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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 3, 2016 | 40 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports ners paired up to encourage one another and often finished side by side. Rick Sebben, who coaches the team with Celestini and Jil Lograno, had to remind the girls that every position they could gain would be vital in qualifying for OFSAA. "You have to be competitive. You have to try to beat each other," he told them. "You're not helping your teammate by slowing down." The Hawks listened and though they all finished the four-kilometre course within two minutes of one another -- led by Vermeeren at 18 minutes and nine seconds -- their coach's advice paid off. Though Loyola comfortably claimed one of the two OFSAA team berths, it edged Burlington's Hayden Huskies by five (7984) to claim the GHAC gold. The result was even more impressive considering Loyola only had three midget girls last year, not even enough to qualify as a team. Only Vermeeren and Breen returned this year while Silva, Crawford and Flores ran high school cross country for the first time. "Mr. Sebben asked me to join," Crawford said. "I didn't really have any expectations of what we could do." The junior girls' race also saw Oakville's top individual finish as White Oaks' Sandra Guga placed second, but took the Halton individual title as she finished seven seconds behind St. Mary's Abbey Mallet, who crossed the line in 16:24. Guga finished third last year and with the same runners making up the top four this year, she knew who she had to keep pace with. see Blakelock's on p. 41 White Oaks' Sandra Guga earned the top individual finish by an Oakville runner at the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference cross-country championships, placing second in the junior girls' race. | Graham Paine /Metroland "Connected to your Community" Loyola girls place five in top 30 to win GHAC cross-country title By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Two days before the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference cross-country championships, the Loyola Hawks' junior girls team took the initiative to go to the Hilton Falls Conservation Area and run the course one more time. They had tackled the course the previous week in the Kielburger Spartans Invitational but felt they could benefit from one more look. "It was good to know where the different checkpoints were, just to remind ourselves," said Amy Vermeeren, who finished 12th at Friday's GHAC championship. "And practising the hills really helped," added Meghan Silva, who was 15th. Though none of the Loyola runners would have qualified individually for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championship, they showed what they could accomplish together. Despite not having a runner in the top 10, Loyola claimed the GHAC junior girls' team title by placing five runners in the top 30. Stella Crawford finished 24th, Mikayla Breen was 28th and Selah Flores was 30th. No other school placed more than three runners in the top 40. "They really improved through the season," said Loyola coach Barb Celestini. "They worked together to attain their goals. Early on they saw some success and wanted to do better." Knowing their best opportunity to qualify was as a team, the Hawks were motivated by more than individual results. "We didn't want to let each other down," Crawford said. "Our role was to do the best we could and drive the people behind us." But the Hawks had to be cautioned before Friday's meet to not take their team-first approach too far. In earlier meets, the Hawks run- Rajic's overtime winner gives Blades split of weekend games Christian Rajic scored 46 seconds into overtime as the Oakville Blades edged the Wellington Dukes 2-1 last Saturday in Ontario Junior Hockey League play. Brendan McGlynn made 38 saves for the win and picked up an assist on Jackson Bales' shorthanded goal in the second period. Bales' goal staked Oakville to a 1-0 lead but Wellington tied it up early in the third, sending Oakville to overtime for the fifth time this season. Daniel Jelic assisted on both Oakville goals. The Blades found themselves playing catch up all night Friday against the Toronto Patriots in a 4-3 loss. They trailed 1-0 after one period and 4-3 after two. Peyton Reeves pulled the Blades even at 1-1 early in the middle frame and Bryce Misley scored with the man advantage to cut the Patriots' lead to 3-2 later in the period. The teams exchanged goals late in the second with Misley scoring his second for the Blades. Ryan Foss added two assists. Despite outshooting Toronto 15-6 in the third period, Oakville couldn't get the equalizer. Oakville wraps up its six-game home stand against Buffalo tomorrow (Friday) and Milton (Saturday). Game times are 7:30 p.m. at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. H O L I D AY Made in Canada Proudly Canadian RICES GUAR ANTE ED! LOW P EST CHOICE OF COLOUR REVERSE CONFIGURATION AVAIL. NOVEMBER 4, 5 & 6 · Fri 6-10, Sat 9-5, Sun 9-3 Location: Country Heritage Park (Gambrel Barn) off of Tremaine Rd., Milton ... just north of Glen Eden Free admiSSion & parking SKI & SNOWBOARD SWAP Amazing Deals on New & Used Equipment! 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