The Saint Francis basketball community’s hopes of hosting the 2022 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations boys AA basketball championships March 7-9 in St. Catharines have been dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carson Gauthier continues to add to his impressive track and field resume.
In 2019, the Thorold Elite Track Club member was named the Athletics Ontario U14 Athlete of the Year and then following a one-year pandemic pause, he was recently named Athletics Ontario’s U16 Athlete of the Year at the organization’s virtual Recognition Gala.
“I am very proud of that,” the 15-year-old Niagara Falls resident said. “It is pretty nice to get it two years in a row.”
Gauthier lapped the field to earn the award. He is ranked No. 1 in the province in javelin, shot put, high jump and hurdles and is in the top three in three other events.
“It’s pretty hard to compete with that,” Thorold Elite coach Steve Fife said. “Carson has consistently demonstrated what it takes to be an elite athlete. It is not just about having the talent but it’s about backing that up with hard work, commitment and having good goals that you are working towards.”
The Grade 10 student at Saint Michael feels he has made significant improvements as an athlete in 2021.
“My biggest stride is I have started to go to the gym at the Iron Performance Centre and it has helped me tremendously with my track and field experiences over the past year,” he said. “It has made me so much stronger and it has been absolutely amazing for my training.
“The next step is to keep it going, train even harder and just do better than I did before.”