2012 STL-TFC Annual Awards

Congratulations to the following athletes for their outstanding accomplishments this year.

• Best Bantam: Hayden Bell
• Best Midget: Noah Rolph
• Best Youth: Mikeisha Bobb
• Best Junior: Riley Bell
• Best Senior: Matt Brisson

• Rookie of the Year: Jake Fraggis
• Most Improved: Noah Rolph
• Sportmanship: Daniel Liu
• Jim Young Award: Cathy Freeman

• Female Athlete of the Year: Ally Gonzalez
• Male Athlete of the Year: Matt Brisson

All of these athletes had excellent results throughout the year but particular mention goes to 2 athletes that were also strong considerations for the Male Athlete of the Year Award. In any given year, both Noah Rolph and Riley Bell had notable performances throughout their year which would have earned them the overall title - any year but 2012. Noah´s year resulted in 7 Provincial Medals and 2 National Silver Medals. Riley produced 2 Provincial Medals as well as 2 National Medals - 1 Gold, 1 Silver. Matt Brisson´s strong year resulting in a National Gold Medal at the Canadian Olympic Trials ultimately tipped the scales in his favour. Training and competing at the Senior level and with the goal of making it to the Olympics takes an extreme amount of commitment, dedication, and sacrifice. Although Matt missed the Olympic standard by a mere 0.27 seconds, he showed all of Canada that he is ready for the World stage and we will now wait and watch for “Rio 2016”. Congratulations once again to all our award winners and congratulations Matt!

Athletics Canada/RCL Youth Championships 2012
Charlottetown, PEI, August 16-18, 2012

The 2012 outdoor season wrapped up in Charlottetown, PEI with 4 STL athletes competing at the National Youth Championships. This finale produced 2 more medals to cap off a very successful summer.

Noah Rolph, competing with the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario team, came home with 2 Silver medals. This was an impressive accomplishment for his first National competition. His Silver medal performances came in Discus (47.85m) and Hammer Throw (49.65 m).

Jake Fraggis had 2 top 6 finishes in the Javelin and Hammer throw and placed 10th in Discus and by improving his personal best in both events. Breaking into the top 10 was a very respectable accomplishment considering Jake only recently started training in both Discus and Hammer throw. This was also Jake's first competition at the National level.

Mikeisha Bobb placed 7th in the 100mH final with a new PB of 14.53. She also placed 7th in the 300mH, again PB'ing with a time of 44.73 and winning her section by a good margin.

It was a long but very productive 2012 outdoor season for our STL athletes (and coaches) and we congratulate all for their hard work and successful outcomes. We can now relax for some well deserved "down time" over the next couple of weeks and look forward to the excitement of a new season beginning this fall.

BMY Supermeet 2012
St. Catherines, ON, August 4-5, 2012

The 2012 outdoor season has produced STL's highest Provincial medal count in over a decade when combing the totals of all age categories. Our younger STL athletes finished adding to our total at the AO BMY Provincial Championships this past weekend. Head Coach Harry Stantsos and one of STL's throws coaches Matt Harris, travelled to St. Catharines to coach 8 STL athletes to 6 more Provincial medals.

Noah Rolph accounted for 3 of these medals in the Midget Boys category with Gold medals in both Hammer Throw and Discus and a Bronze medal in Javelin. Throwing teammate Jake Fraggis contributed with a Gold in Midget Boys Javelin. Youth athlete Mikeisha Bobb continued to add to the medal count with a Silver in the Girls 100mH and a Bronze in the 300mH. Our youngest athletes at the competition, Hayden Bell and Justyn McQuiggan both won Bronze medals in their events to bring the total weekend medal count up to 6.

Noah's 2 Gold medal performances of 50.81m in Hammer Throw and 50.08m in Discus were both new PB's and new club records. Noah's teammate Jake is a new comer to STL with this being his first appearance at an AO Provincial Championship. Jake threw 45.00m for a trip to the top of the podium in Midget Boys Javelin. He also placed 4th in Hammer Throw and 6th in Discus in his category.

