If you’ve ever been, the McGill Team Challenge can be in just three words – “doooown the backstretch!” However, it wasn’t just the backstretch that was good to club athletes as they captured five medals on day one of Canada’s largest indoor track and field meet.
Things got kicked off on the sprint straightaway with both Farah Jacques and Oluwasegun Makinde cracking the top three. Jacques was the class of the women’s 60m field, winning in very dominating fashion with a time of 7.49. She finished 0.13 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, while equaling her personal best set last February. For Makinde, he finished third in the men’s 60m in 6.92 seconds. He had run 6.88 in the heats.
The ladies of the University of Ottawa picked up medals in each of the two relays held tonight – the 4x200m and 4x800m. The team of Charifa Labarang, Devyani Biswal, Gift Okwanku and Alannah McBride finished third overall after winning the slow heat. The quartet’s time of 1:42.91 equalled the fifth fastest and school history and now puts them fourth in the CIS rankings.
The women’s 4x800m team of Lina Sadqi, Clare McGrath, Chelsea Gillies and Charlotte Gardner were left to run on their own for most of the race, finishing third in 9:21.36. The time now ranks the Gee-Gees sixth in the CIS and also the fifth fastest in school history.
The final medal came in the high jump as Steve Nkusi was clear through 1.93 to finish in a four way tie for third. Nkusi is currently ranked fourth in the CIS with a best jump this year of 2.05m.
Another performance of note was in the pole vault where Nelson Cecereu cleared a personal best height of 4.63m to finish fourth. In addition to the personal best, the clearance now moves Cecereu into fifth in the current CIS rankings, second in Gee-Gee history and third in club history.
Action resumes Saturday morning with the 60m hurdles. You can watch all the action, live on Trackie.ca
