Glebe junior girls sweep podium, shift sights to back-to-back OFSAA titles

Glebe Collegiate’s Anna S. Heffernan-Wilker and Ivy Bialowas hug as they wait for their teammate Zoe Gardiner to finish the NCSSAA junior girls cross-country championship race. Glebe head coach Kirk Dillabaugh cheers with excitement. Photo: Dan Plouffe.

See SportsOttawa.com’s Facebook page for a full album of photos from this race.

By Charlie Pinkerton

The Glebe Gryphons’ defending OFSAA champions did not disappoint at the city cross-country championships by sweeping the podium.

Glebe athletes Ivy Bialowas, Anna S. Heffernan-Wilker and Zoe Gardiner were all smiles after crossing the finish line in places 1, 2 and 3 on Thursday.

The most excited of the bunch was Gardiner, who added to her reputation of stepping it up in big races. She came 2^nd among NCSSAA runners in her race at the OFSAA championships last year, placing 21st overall – a familiar two spots behind Bialowas.

“I told Zoe before the race that she could get top 3,” Bialowas said about this year’s NCSSAA championships.

At the city championships last year, Bialowas placed 2^nd, Heffernan-Wilker placed 3^rd and Gardiner placed 7^th.

Heffernan-Wilker acknowledged that repeating as OFSAA champs could be a challenge.

“It’s going to be a bit tougher this time around, but I think we’re going to be good,” Heffernan-Wilker said.

Bialowas was happy to finish in 1st but was more pleased with her team’s success.

“I just love running with my teammates,” she said.

Teagan Stewart was Glebe’s fourth scoring member in 15^th place to complete the team’s gold medal victory with a total score of 21. Emma Jarvis (17) qualified to be the team’s fifth runner at the OFSAA championships.

Nepean High School also finished with an astonishingly low score. Finishes by Maya Lawson (4), Karina Gruson (7), Abby Brouseau (11) and Leona Smith (14) gave them 2^nd place with a score of 36. Trillium Whitewolf (18) qualified to be the team’s fifth runner at the OFSAA cross-country finals.

Lisgar Collegiate’s Amelia Wojtyk (5), South Carleton’s Elle Spencer (6), Ashbury College’s Isabelle Stevens (8), St. Pius X’s Katya Semeniuk (9) and Mother Teresa’s Kayla Dasilva clinched individual OFSAA berths.

Find more coverage of the 2018 NCSSAA XC Championships via: https://sportsottawa.com/2018/10/26/glebe-gryphons-win-all-six-division-titles-at-the-city-high-school-cross-country-championships/