Mikeisha won her Silver medal by running 14.67 in the Youth Girls 100mH Final. She earned her Bronze medal in the 300mH, PB'ing by a whole second, by running her race from the slower heat to finish with in a time of 45.33. She also had a PB in the 200m (26.36), placing her 11th out of 41 competitors.

Bantam athlete Justyn McQuiggan was attending his first AO Provincial Championship as well and PB'd in both the 800m and 1200m. His time of 2:41.25 in the 800m earned him a Bronze medal while his time of 4:16.91 in the 1200m gave him a new club record.

Rounding out our medal winners was our youngest competitor, Hayden Bell. Hayden is an Atom athlete, competing one age category up as a Bantam this season and in many cases competing against other athletes 2 years older than himself. Hayden earned his Bronze medal in the 80mH with a new PB of 14.85. He also PB'd in the 200mH finishing 4th with a time of 35.07.

Rachael Wolfs also PB'd in the Youth Girls 300mH with a time of 48.25.

Noah, Jake, Mikeisha and Rachael will be heading to PEI next weekend for the Canadian Youth Championships and we wish them the best of luck in their final competition of the season. Our younger athletes are now done their outdoor season but we congratulate them for their excellent showings this summer and we look forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the years to come as they move their way up through the ranks.

STL Brings Home More Gold!
Canadian Junior Championships
Winnipeg, MB, July 26-28, 2012

Riley Bell has now gained a reputation for making his competitions both exciting and full of suspense. It started with OFSAA, then AO Provincials, and now Junior Nationals.

On day 2 of the Canadian Junior Championships held in Winnipeg again this year, Riley achieved a silver medal in the Men's Long Jump with a jump of 7.07m. This would be his first trip to the podium.

The suspense came on day 3 in the Men's Triple Jump. After Riley faulted his first 2 jumps, he conservatively jumped on his third attempt to make top 8 and proceed to the next round. It wasn't until his 6th and final jump of the competition that Riley dug deep giving his best effort to "fly" past his competition with a new PB of 14.57m, earning him the Gold medal and a trip to the top of the podium.

STL had 5 athletes in total competing this past weekend at Junior Nationals. Conner Hodgins advanced to the final in Men's Long Jump finishing 8th with at jump of 6.37m. Ally Gonzalez advanced to the final in the Women's 400mH finishing 4th with a time of 1:02.29. Charles Nguyen finished 8th in Hammer Throw with a distance of 52.36m and our Youth athlete, Mikeisha Bobb just missed the final in the Women's Sprint Hurdles by one spot.

Mikeisha still has her big competitions ahead of her in the Youth category with AO Provincial Youth Championships this coming weekend in St Catharines and the Canadian Youth Championships August 17-19th in PEI.

Congratulations to our Junior athletes for a successful outdoor season and we look to continue to support our younger athletes as they prepare for their championships in the final weeks ahead.

AO Jr/Sr Provincial Championships
Ottawa, ON, July 14-15, 2012

The ride back from Ottawa this past weekend was a little heavier on the way home from the AO Jr/Sr Provincial Championships with our STL athletes carrying 6 Provincial medals. We had 11 athletes competing with some impressive results. STL came home with 3 Golds, 2 Silvers, and a Bronze, as well as 4 PB's and 3 new outdoor club records.

Our Gold medals came from all three areas of our sport - running, jumping, and throwing! Riley Bell lead the way with a Gold medal in the Jr. Men's long jump with a mark of 7.09m. Riley's Gold was soon followed by Matt Brisson's performance in the Sr. Men's 110mH. Matt, the recently crowned Canadian Champion in his event, although running with a mild injury, still managed an impressive time of 13.85 to once again make it to the top of the podium. The next day it was Charles Nguyen's turn at the top of the podium for his performance in the Jr. Men's Hammer Throw. Charles dug deep and came up with a huge PB, throwing 60.51m to capture the third STL Gold. His throw was also a new club record.

