Page 63 - 2003

This year was a stand out for the Track and Field Owls. New faces joined veterans to create one of the most solid teams in years. Determination and loads of talent meant that C.C.I was once again near the top of every meet they entered. The season began with the a team of 33 venturing to the North Simcoe Zone meet where 28 qualified for the GBSSA championships. In the process, C.C.I finished 2nd overall as a school with 25 top three individual or relay team finishes. Next was GB's where the owls again soared to impressive heights with C.C.I finishing 4'h overall in a field of 29 schools. C.C.I boasted five individual and two relay GBSSA champions combining for a total of 11 first place finishes. In addition, Nadine Schweishelm was named the midget girls champion for GB. Along the way, five school records were rewritten. In all, 19 athletes qualified for the OFSAA Regional Championships. Regionals featured all the best Track and Field athletes from GBSSA, York Region, East Toronto and Durham Region. Once again, C.C.I. did itself proud with 9 athletes making it on to the OFSSA Finals in Belleville where only the top 24 athletes in Ontario compete in each event. Even the Owls not making the trip to the Finals served notice that C.C.I. is becoming a track power to be reckoned with. At the OFSSA finals C.C.I. athletes battled hard and achieved huge success capturing 6 top ten finishes. Allison Lainey led the way as she made her OFSSA debut in four different events. In the Midget Girls' long jump, she captured 5'h place and later 8'h in the lOOm- the first time in memory a C.C.I. athlete has qualified for a lOOm final at the OFSSA in addition, she went on to capture 6'h in the Javelin event capping off an incredible feat of having a top 8 finish in a jump, a run and a throw at OFSSA. Nadine Schweishelm finished her year off in style with a solid 9'h place in the Midget Girls' Triple Jump and the 'Golden Girls'-the Midget Girls 4x lOOm relay of Kathleen Belanger, Allison Lainey, Nadine Schweishelrn and Jillian Grant broke the school record by half a second to finish in lO'h spot. The Senior Boys 4x lOOm left it all on the track as Ivan
Kockmarek, Mike Day, Everett Findlay and Harry Francis captured 17'h overall. Mike Day finished his impressive season in the Senior Boys' Triple Jump. For Jay Morrill the OFSAA Championships started off in a disappointing ways a rough Junior Boys 1500 race led to some tough running and a spiked shin leaving Jay out of the 1500m final. However, Jay rose to the occasion in the 3000m breaking 9 minutes to capture 5'h.
The 2002 season was one of the best in school history for the Cross-Country Running Team. From the first practice to the last finisher at OFSAA, this was a true team and a great mixture of talent, spirit, guts and really, really loud voices! This year's group of Owl runners was relatively young with Midget and Junior teams to go along with a handful of dedicated Seniors. In the end it was a mixture that worked well-a recipe for success as C.C.I. captured the Simcoe County league championship for the first time. The "Golden Boot" now resides in 'The Wood' for the first time in the 40-plus year history of the award. During the league meets, C.C.I. athletes and team amassed a lengthy list of impressive results in the Simcoe County league. The Midget Girls were tied for 1'' as a team led by Katie Bell's first place indi- vidual finish. In Midget Boys Peter Switer was 3'd in the league while the team was 2nd. The Junior Girls placed second as a team while the Junior Boys were first winning all four meets and posting a perfect score of ten at the Wasaga Beach meet. Jay Morrill was the top Junior Boy in Simcoe County while Mike Rego was second.
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