High school students run for Canada

In the midst of a teachers dispute that has cancelled a number of high school events, two of Windsor’s top ranked runners in Ontario will not surrender their shoes.

General Amherst High School’s Brandon Allen and Kingsville District High School’s Ryan Sleiman will be competing for the Canadian team at the North American, Central American and Caribbean cross-country championships Jan. 26 in Mandeville, Jamaica. A first- or second-place finish will qualify the team to represent Canada at the world championships hosted in Poland this March.

This will be the second appearance at the NACAC for Sleiman, while Allen will be making his debut as a Grade 12 student.

“Right now the confidence level is definitely up and it is feeling pretty good,” the Windsor Legion Track and Field club member, Allen said.

Despite never winning an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association’s gold medal, Allen remained focused and qualified for the Canadian team at the end of November. He placed sixth overall and fifth among eligible athletes in the junior men’s division at the Canadian cross country championships in Vancouver.

“I never thought I would come this far, really, I thought I would be at the high school level forever. It feels really great that I have made it to the international level for my country,” said Allen.

Although Allen may be prepared physically, he said a mental focus is just as important. However, the cold weather in Canada makes it difficult to train for a race where temperatures run high.

Windsor Legion coach Dave Scarrow said previous athletes have been affected by the drastic weather change between the two climates. This year Scarrow has been holding more workouts on the indoor track at the St. Denis Centre at the University of Windsor.

“They are exceeding my expectations as far as the workouts go,” said Scarrow.

The indoor facility is kept around 21 degrees Celsius, five degrees below the temperature they will be running on race day.