Our Silver performances came from Riley Bell in the Jr. Men's Triple Jump and Ally Gonzalez in the Jr. Women's 400m Hurdles. Riley jumped 14.24m for a new PB and club record. Ally finished her race with a time of 61.15, also a new PB for her by 1.5 seconds.

Brent Bates was STL's Bronze medalist in the Sr. Men's 400mH with a time of 53.28.

Other top 10 finishes came from Conner Hodgins who was 4th in the Jr. Men's long jump (6.56m), a Youth athlete Mikeisha Bobb who came 6th in the Jr. Womens 100mH (15.11), Nicole Courtney who was 6th in the Sr. Women's 100mH (15.33) and Charles Nguyen who finished 8th in the Jr. Men's Discus (42.29m)

In accompanying Youth class competition, Mikeisha finished 3rd in the 300mH with a time of 46.31, and Rachel Wolfs came in 6th in the 100mH running 15.76.

Congratulations to all our STL athletes who rose above and overcame such extreme summer heat and humidity conditions throughout the championships to achieve some outstanding results. Way to go guys!

RCL Provincial Championships
Oshawa, ON, June 20-21, 2012

STL's young thrower Noah Rolph may be new to Hammer Throw but after only his 2nd competition in this event, he now has a new RCL Provincial meet record. Noah competed at the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Provincial Championships capturing the Gold medal with a throw of 49.56m, breaking the previous record by a full 4 metres. His performance earned him a spot on the Ontario Provincial Legion team that will head to Charlottetown, PEI in August for the RCL Canadian Championships. Noah will also be representing Ontario competing in Javelin and Discus. Congratulations to Noah for a tremendous achievement and we wish him all the best in PEI.

Congratulations to Noah for a tremendous achievement and we wish him all the best in PEI.

Senior Canadian Championships/Olympic Trials
Calgary, AB, June 27-30, 2012

STL's Head Coach, Harry Stantsos and 5 senior STL athletes made the trip to Calgary this past weekend for the National Championships which also serve as the qualifying trials for the 2012 Olympics Games in London, England.

Matt Brisson ran a very impressive race in the 110mH with a time of 13.73 which earned him the Gold medal. Matt set his sights on the top of the podium after winning the Bronze medal last year and has been focussed on this race for quite some time. Over the past year he has put in the hard work and made the sacrifices to achieve a Gold medal performance and become the National Champion in his event. The time of 13.73 was a new PB, a new club record, and ranks him as the 7th all time Canadian in this event. Congratulations Matt!

Jacqueline Rennebohm was also successful making it to the podium competing as a paralympic athlete in her 3 events. She earned a Gold in the 100m with a time of 14.35 followed by a Gold in the 200m running 30.60. She also claimed the Silver medal in the Women's paralympic shot put. An excellent showing for Jacqueline.

After continual improvement over the past several months, Brent Bates went to Calgary ranked 4th in the country in 400mH. He ran an excellent heat to qualify for the finals. Unfortunately it was not Brent's day and he could not equal his PB to make it onto the podium. Brent finished 6th overall, which is an excellent showing for his first appearance at this level.

Andrew Vandendool, an experienced veteran in the 110mH, qualified for the finals, placing 8th overall. Andrew has been successful in making the finals at this level of competition 7 times in the past decade.

Rounding out our STL athletes was Elias Granillo competing in the both the 400m and 200m. Elias went through the rounds of qualification for the 400m making it to the final. On the day of the finals, he was unable to run the race due to sickness. He was able to recover somewhat and run in the semi-finals of the 200m but did not advance to the finals in this event.

Congratulations to all our STL senior athletes for their performances at the Canadian Championships. Now they continue to train for the Ontario Provincial Senior Championships in 2 weeks time.

