Okkerse continues adding to gold medal collection

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Nash Okkerse keeps adding to his gold medal collection of 2026

The 14-year old from St. Thomas won two gold medals in distance running, at Athletics Ontario's U14, U16, U18 championships, Friday to Sunday.

Okkerse took gold in the U16 boys 1200 metres, in three minutes and 10.09 seconds (3:10.09) today, after winning the 2000m (5:42.21) Friday. Both times are personal bests (PBs) and club records for St. Thomas Legion (STL) club.

Earlier this month, Okkerse won the U16 boys 1200 and 2000 metres at the Legion provincials. Back in June, Okkerse brought home a silver medal in the 1500m and bronze in the 800, from OFSAA, the high school provincial championships.

Along with Okkerse, STL had 12 athletes combine for seven medals and multiple top 10 results and club records.

Okkerse nabbed a third medal, silver, in the U18 boys medley relay race with Will Downing, Xavier Sauer and Tristan Spaulding. St. Thomas (3:39.31) was edged by Ottawa Lions club (3:39.10) for the gold medal, by two tenths of a second, both teams three seconds ahead of third place.

Kaleb Charette won U16 boys hammer throw, after taking silver in discus (35.61m) and placed eighth in javelin (29.62m).

Sauer captured silver medals in both the U16 boys 100-metre (11.22 sec) and 200m (22.56 sec.) sprints and placed fourth in long jump (5.79m).

Downing finished fifth in the U18 boys 110-metre hurdles (15.02 sec.) and sixth in the 400 hurldes (56.87 sec.).

Ethan Brown placed sixth in the U16 boys 2000m (5:57.68), 10th in the 1200m (3:21.03) and 10th in the 800m (2:07.22), all PB times.

Amy Williamson landed sixth in U18 girls triple jump (10.51m) and sixth in long jump (4.88m).

Brianna Scott finished eighth in the U16 girls 300 metre sprint (43.10 sec.).

Alayna Sloetjes was 12th in U16 80-metres hurdles (13.44 sec.).

Audrina Nicholson, in U16 girls was 12th in long jump (4.39m), 18th in the 150m (27.53 sec.) and 19th in the 100m (13.32 sec.).

Scott and Sloetjes, finised 14th (32.01 sec) and 16th (32.24 sec.), respectively, in the U16 girls 200m hurdles.

Kayla Zelibka and Alicia Weaver were 18th (1:01.20) and 26th (1:03.24), respectively, in the U18 girls 400 metres. Zelibka placed 14th in the U18 girls 400m hurdles (1:08.45). Weaver placed 23rd in U18 girls 200m (26.68 sec.).

Hannah Kish, U18 girls, was 24th in the 100m hurdles (18.69 sec.) and 49th in the 100m dash (14.57 sec).

Spaulding, in U18 boys, finished 17th in long jump (5.44m), 34th in the 100m (11.79 sec.) and 53rd in the 200 (24.29 sec.).

The St. Thomas U18 girls 4x100-metre relay team of Weaver, Zelibka, Scott and Williamson, was seventh (50.13 sec.).

Atkinson U18 pole vault gold Ethan Atkinson of St. Thomas, with London-Western club, won U18 boys pole vault, clearing 4.38 metres, 20 centimetres above second place.

Makayla Varallo of Thorndale, with London-Western club, took a silver medal in the U16 girls' 1500m steeplechase, finished fifth in the 2000m (6:44.70) and seventh in the 1200m (3:44.31). Varallo was also on London-Western's U16 girls 4x800-metre relay team that finished with a silver medal.