LaSalle's Currie leads Saints to OCAA silver

First-year standout Brendan Currie has made an immediate impact for the St. Clair College Men’s Cross-Country team. The Villanova grad earned silver at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Provincial Championships held Saturday at Marydale Park in Mount Hope.

"Honestly, I wanted to come first but I'm happy with second still," Currie said. "I'm glad the team gets to go to PEI. Hoping to get top three at least in PEI (at CCAA national championships."

Brendan Currie (far left)

Currie captured the individual silver medal, completing the 8km course in 25:12, 23 seconds behind the winner. His performance made him the 8th St. Clair men’s runner to earn an OCAA medal. Currie was also named First-Team All-Ontario.

He explains how familiarity helped him make a quick transition to the OCAA. "I already knew the coaches somewhat so that was good," Currie explained. "I knew they were good coaches, and I knew they'd keep me fit all season and make me have a good season."

Behind Currie, Noah Nicoletti placed 11th in 26:59, and Luke Nelson was 13th in 27:09, both named Second-Team All-Ontario. Daniel Barnes completed the team scoring in 20th with 28:13, while Chase Canty and Quinten Wentoniuk placed 22nd (28:17) and 47th (32:07) respectively.

Outside of Nicoletti, the team is comprised of rookies.

The St. Clair Women’s team also impressed, finishing 5th overall out of eight schools. Massey grad Ana-Maria Fodor led the way clocking in at 25:07 over the 6K course to earn Second-Team All-Ontario honours.

Fodor told Powerplay Sports she is happy with her result after taking a year off from running. "There were some people in my class who convinced me to join again so I decided to give it another shot. Started training in July and then practices here (at Malden Park). It was a good experience and I'm glad I gave it another shot."

Melody Knight placed 17th in 25:45 and was recognized with the Fair Play Award. Justine Abbott finished 24th (27:16), followed by Jillian Stratichuk in 28th (28:42), Emersyn Grondin in 33rd (29:23), and Kendra Bell in 35th (29:43).

"Men and women, they both ran strong," said head coach Josh Zilles said. "We had a great race from everyone involved."

With ten of his twelve runners hailing from Essex County, Zilles gave credit to local cross country and running coaches for his team's succcess.

"Windsor has an excellent cross scene," Zilles said. "The clubs and high school coaches, they do a fantastic job developing athletes. We're really lucky to have such a positive atmosphere."

The St. Clair Men’s team, along with Fodor, are spending time at Malden Park preparing for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships on November 8th in Prince Edward Island.