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Five Stampeders win OFSAA
medals
Sauer, Okkerse, Percy, Williamson, bring home silver while Okkerse and Arnold
grab bronze giving Parkside seven total medals at the track and field meet
June 8, 2026
By Rob J. Ross
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Parkside Stampeders certainly had a silver lining at this year's OFSAA track and field championships.
Four Stampeders combined to bring home five silver medals, seven medals in total, from OFSAA, the high school provincial championships, June 4-6, at the Niagara Olympic Club.
The Stampeders novice boys teams, consisting of just Xavier Sauer and Nash Okkerse, won the novice boys team title, combining for 30 points, with three silver medals and a bronze.
Amy Williamson soared to a silver medal in junior girls long jump, Emma Percy tossed out a silver medal throw in visually impaired girls shot put and Mehkai Arnold took bronze in junior boys discus.
The OFSAA medal haul capped a season that had 14 school records broken.
"I knew coming into the season, we'd have a strong team. We have good kids," Parkside head coach Harry Stantsos. "Best team we've had in years. We had other athletes just miss OFSAA, doing well at regionals."
Maddie Wright, Jack Rice, Brady Congdon and Tristan Spaulding, had solid performances at regionals and have strong potential for a future OFSAA appearance.
Sauer led the way this year at OFSAA, sprinting to silver medals in both the novice boys 100 and 200 metres dashes.
"It was unreal. I can't explain how I was feeling," said Sauer, who set personal best (PB) times in both sprints, 11.16 seconds in the 100 and 22.51 seconds in the 200. "I'm feeling good about myself. All my hard work is paying off and it showed in my results."
The sprinter added he received much support in his first year at Parkside.
"A lot of people were pushing me to strive to get better," said Sauer. "My friends and family for sure, and my teachers. They push me to strive well in school too."
Okkerse took silver in the novice boys 1500 metre run (4:08.69) and a bronze medal in the 800 metres (2:00.37).
"He has a heart
bigger than his size," said Stantsos. "He was really upset on the 1500m. For the
800, he wasn't feeling 100 per cent. Maybe it was the heat. So he was kind of
happy when he got the bronze. He was sixth and seventh on the back stretch."
Amy Williamson leaped to silver in junior girls long jump, landing a personal
best (PB) measurement of five metres and 43 centimetres (5.43m) in the sixth and
final round, vaulting her from sixth place to the silver medal position.
"I could feel the difference and I felt more patient in the air. I looked at the (score) board and realized this was a big jump for me," said Williamson, who increased her PB four times over the six rounds.
Coming in Williamson had a PB of 5.02, set last year at the Thames Valley meet, therefore feeling overdue for a PB effort.
Needing a jump over five metres, to advance to the final round, Williamson landed at 5.06 metres in round three and then kept increasing her PB. First to 5.15m and then to 5.16, before her mind boggling leap, that sent her fan base watching from the stands into a frenzy.
Earlier in the day, Williamson missed advancing to the 100 metre final, by two-tenths of the second, placing 15th overall (12.80 sec.).
"I warmed up for the 100 metres and kept warm and I stayed in the shade," said Williamson. "Before my jump, I do a little bit of a stride, practice my form and visualize what I'm going to do."
Williamson was 11th in triple jump with only one measure of 10.20 metres and two fouls at the board that voided to measures.
"Amy had some amazing jumps in triple jump," said Stantsos. "She was going to be over 11 metres, but faulted."
Emma Percy won silver in visually impaired girls shot put, with a PB of 4.99m.
"It's crazy because I didn't think I would get this far. I just wanted to do my best," said Percy, who just started throwing three months ago. "I thought it would be fun trying to do something I've never done before."
Percy credited Stantsos with her improvement throughout the season.
"He helped me, with using my legs and my hips as a power source and not just my arms," Percy said. "I focused on getting the technique down and doing my best."
The coach was impressed with Percy's results.
"Emma was something else. Every time out, she got better. It was good for her," Stantsos said. "For her to come out and try something she's never done before.
She grew and did a great job."
At every meet guiding Percy to the circle, was Katie Clark, an orientation and mobility specialist with the Thames Valley board.
Arnold had a best throw of 55.87 metres, for the bronze medal in junior boys discus on day one of the three day meet.
Sauer missed a chance at a third medal, no heighting in novice boys high jump. Contending with a sore knee that affected his drive upwards at the mat, Sauer couldn't make his entry height at 1.65 metres. Sauer owns a PB of 1.80 metres, that would have placed third at OFSAA
Arnold is one of 14 Stampeders who broke Parkside school records this season, with his throw of 57.27 metres in junior boys discus.
Okkerse lowered both the novice boys 800m (1:59.76) and 1500m (4:14.28) record times.
Sauer blitz the novice boys record times in both the 100 (11.16 sec.) and 200 (22.50 sec.) and increased the height in high jump (1.80m).
Percy in the visually impaired girls shot put (4.99m).
Willamson now holds the junior girls records in long jump (5.43m) and the 100m (12.65 sec.).
Maddy Wright, in the novice girls 800m (2:33.02), Jack Rice, in open boys 2000 metre steeplechase (7:15.30), and Ishmael Teague, in novice boys triple jump (11.96m). Unfortunately for Teague, a knee injury ended his season before the TVRA championships.
Two relay teams set records, the 4x100 junior girls team of Williamson, Hannah Kish, Cadence Baitz and Leighton Kramer, at 52.26 seconds and the 4x400m mixed team of Wright, Williamson, Nathan Campbell and Jack Moore (4:12.95).
Parkside was the
only school from the local area bringing home medals.
East Elgin Eagles Henry Scott just missed the podium, finishing fourth in the
senior boys 200m (21.57 sec.) and eighth in the 400m (48.60 sec.).
St. Joseph's Rams Flourish Nmor finished seventh in the senior girls 800m (2:17.62), after a PB performance (2:14.83) in the prelims.
Rams' Ethan Atkinson was seventh in senior boys pole vault (4.50m) and Hayden Siemans, 11th in novice boys high jump (1.65m).
Dorchester Beavers Kirk Hallman placed eighth in the senior boys 1500m (3:54.94) and 11th in the 3000m (8:48.92). Aiden Hartmann landed ninth in senior boys long jump (6.73m) and 20th in triple jump (12.35m). Will Downing finished 11th in the senior boys 110-metre hurdles (14.82 sec.) and Andrew Urquhart, 12th in senior boys shot put (13.72m).
Six Dorchester athletes broke school records.
Hallman in the 1500 (3:53.39), Urquhart in shot put (16.21m), Downing in the 110 hurdles (14.36 sec.), Hartmann in the senior boys 100m (11.29 sec.), Addy Lehouillier, in the novice girls 100m (12.71 sec.) and Aisha Medina, in senior girls pole vault (2.90m).
The boys 4x400-metre relay team of Downing, Hallman, Miles Maule and Curtis Willick, lowered the school record time to three minutes and 35.64 seconds (3:35.64). The mixed relay te
Makayla Varallo of Thorndale, with Medway High, finished 10th in the novice girls 1500m (4:47.80). Varallo set a nearly 10 second PB of 4:47.54 in the heats, down from 4:57.15 ran at regionals.
Alayna Sloetjes with Strathroy DCI, finished ninth, in novice girls 80m hurdles (13.03 sec.). Sloetjes trains with coach Stantsos at St. Thomas Legion Club.
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