The opening night of the 2018 USports Track and Field Championships was squarely focused on the 600 metre semi-finals for the Lions and its four University of Ottawa athletes participating. The performances on the track did not disappoint with two athletes qualifying for Saturday’s final, Stephen Evans and Maeliss Trapeau.
Evans looked extremely comfortable in his heat one victory to secure his automatic qualification. The defending silver medalist was patient in his approach, allowing the leaders to do their work for the opening two laps. As the bell rang to signify the last lap Evans was already two strides into his sprint and one step ahead of his competitors. The fifth year political science student would not relent, much like he had done in the OUA final, and crossed the line in a time of 1:19.90, a half second ahead of his nearest competitor. Evans returns to action tonight in the men’s 1000m final at 5:45pm eastern.
On the women’s side, an impressive three Gee Gees qualified for the championship – a new school record. Sophomore Maeliss Trapeau was the top finisher Thursday evening as she secured her spot in Saturday’s final with a 1:31.08 clocking to finish second in the second of two semi-finals. With only six spots available for the final, qualification in the 600m was limited to the top runner in each heat plus the next four fastest times. For Madison Clarke and Mary Ollier, the pair finished just outside of the final finishing seventh and eighth respectively. Clarke posted a time of 1:32.30 while Ollier picked the perfect time for a new lifetime best of 1:32.93.
To round out the evening, the 4x200m team of Sydney Smith, Pernille Lund, Marie-Eve Dahms, and Sophia Skorenky finished 11th overall with a near seasonal best time of 1:43.57.
