By Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
There were 165 runners in the novice girls race at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations cross country running championships this past Saturday at Lakefield College School, but Emily Goodall wasn’t thinking about that.
“Honestly, I don’t think I was really running against anyone else,” said Goodall, a Grade 9 student at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg. “It was just really for the experience to be at OFSAA. I didn’t have a team so it was kind of just for me a little bit.”
Goodall’s first year of high school cross country proved to be a valuable learning experience, especially a lesson on running hard to the line to finish in the highest position possible. That’s true if runners have a team that they’re accumulating points for individuals looking to qualify for OFSAA on their own.
At the Central Ontario Secondary School Athletics meet, which is the OFSAA qualify, Goodall placed 11th overall, but was the seventh fastest individual runner at St. Mary didn’t have a full team of four runners in the novice girls division.
Only the top five individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the provincial championships, but Goodall earned a berth after two runners ahead of her dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. She put herself in that position with a strong run to the end at the COSSA ahead of the eighth individual runner. The difference between qualifying for OFSAA or not turned out to be about a second or two.
“Every place does matter because by people moving up and going forward and dropping out, it led me to going to OFSAA,” Goodall said. “I really liked my COSSA race. It felt really good.”
Goodall was the only St. Mary athlete to compete at the OFSAA championships, but by no means did she feel alone.
“I was very nervous at first, but it actually wasn’t too bad because we ended up warming up with the TCS team,” Goodall said, referring to the novice girls from nearby Trinity College School in Port Hope. “I have a friend on their team, Charlotte Patterson. I play soccer with her so ended up warming up with her team which definitely helped with the nerves of not having to go alone and warm up by myself.”
Goodall went on to place 71st in a time of 19 minutes 35 seconds, which was a personal-best time for her inaugural season. That was a “very, very good feeling,” she said, considering the competition she faced on the big stage of OFSAA.
“Being at a meet with that many people was pretty insane. When we started the race it was just a huge mound of girls. I don’t think it spread out until at least the second loop. When we were going around the track and just coming out of it to start our second loop, you could see everyone like this whole pool of girls all looping around the track,” Goodall said.
“I knew I wasn’t really going to (finish) high numbers, like top 20s, but I was definitely aiming to get that personal-best and after achieving it and cross the finish line it was just a really good feeling to know what time I got. Going throughout the race, it was a bit challenging with it being so cold. At the second loop of the race, I could not feel my face anymore.”
The OFSAA experience made Goodall excited for next year’s cross country season. First, though, she’s looking forward to more high school sports at St. Mary.
Goodall plays rep soccer for the Northumberland United U15 team, with Patterson, and hopes to play for the St. Mary Thunder junior girls team. She’s also a competitive swimmer with the Northumberland Aquatic Club in Port Hope and can compete at the high school level this year as well.
She also looks forward to track and field in the spring, with an eye on running the 800 and 1,500 metres, perhaps even the 3,000 metres.
“I really enjoy the fact that I can do sports again in school,” Goodall said. “Before, especially being online, school was just a chore that you had to do, but going and being able to do sports again was really nice.”
St. Mary coach Maggie Robbins said the cross country season was a great opportunity for a fresh start for athletes as school sports returned this year.
“Emily’s strong work ethic and commitment to succeed this season made a profound impact on the tone of practices and helped other runners get the most out of their training,” Robins said. “The leadership shown by Emily is even more impressive considering this is her first year of high school and she has not only competed on the biggest stage of high school competition but she has done exceptionally well in an extremely competitive field and conducted herself as a true leader through the entire process. The staff and students at St. Mary are extremely proud of her success this season.”
