Lions set for University Championship Weekend

It’s championship weekend both north and south of the border this weekend with the USports National Championships taking place in Edmonton and the NCAA Championships being held in College Station, Texas.
In Edmonton, the Lions will be represented by 17 athletes competing in 13 different events over the course of the three day meet. Entries include three past medalists,  Devyani Biswal and Charlotte Gardner, both competing for the University of Ottawa and Ashley Connell of the University of Guelph.
Biswal, a graduate student in mathematics, is the defending champion in the 60m hurdles and is coming off a school record performance two weeks ago at the OUA Championships. She enters the competition ranked 4th and is ready to go even faster.
For Gardner, she will look to rekindle the same magic she displayed three years ago in winning bronze on the same Butterdome track. If the past few weeks of competition are any indication, Gardner looks poised run beyond her sixth place seed and right back on to the podium.
Connell is in her final year at Guelph appears ready to grab that elusive USports gold medal. The only question now is whether it will come in the shot put or weight throw. While Connell has excelled in the shot put from her freshman year, it has been her expertise in hurling a 20lb ball that has raised her to the top of the national rankings. She enters the shot put ranked second in the country.
Looking to make the podium for the first time, Carleton senior Talvin Tavernier will make his debut at the national championships. The engineering student enters the seven discipline heptathlon ranked third, five points behind second. Tavernier will also compete in the pole vault where he has the 10th best mark heading in after clearing a school record 4.70m last weekend.
In Texas, Adam Palamar will be the lone Lion vying for a national championship. The Syracuse University senior enters the mile competition ranked 6th.
Below is a complete list of Lion entries for this weekend’s USports Championships. You can watch live here.
Women’s 60m (Thursday 8pm Eastern HEATS, 9pm Eastern FINAL)
Shyvonne Roxborough – Guelph 3rd
Amelia Brohman – Carleton 6th
Charifa Labarang – Ottawa 11th
Women’s 600m (Thursday 9:30pm Eastern HEATS, Saturday 3:15pm Eastern FINAL)
Charlotte Gardner – Ottawa 6th
Madison Clarke – Ottawa 7th
Men’s 600m  (Thursday 9:45pm Eastern HEATS, Saturday 3:30pm Eastern FINAL)
Sebastian Saville – Carleton 5th
Stephen Evans – Ottawa 11th
Women’s 60m Hurdles (Friday 6:30pm Eastern HEATS, 7:30pm Eastern FINAL)
Devyani Biswal – Ottawa 4th
Tania Bambi – Ottawa 5th
Alexia Lamothe – Windsor 10th
Men’s 60m Hurdles (Friday 6:45pm Eastern HEATS, 7:40pm Eastern FINAL)
Scott Hancock – Ottawa 6th
Women’s 4x400m (Saturday 6pm Eastern FINAL)
uOttawa (Jecica Joseph, Sophia Skorenky, Madison Clarke, Charlotte Gardner) – 6th
Women’s 4x800m (Friday 10pm Eastern FINAL)
uOttawa  (Rebecca Brennan, Sophia Skorenky, Madison Clarke, Charlotte Gardner)- 5th
Men’s High Jump (Friday 7pm Eastern)
Steve Nkusi – Ottawa 10th
Men’s Pole Vault (Saturday 2:30pm Eastern)
Telvin Tavernier – Carleton 13th
Men’s Long Jump (Friday 9pm Eastern)
Scott Hancock – Ottawa 7th
Women’s Shot Put (Friday 9pm Eastern)
Ashley Connell – Guelph 2nd
Women’s Weight Throw (Thursday 4:30pm Eastern)
Ashley Connell – Guelph 1st
Men’s Heptathlon (Thursday 5:15pm Eastern)
Telvin Tavernier – Carleton 3rd