A tale of two runners … going opposite ways
 
One athlete wins an unlikely Ontario high school championship, but another doesn't get a chance
 
By Martin Cleary, The Ottawa CitizenNovember 8, 2010 8:13 PM
 

OTTAWA -- At the start of the Ottawa high school cross-country running season in September, Yves Sikubwabo and Andrew Towle were polar opposites.

Sikubwabo, 17, was just settling into Ottawa and was six weeks away from registering at a high school. After competing for his native Rwanda in this past summer’s world junior track and field championships in Moncton, N.B., he decided to stay in Canada and seek refugee status after, he said, learning his life potentially was in danger if he returned home.

A student at Ottawa Tech Secondary School, Towle, 18, was ready to excel in his two National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association senior boys’ races. He would take that confidence and momentum to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ championships and challenge for a medal.