In the city where stars are made, Lions athletes shone bright on day one of the Armory Collegiate Invitational led by a new club record performance by Mohamed Souleiman in the 1000m. Souleiman’s second place run of 2:22.46, not only broke the previous club standard of 2:22.68 set by Yves Sikubwabo, but also moves him to number one on the current CIS rankings. The 2013-14 indoor has so far been a barn burner for Moh as he has set new University of Ottawa standards across the 1000m, 1500m and 3000m. He will look to improve on another tomorrow as he is scheduled to race the mile where he currently holds the school record of 4:22.63.
Also jumping to the top of the CIS rankings today was hurdler Sekou Kaba. After being leap frogged last weekend by Toronto’s Gregory MacNeil in the rankings, Kaba returned to number one with a personal best 7.85 second clocking in the semi-finals of the 60m hurdles. He would go on to finish fifth in the Championship Final with a time of 7.95 seconds.
In the women’s 500m college section, Charlotte Gardner showed she’s rounding into form ahead of the OUA Championships, setting a new University of Ottawa record of 1:13.91 to finish third. The time, which was a new personal best by more than five seconds, also moved Gardner to number two on the club’s all-time ranking.
Both University of Ottawa men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams also set new school standards today. The men’s team of Alex Behre, Gordon Cave, Scott Hitchcox, and Remy Binns finished third in 10:15.23, knocking 13.5 seconds off the previous best set back in 2012. The women’s team of Lina Sadqi, Bridget Hayes, Lucie Sagot-Duvauroux and Ruth Burrows finished 9th in 12:12.39, removing nearly two and a half seconds off the 2009 standard.
Competing in the junior women’s 1000m, Claire Smith and Erinn Stenman-Fahey finished an impressive 2-3, finishing in 2:52.45 and 2:52.56 respectively. For both women, the times represented new personal bests in excess of four seconds.
Competition resumes Saturday morning in New York City.
