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26 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell Broker of Record 905-844-4444 B R O K E R A G E I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008 Return to sender Eagles' Mathie makes history Runner wins school's first individual OFSAA cross-country medal By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER Loyola's Rich Cenedes (left) and Adam Pacheco go up to deny a hit by Holy Trinity's Vince Cambruzzi during Monday's Halton high school senior boys' volleyball playoff contest at Trinity. Loyola defeated the Titans 2-1 to advance to today's semifinal round. For more on the high school playoffs, including some interesting results in senior girls' basketball, see page 27. Dan Mathie earned Abbey Park's first individual OFSAA cross-country medal, turning in a third-place finish in the junior boys' race at last weekend's provincial high school championships in Sarnia. Mathie ran the 6.2-kilometre course in 20 minutes, 16 seconds -- just off the blazing pace he set in winning the Golden Horseshoe title two weeks ago -- to earn the bronze medal. While Abbey Park has earned two OFSAA team cross-country golds over the past two years, it had never had a runner crack the top three in the province. "That's quite impressive," said Eagles coach Greg Dailey, who believes it is the first even dating back to include Abbey Park's predecessor, Queen Elizabeth Park. "It was exciting. He just kept hanging in there." Mathie battled leaders Tristan Woodfine and Xavier King for the first four kilometers, before the two opened up a gap. Woodfine won in 19:41, while King came in at 19:56. There was no serious challenge to Mathie's medal, however, as he finished 13 seconds ahead of the next closest runner. "I was just trying to stick with them," Mathie said. "I knew if I could, I could medal." "Mentally, he's very strong," Dailey added, "and that race proved it. He did everything he could to stick with them but, physically, they were stronger." It will be building that strength that Mathie will focus on as he continues his season with the University of Toronto track club, which includes the upcoming Ontario Track and Field Association cross country championship in Toronto. The Abbey Park senior girls just missed adding another medal to their collection -- they won back- to-back golds in the junior ranks -- with a fourthplace finish. "It's tough," Dailey said. "I felt bad for them missing out on a medal as seniors. As a group, they ran very well. The third-place team (Our Lady of Lourdes), we knew they were a favourite and, of course, we knew Loyola, but first and second we hadn't seen all year." Gold medalist Sacred Heart (150 points) was the only school to get four runners across the line before Abbey Park, which finished with 244 points. Vincent Massey (175) was second and Our Lady of Lourdes was third (214). Corinne Smith finished 36th to lead the Eagles, followed by Julia Friesen (53rd), Brooke Johnston (74th) and Paige Zeniuk (81st). Loyola, who had edged the Eagles for the Golden Horseshoe title, placed sixth with Alicia Knox in 34th, Paulina Maher in 59th, Lindsay Bryant in 86th and Megan O'Neill was 96th. Another defending junior gold medalist narrowly missed a medal after making the jump to senior. St. Thomas Aquinas' Colleen Hennessy finished just two seconds behind Eden High's Heather Stuive in the race for the senior girls' bronze medal. Mathie's performance helped the Eagles junior boys' team finish 15th, while Loyola was 37th. The Eagles' senior boys' team was 32nd. Berkin Cetin of T.A. Blakelock was 21st and Lewis Kent of MacLachlan College was 57th in a field of 230 runners in the midget boys' race, while Claire Segeren of Iroquois Ridge was 32nd out of 235 runners in the midget girls' race. Abbey Park's midget boys' and girls' teams both finished 27th, though Dailey said the experienced gained will pay off in the future. Oakville Soccer Club www.oakvillesoccer.ca Be the first to play in Oakville's Brand New Indoor Soccer Centre!! Winter Indoor Soccer League January 12, 2009 - April 19, 2009 "New" State-of-the-Art Facility Pine Glen Indoor Soccer Centre U5 (2004) - U18 (1991) Youth Leagues Adult Ladies/Men Open (1990+) Adult Ladies/Men 35+ (1974+) Visit www.oakvillesoccer.ca for Complete Details & Days of Play Registration Online & In Person The Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club Sponsored by: