As the 2024 Canadian Track and Field League season rapidly approaches the July 6 final, athletes stopped in Ottawa for another opportunity at scoring some much-needed points for their teams.

With only one meet to go until the championship, the competition was tight in the sprints category. Athletes from different teams worked hard to put themselves on the map at the June 12 meet.

Here’s a look at some of the top competitors from Ottawa’s twilight meet.

Saj Alhaddad, Arctics, 400mH

Arctics’ hurdler Saj Alhaddad narrowly edged out Bears’ David Moulongou with a time of 52.79 over the 400mH.

Off the blocks, Moulongou appeared to have a much faster and stronger start, taking off with long powerful strides after the gun. But as Moulongou had some trouble with the hurdles through the middle of the race, Alhaddad began making up ground.

“I heard noise behind me, so I knew I needed to focus on myself, focus on my race,” Alhaddad said.

Heading into the final bend Alhaddad found himself in a position to take the win over Moulongou, who finished second as an individual last season in the event. At 31, Alhaddad is coming off a CTFL season where he finished fifth overall but looked fresh heading into the final bend in Ottawa.

“I had a feeling I had a lot of energy left and I just gave it,” Alhaddad said.

Alhaddad crossed the line moments ahead of Moulongou’s time of 53.01. Although he was hoping to be in the 51 second range, Alhaddad’s season best was good for the second fastest preliminary mark so far this season, behind only Bears’ hurdler Roxroy Cato’s 51.60. 

With the Arctics on top of the standings thus far, Alhaddad’s return-to-form performance mounts a strong defense of their first-place position.

“I want to continue getting the Arctics in the top spot,” Alhaddad said.

Zach Jeggo, Bears, 400mH

Bears’ Zach Jeggo was only a couple spots behind Alhaddad and Moulongou in the 400mH, but incredibly Jeggo hasn’t even graduated high school yet.

Coming off an OFSAA gold medal in both the 400m dash and the 400mH, the eleventh grader has shown loads of potential already. Jeggo considers himself a 400m specialist and competes in the 400m, but his time of 54.52 over the hurdles still makes him competitive with the fourth fastest preliminary mark this season.

With teammates like Moulongou, Roxroy Cato, and Devon Zuchotzki, Jeggo’s performance makes the Bears look likely to dominate both the 400 and the 400mH throughout the remainder of the season. Despite this, Jeggo plans to return to the 400m dash moving forward, where he runs a blistering 47.82 personal best.

“I’m hyped to run the 400 soon,” Jeggo said.

If he can match it, the time is good for the second best in the CTFL behind only Huskies’ Kobe Warden’s preliminary mark of 47.22.

Jeggo’s success on the track at such a young age is both surprising and impressive. He hopes to run at the CTFL finals in two weeks where he’ll be sporting a simple mantra.

“Open hard, close hard, stay relaxed and calm,” Jeggo said.

Doyin Ogunremi, Bears, 400m

Doyin Ogunremi’s performance at the meet was good for the event’s third best preliminary mark of the season with a time of 56.20.

Ogunremi’s strong performance was clear from the start, where she kicked out of the blocks with a quick and powerful acceleration.

“The start is something I’ve been working on a lot this season,” Ogunremi said. “I’m just working on getting out hard and being fearless in the first half.”

With the Bears heading into Ottawa’s twilight meet in last place, every point mattered. Ogunremi’s strong start was a testament to that, but she found herself fatigued heading toward the final two bends. Despite this, she kept with it to earn her respectable result. 

Ogunremi said there were lots of takeaways from the race, including the success of her new starting method. The area of growth was managing the fatigue, something she’s also been working on in her races.

“You have to learn to fight through it,” Ogunremi said. “I’m getting used to that feeling of my legs feeling paralyzed and just being able to be comfortable through it and work through it.”

The 400m is a difficult balance between an all-out sprint and finding a way to preserve a little energy for the last kick. Heading into the finals, this will be key for Ogunremi who’ll be looking to optimize her race to score significant points for the Bears.

“I did let off a little bit on the back straight, so for the final I want to keep the pedal down,” Ogunremi said.