Two athletes from Sarnia-Lambton have each walked away with first place in their respective divisions at the Canadian Cross-Country Championships.
The event was held in Ottawa on November 26.
Gabby Jones of Sarnia won in the U18 Girls 4k event with a time of 14:50. She narrowly beat out defending champion Ruby Broadbent of British Columbia, who finished with a time of 14:52.
“I just tried to keep a good mental attitude throughout the race, keep that positive mindset I think is the biggest thing,” said Jones in a statement.
Jones was training for 6k all year and said she had a reserve of energy during the 4k event, which allowed her to speed past others in the final 200 metre stretch.
Connor Black of Forest won in the Open Men 10k event with an official time of 29:38.
The 26-year-old finished in third place at the 2019 Canadian Cross-Country Championships, read a media release from Athletics Canada.
Black's teammates from London Western Track Club finished within the top 10 as well.
“We were hungry this year, we got our doors blown off us last year… and were like, ok, it’s time to get back to work,” said Black in a statement.
Overall, seven new champions were named during the weekend event.
The last champion of the day at #ACXC22 has just been crowned: Gabby Jones of Sarnia takes the U18 4k crown thanks to a massive kick! pic.twitter.com/7V7aLCBYkO
— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) November 26, 2022
“We had our doors blown off us last year… we were hungry” - Connor Black:
The individual #ACXC22 champion led his team at @LondonWesternTF and Bandits elite to a dominating win in the men’s race, after being upset and finishing 3rd last year. pic.twitter.com/4rzB66Nz7u
— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) November 26, 2022