Sudbury cross-country
stars shine on Kivi Park trails
Randy
Pascal For The Sudbury Star
Published Oct 17, 2025
Julien Luoma has a protege — well,
sort of.
Luoma, a talented junior
star of the Lo-Ellen Park Knights cross-country team,
took top spot in his category at the 2025 SDSSAA championships
at Kivi Park on Wednesday — albeit by just a two-second
margin as Maxime Belzile of Macdonald-Cartier gave him
quite a run for his money. Beyond that, however, Luoma
could take perhaps a little extra credit in helping Lo-Ellen
novice sensation Dax Hester to victory, the latter earning
more than an 80-second victory over teammate Lincoln Elliott
in the novice boys race.
“(Luoma) keeps me pushing
it, gives me a lot of advice; when I should warm up and
what pace I should maintain throughout the race,”
Hester said post-race.
And if he is lucky, the 14-year-old
Grade 9 talent might even squeeze in a workout alongside
his role model just one year older.
“I think he slows down when I go out with him,”
Hester said with a laugh. “I can’t keep up
with him.”
Truth be told, there are many Sudbury
Laurentian Swim Club athletes who can relate to that feeling.
Recently selected to Swimming Canada’s
National Development Program ID team, Dax Hester has established
himself as one of the top young swimmers in his age group
in the province, leaving many a training partner in his
dust.
Where racing in the pool is now second
nature to the multi-sport sensation, Hester is still getting
his bearings a little when it comes to race strategy on
the colourful fall trails in the Sudbury south end.
“I wish I had paced it better,”
he stated. “I kind of went out too hard and died
off at the end.”
Along with a very strong SDSSAA contingent,
Hester will head to St. Joseph Island this week for the
NOSSA cross-country championships.
“I would like to know where it’s smart to
push and where it’s smart to almost go a bit easier,”
said Hester, discussing the course information that he
would like to access from senior Knights as they tackle
the Mountainview XC Ski Trails and Walking Trails.
As was expected, coach Colin Ward and
the Lo-Ellen squad were front and centre throughout the
day as teammates Lia Paille and Ewa Breckon finished 1-2
in the junior girls’ dash.
“Cross-country is definitely my
forte,” noted Paille, who also runs track and field
competitively and participates in volleyball at a high-school
level only.
“It really challenges me.”
Part of that challenge comes from the pure logistical
differences for runners when one heads out across the
lovely backwoods trails at Kivi Park versus simply circling
the track time after time in the spring and summer. “Mentally,
in cross-country, it’s difficult to know your pace,”
Paille said. “In track, you just look at the clock.
It’s also hard to compare yourself to other events,
because every course is different.”
And for as much as the Kivi trails may
have seemed a bit daunting in the moments leading up to
the big race, the 15-year-old Grade 10 runner conquered
it like a pro.
“Before the race, we jogged the
first lap,” Paille said. “I was a little scared,
because I saw a bunch of hills. But as soon as I got in
there and got comfortable and in stride, all of the stress
went away.
“It was a lot of fun. I had a really
good time.”
In the end, Paille found herself 65 seconds
ahead of Breckon, she herself enjoying a 51-second gap
ahead of Makenzie Moore of Lasalle.
“Before the halfway mark, I knew
that I wanted to be near first,” Paille said. “That’s
where I had positioned myself in a previous race and I
had a really good race that time.”
“Also, I relied on the boys,”
Paille noted, alluding to the fact that the junior boys
and girls all left the start line at exactly the same
time. “I used the boys to push myself. I am so grateful
for them.”
In her first-ever SDSSAA championships
and just her second year of pursuing running more seriously,
Bishop Alexander Carter freshman Mila Drozdowski also
had plenty to be grateful for as she etched out a 26-second
win over multi-sport talent Ella Sabourin of Esc l’Horizon.
“I think my favourite thing about
cross-country running is the feeling I get when I am actually
running,” Drozdowski said in an email exchange this
week. “I enjoy how it clears my mind and also helps
my focus. When I am running, I feel a sense of peace —
and I really enjoy that feeling.” Still, despite
the relaxation her pursuit had brought, Drozdowski still
found time to formulate a plan of action based on how
the preliminary races had played out earlier this fall.
“My game plan entering the race
was to start off at a good pace and try and get towards
the middle or front of the crowd, then slowly make my
way up and pass people.
“I had previously noted the girls
who were faster in some races and ones who were behind
me so that I could watch out for them. During the race,
I picked out specific runners who I knew were quick and
kept at an even pace behind them before passing them.
I made sure to go on the inside corners and go hard up
hills — and I gave my final kick around the last
300 to 500 metres, pushing hard and not slowing down.”
Rounding out the race winners were the
senior tandem of Lily Bignucolo of Lo-Ellen and Raphael
Belzile of Macdonald-Cartier, as well as para champions
Dante Ricketts of Lasalle, Sophia Carlson of Marymount
and Summer Boyer of Lasalle.
All
Results Here
Treasure Trove, Randy Pascal’s
local sports roundup, runs once a month in The Sudbury
Star. |
315.jpg)
