So many great stories unfolded at the recently completed OFSAA track and field championship in Sudbury.

At the top of the list — for me at least — was the triple gold-medal performance by Jordan Sherwood of Cameron Heights.

Others were close. Jellisa Westney could have easily won three gold medals herself but came away with two silvers and a bronze. An outstanding athlete and classy kid, I wasnt the only one pulling for her to take Saturdays 200-metre final only to come away with her second silver.

Calvin Arsenault of St. Marys could have easily been a double gold winner but had to settle for a silver in the senior boys 400-metre hurdles when an opponent crashed and sent his hurdle in Arsenaults direction. It was just enough to throw Arsenault off in a race that he was very probably going to win.

Had a great time getting to know Madalitso Mchaina of Southwood, a kid with a pretty good sense of humour. After placing third in the midget boys 300-metre hurdles he screamed “Fake Hurdler” over and over, enough to prompt an inquiring mind to ask him what he was talking about.

Turns out Aaron Stemmler of St. David has a group — a secret society type thing — called the “True Hurdler Association.” To be a member, you must have wiped out during a hurdles race, something Mchaina has never done. He had asked for an exception to the rule, but Stemmler said no, not even if he won an OFSAA medal.

Mchaina responded by saying hed yell out “Fake Hurdler” if he won a medal.

And yes, the two are friends and clubmates at Laurel Creek.

Afew members of thejumpers club were also good for a laugh. Mitch ODonnell of Forest Heights and SJAMs Braden Cok both managed to make a reporter crack a smile with their great humour, while Riley Flanagan of St. Marys managed to find the humour in thinking he had been elminated from the triple jump competition and taking the walk of shame only to find out he was still alive when the event official was calling out his name.

A tearful Angela Mercurio was also something I wont forget. The St. Marys student emphasized over and over that she wasnt disappointed with silver; it was that she didnt perform at her ability that was so hard to deal with.

A pair of longtime coaches also made their OFSAA farewell, as Tom Fitzgerald of Resurrection and Jeff Anderson of Forest Heights are both set to close the books on their teaching careers. Both have been extremely helpful to me over the past couple of years and they will be missed.

Sudbury did a great job hosting the meet, even though there werent enough hotel rooms to go around. The Sudbury Star newspaper reported that some athletes were commuting daily from Parry Sound, a drive of about 90 minutes. The SJAM team was stationed in Sturgeon Falls, which is about 75 minutes away.

Of course, there was also the frustration of many local athletes and coaches of knowing that Waterloo Region is not capable of hosting such an event.

Sudbury has a nice facility at Laurentian University while the past two OFSAA championships have been held in London and Toronto. OFSAA West was staged last year at a beautiful facility at the University of Windsor.

Next year were heading to Brockville. Thats right — Brockville, a city of about 21,000 that has a state-of-the-art facility at Thousand Islands Secondary School.

Waterloo Region, meanwhile, has decaying Centennial Stadium and no plans to replace it.

A real shame.

Check out all the action from the OFSAA track at .

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