OFSAA Championships
Brockville, June 7-9, 2012

The weather proved to be challenging this past weekend at the OFSAA Championships held in Brockville. After 2 days of strong and constantly changing winds, Riley Bell jumped his way to a Gold medal in the Senior boys long jump. The winds got the better of him on his first day of competition with a disappointing 8th place finish in triple jump, but on his 2nd day of competition he put it all together. Riley achieved a new PB of 7.14m on his last jump of the long jump competition to be the only competitor to make it over the 7 metre mark earning him an OFSAA Gold performance.

Jake Fraggis, a recent new comer to STL, also had an impressive OFSAA showing. Competing for Medway, Jake won the Gold medal in the Midget boys javelin with a throw of 50.77m. We are excited to have Jake joining our throws group and we look forward to watching Jake's further development over the summer.

Mikeisha Bobb and Ally Gonzalez also achieved new PB's in their hurdle events. Mikeisha competing in the Senior girls 100mH, clocked a time of 14.25s in the finals placing her 5th in the most competitive field in the country in her age category. Ally advanced to the finals in the Senior girls 400mH running a new PB of 1:03.16, placing 6th overall.

Congratulations to all our STL athletes for their performances throughout the high school season that earned them a spot at OFSAA Championships. Good luck in your continuing outdoor season.

Only OFSSA finals left for high school competition ...

While our outdoor competitive season is well under way with our senior athletes getting ready for their National Championships in June, there is only OFSSA finals left for the high school competition season.

We have 7 STL athletes travelling to Brockville this coming weekend for OFSAA finals. Leading the way is Riley Bell who qualified for both of his events by winning the Triple Jump with a very respectable 14.06m and Long Jump with a new PB of 7.02m. Noah Rolph also won the Midget boys Discus with a throw of 47.51m.

Ally Gonzalez placed 2nd in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 1:03.96. Mikeisha Bobb qualified in the 100mH (4th.) and in the 400mH (3rd.) running PB's in both events with 14.82 and 1:05.05 respectively. Mackenzie Johnson placed 3rd in the Senior Girls 100m with the time of 12.65. Charles Nguyen will be competing in the Senior Boys Discus after placing 3rd with a throw of 47.96m. Rounding the group of qualifiers is Conner Hodgins, placing 4th in the long Jump with a new PB of 6.82m.

Congratulations to all of our athletes and good luck in Brockville.

2012 March Break Training Camp was a Great Success!

Once again our March Break Warm Weather Training Camp was a great success with awesome weather, excellent training, and lots of fun in the sun!

Check out our 2012 photo gallery.

Canadian Interscholastic Championships
Winnipeg, March 8-10, 2012

STL's Head Coach Harry Stantsos and a number of senior STL athletes were all a part of history in the making as part of the University of Western Ontario's Varsity Track & Field team at the National Championships held in Winnipeg. For the first time in UWO history, the Men's team captured the title as National Champions. We are so very proud of STL's contribution to this Championship team.

Ryan's performance of 2:24.57 in the 1000m was not only a new PB but also broke a 25 year old UWO record to place him at the top of UWO's "All Time Performances" list.

Congratulations to all for their hard work wearing purple & white and we look forward to many more impressive performances throughout the outdoor season when they are all back in club colours for the summer. Way to go guys!

AO B/M/J Provincial Indoor Championships
Toronto, March 3 & 4, 2012

STL athletes came home with 6 medals and some great performances to finish off their 2012 indoor season.

Leading the way was STL's young thrower, Noah Rolph, competing in the Midget boy's category. Noah captured the gold medal in Weight Throw with a throw of 14.44m and in High Jump, clearing the bar at 1.60m. He also competed in Shot Put bringing home the bronze medal to complete his successful weekend.

Our impressive youth hurdler, Mikeisha Bobb, continued to shine as she competed an age class above in the Junior girl's category. She captured the bronze medal in the 60mH with a time of 9.12 going over higher hurdles than her age category. This was her first time going over 33" hurdles in competition and she certainly did not disappoint in a very competitive race.

