Windsor Legion youth boys team earn gold

By Justin Thompson

Production Manager

 

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — The Windsor Legion Track and Field Club’s youth boys team took home the gold at the Athletics Ontario Cross Country Championship Nov. 16.

Track and field clubs from across Ontario met at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls for the Cross Country Championships, where the Windsor Legion placed seventh overall.

Miles Matthews, 16, placed third overall in the six kilometre youth boys race, despite facing injuries.

“My shins have been in pain but it was a pretty good battle of a race,” said Matthews. “Four guys were battling back and forth and I ended up sprinting right at the end and getting beat by a second or two. It was a good race but it could have went better.”

Matthews said he was unsure if he would even race that day and decided to as a “game day decision.” Matthews’s main focus now is the Canadian Cross Country Championships in Vancouver on Nov. 29.

“Just hopefully heal up a bit and I’ve got a few more workouts over the next two weeks,” said Matthews. “I’m just really looking to prepare. It’s eight kilometres, so two kilometres longer. There’s going to be more competition there but I’m hoping to finish in the top six.”

Matthews said the extra two kilometres is a big difference and feels more difficult in the middle of the race than at the end. If Matthews finishes in the top six in Vancouver, he will qualify to represent team Canada in the North American Central American and Caribbean Championships.

Miles’s father, Brian Matthews, coached the club temporarily because the club’s full-time coaches were attending a coaching clinic in Montreal. Brian said he first started coaching as a volunteer when he was in college.

“We know we’ve got a real strong team, the youth boys are the strongest in Ontario,” said Brian. “We ended up winning the gold medal today so that was very good. That was our focus coming in today to this meet.”

Brian said he spends a lot of time with all of the kids at practices but had to shift his focus from being a parent to a coach for the day.

“I had to definitely make sure I caught everybody today because sometimes my focus is on Miles by quite a lot,” said Brian.

The Windsor Legion will continue training and making preparations for the trip to nationals. The club is hoping to capture a team title in Vancouver.

“We want to win a team title there,” said Brian. “We’ve won six years in a row so it will be our seventh in a row if we happen to win there.”