taking two of the six pennants. Mitchell Gour and Nathan Darling turned in a one-two finish to pace Forest Trail's victory in the midget boys division while teammates Thomas Fields and Tom Watson repeated the feat in the tyke division. Forest Trail's closest victory was in the midget girls division. Forest Trail and West Oak tied with 25 points but it was Forest Trail that claimed the division title on a tiebreaker by placing five runners in the top 12 while West Oak's fifth runner was two spots back in 14th. Forest Trail also won the bantam boys division. West Oak edged Linbrook by two points to win the bantam girls division while Linbrook (atom girls), Sunningdale (tyke girls) and Post's Corners (atom boys) also claimed pennants. In the senior meet, E.J. James won the junior girls division by 53 points -- the widest margin of victory in either meet. E.J. James also won intermediate boys title. River Oaks edged Pilgrim Wood by two points to win the senior boys' division. Other pennant winners were W.H. Morden (intermediate girls), Montclair (senior girls) and Post's Corners (junior boys). Top three finishers in each race were: Junior meet Midget girls: 1. Hanna McClean, West Oak; 2. Paige Canning, Forest Trail; 3. Taylor Ann Ioannou, Abbey Lane. Midget boys: 1. Mitchell Gour, FT; 2. Nathan Darling, FT; 3. Brodie Schell, WO. Bantam girls: 1. Courtney Evans, Sunningdale; 2. Maddy Seatle, W.H. Morden; 3. Georgia Braunstein, AL. Bantam boys: 1. Ben Everett, River Oaks; 2. Michael MacDonald, FT; 3. Oliver Chau, Pinegrove. Atom girls: 1. Courtney Prichard, Linbrook; 2. Julia D'Amica, Heritage Glen; 3. Sam Heard, Joshua Creek. Atom boys: 1. Matthew Fitzpatrick, Pilgrim Wood; 2. Malik Arab, PC; 3. Robbie Andison, Lbrk. Tyke girls: 1. Katelyn Kingston, RO; 2. Tasha Beaudoin, Sun; 3. Mabel Dunn, Sun. Tyke boys: 1. Thomas Fields, FT; 2. Tom Watson, FT; 3. Brett Varey, Lbrk. Senior meet Junior girls: 1. Lindsay Stenason, FT; 2. Bethany Greer, E.J. James; 3. Lacretia Antwi, Heritage Glen. Junior boys: 1. Graham Appleby, RO; 2. Xarius Jasavala, PC; 3. Matt Gima, PC. Intermediate girls: 1. Carly Donnely Amaroso, WHM; 2. Alyssa Bull, EJJ; 3. Lane Ripco, Falgarwood. Intermediate boys: 1. David Watson, FT; 2. Yousef Elsoheny, EJJ; 3. Austin Wright, Pgrv. Senior girls: 1. Kinley McNicoll, PW; 2. Alex Abrahams, Montclair; 3. Julia Lombardi, HG. Senior boys: 1. Lucas Boyce, PW; 2. Tommy Hong, Pgrv; 3. Jordan Milner, PC. WHEELING TOWARD CHINA: Oakville's Josh Cassidy, seen here racing at the Canadian nationals in Windsor, is hoping to earn a spot on Canada's team for the Paralympic Games in Beijing next year. His recent success has him ranked among the top seven racers in the world and earlier this summer he set a new Canadian record in the 5000-metre at a meet in Atlanta. Cassidy sets sights on Beijing By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Earlier this summer, Josh Cassidy found himself doing battle with the best in the world at the Meet in the Heat in Atlanta. As the 5000-metre wheelchair race progressed, Cassidy was amazed at the pace being set. He glimpsed at a track side display that showed the leader clocking in at 34 kilometres per hour -- 2 km/h quicker than the pace usually set by the lead racers. And Cassidy was right there with them. Challengers faded as the race progressed but Cassidy stuck with the lead pack. By the final lap, there were only six vying for the lead. As they came down the stretch, Cassidy battled with Alain Fuss of France. At the line, Fuss edged Cassidy by less than two-tenths of a second for fifth place. But any thoughts of disappointment vanished quickly. "I looked up at the clock and I couldn't believe it," he said There was his time -- 9:58.13. Until that day, nobody had ever broken the 10-minute mark. The top six racers had eclipsed the world record time by more than three seconds. "I knew it was fast," the 22-year-old said. "I was just hoping to hang in there and get a qualifying time." Although England's Dave Weir emerged with the new world record of 9:54.82, Cassidy had established a new Canadian standard. Since making the national team last year, Cassidy has gained valuable experience competing at international events. That experience plus an increased training schedule and more attention to nutrition have helped him join the world's elite. His time in Atlanta was more than a minute better than the time he posted in winning the Canadian title. "It wasn't until this year that I started thinking that a medal was a possibility," Josh Cassidy Cassidy said. "I'm happy to reach that level but I'm still aiming higher." He is currently ranked between fifth and seventh in the world in four events -- the 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. That has put the Oakville racer in great position to be named to Canada's entry for the Paralympic Games in Beijing. The team won't be named until July so in the meantime, Cassidy will continue to push for better times to remove any doubt. "They are always pushing us harder so even though I'm ranked fifth or sixth, it's not guaranteed. It will depend on the qualifying times they set. They're still expecting more but I have a lot of faith in my ability." His recent results have only strengthened that faith. Last weekend in Manchester, England, Cassidy finished third in the Great North Race. "The guy who won that race has been winning 90 per cent of the races," he said. "They were the top guys in the world and I held in there with them." Cassidy will have three more races to close the season. He will compete at the Canadian road championships, a 10-kilometre race. He will then defend his title at the Detroit Marathon, a race he has won the past two years. He will cap the season at the New York Marathon in November. Cassidy will then head to Australia to train. When he returns to Canada, his focus will be on improving his times. Although he's had great success in the past year -- a gold in the 5,000m, silver in the 800m and bronze in the 400m at the Canadian track and field championships -- his performance in Atlanta now has him looking to put up similar results on the world stage. "I look at some of the big meets and when I get a gold medal, it's a great reward but I'm already looking ahead," he said. "I do take the time to appreciate it, I'm just not satisfied with it."