Charles Nguyen added to the medal tally with a silver medal in the Junior Men's Weight Throw with a toss of 19.18m, and a bronze in shot put. Charles' shot put performance of 13.08m was a new PB for him as well as a new club record.

Mckenzie Johnson improved on her own club record in the 60m with a time of 7.97 in the preliminary rounds, followed by a new PB in the 200m with a time of 23.51.

This meet marks the end of the 2012 Indoor Season and we congratulate all our STL athletes for excellent performances from start to finish.

Ontario University Championships
Toronto, February 24 & 25, 2012

STL currently has a significant presence on the UWO varsity track & field team. This past weekend our STL veterans, wearing Western purple & white, shone as they brought home a whole lot of hardware.

Ryan Armstrong captured the gold medal in the men's 1000m with a time of 2:25.57. Ryan had to take last year off for a number of health issues but he is back in top form. He also raced for a silver medal with the men's 4x800m relay team.

Matt Brisson has been chasing a goal all season and he achieved it this past weekend. Matt broke the elusive 8 sec. barrier in the men's 60m hurdles. His very impressive time of 7.97 earned him the silver medal and this wasn't even his best race. There's still more time to shave and Matt is looking towards National Championships March 9th in Winnipeg to defend his title from 2011.

Matt joined his fellow STL/UWO teammate, Elias Granillo, both running a leg in the men's 4x200m to help Western capture the gold medal with a time of 1:27.05.

Elias continued on to compete in the men's 60m, 300m and 4x400m relay. He was not only busy but productive. Eli secured a spot in the very fast 60m final, finishing 7th with a time of 6.93. In the 300m, Eli finished 4th with a PB of 34.51 and then came the 4x400m relay. Eli played a pivotal role on this relay team starting the race off with a very strong lead leg, putting Western in a perfect position to capture the gold medal.

And yet another STL veteran joined Elias on the men's 4x400m relay team. Drew Timmermans ran a very strong 3rd leg for Western to share the podium with their gold medal performances. Drew also competed in the men's 600m for a new PB of 1:22.43.

Congratulations to these indoor purple & white teammates. Good luck in Winnipeg at the Canadian Interscholastic Championships (CI'S) and we will see you all back in STL colours this spring and summer.

AO Youth/Senior Provincial Championships
Toronto, February 18 & 19, 2012

Leading the way for STL this past weekend were Mikeisha Bobb and Andrew Vandendool in the sprint hurdles. Mikeisha brought home the silver medal in the Youth girls 60mH with an outstanding performance. Her time of 8.76, tied the old Provincial record, established a new club record, is a new PB for Mikeisha and secures her #2 ranking in Canada. Andrew raced for a bronze medal in the Senior men's 60mH with a season best performance of 8.23.

The following STL athletes also had successful performances this past weekend with all their new PB's:

Congratulations to all our STL athletes on a very successful indoor Championship. The long list of PB's is proof of all the hard work that went into their performances this past weekend.

Ontario vs Quebec Dual Meet Team Ontario - Midget Category

This meet was held in Toronto on Saturday, February 18, 2012, in conjunction with the Y/Sr Championships. STL's young thrower, Noah Rolph earned a spot on the Ontario Team in Weight Throw and won the competition with new Provincial record breaking toss of 14.81m. This was Noah's second competition throwing this implement and we are looking forward to many more exciting results in his future. Noah's next competition will be in 2 weeks at the AO B/M/J Championships in Toronto on March 3rd & 4th. Congratulations Noah!

Mikeisha's Been Busy

At the Provincial Legion Championships held in Toronto last Saturday, Mikeisha clocked a time of 8.92 in the 60mH, ranking her #2 in the Country. This performance gave her a spot on the Provincial team to compete in an Ontario vs Quebec Meet just this past weekend. Mikeisha was kept busy with a 1st place finish representing Team Ontario in Montreal on Saturday the 4th, followed by racing for a silver medal as part of STL's Junior girls 4x200m at the Ontario Relay Championships held in Windsor the very next day. Congratulations to Mikeisha on a busy and productive past 10 days and we look towards the coming weeks to see what she can do at her Provincial Championships.

Two other STL athletes also competed at the Provincial Legion Championships bringing home medals, PB's, and club records. Noah Rolph won gold in high jump, clearing the bar at 1.60m and bronze in shot put with a new PB and club record. His performance of 13.27m surpassed his previous record by almost 2 meters. Rachael Wolfs also PB'd in the 60mH with a time of 9.93.

AO Relay Championships February 5, 2012 – Windsor

Our Junior girls 4x200m relay team brought home the silver medal in a very competitive race at the Provincial Relay Championships this past Sunday. Congratulations to Mikeisha Bobb, Rachael Wolfs, Alysha Matthews, and Mckenzie Johnson for their fantastic efforts. In other events held during the meet, Charles Nguyen achieved a new PB and club record in the weight throw and shot put with performances of 18.89m and 12.94m respectively. Noah Rolph also competed in weight throw and shot put. This was Noah's first competition in weight throw and he had a very successful rookie performance of 18.16m which is also a new Provincial record in the Midget category.

There were a number of PB's on the track as well. Alysha Matthews and Mikeisha Bobb both PB'd in the Open Women's 300m. Jake Dunbar and Mackenzie Hayter also had PB's in their 300m races in the Open Men's category.

Mckenzie Johnson light up the track in the 60m, winning the "B" final in the Open Women's category running a time of 7.98. This time is a new club record and a PB for Mckenzie.

All performances were excellent showings for all our STL athletes.

All-Comers Meet at Thompson Arena, UWO

St. Thomas Legion TFC co-hosted with London Western the first of 2 scheduled All-comers meets at Thompson Arena, UWO. It was a well attended meet with clubs from all over South Western Ontario.

STL's athletes started their indoor season with some shining performances. Leading the group was Mikeisha Bobb, winning the Youth girls 60m Hurdles and Open women's 200m, posting personal bests in both events with times of 9.18 and 26.83 respectively. Mikeisha's 60mH time of 9.18 is currently the leading time in Canada in her age category with her 200m time ranking her 3rd. Both times also broke STL Club records.

Another awesome start from one of STL's sprinters was Mckenzie Johnson's preliminary run of 8.09 in the 60m dash. Unfortunately Mckenzie was not able to run the finals due to a minor injury. Mckenzie's performance in her heat also gave her a new club record.

Charles Nguyen placed 1st in the Junior boys weight throw with the toss of 18.15 m. This was his first competition throwing a heavier implement weighted at 25lbs. He also placed 3rd in the shot put with the throw of 12.57m. Our young thrower, Noah Rolph, placed 2nd in the Midget boys shot put with a throw of 11.93, shattering his own previous Club record of 9.13m.

Rachael Wolfs placed 5th in the 60m Hurdles with the time of 10.04. Daniel Liu and Winston To placed 5th & 6th in the 60m dash with times of 7.57 & 7.74. Daniel also placed 4th the Open men's 200m.

Can-Am Invitational in Windsor

At the first meet of the 2012 indoor season, our two senior male hurdlers opened up with some great performances competing at the Can-Am Invitational in Windsor. STL's Matt Brisson, currently competing in purple & white as a UWO Varsity athlete, posted the leading time in the Nation in the 60mHurdles finals with a winning time of 8.02. With this time, he successfully tied the 25 year old meet record from 1987 held by Jeff Glass from London.

In the same race, Andrew Vandendool opened his season with a strong time of 8.26, finishing 4th and ranking him 6th in the country. This was an excellent first showing for Andrew who battled injury in his 2011 outdoor season and consequently had to miss his Provincial & National Championships last summer.

Both hurdlers are back in action this weekend on Sat Jan 21st. Matt will be competing in the 60mHurdles at the Don Wright Team Challenge in London and Andrew will be travelling to Toronto for a meet being held at the University of Toronto.

All the best to both of these athletes as they progress through their 2012 seasons.