The young pair of Keira Christie-Galloway and Lauren Gale made a big splash south of the border last weekend as NCAA Conference Championship season came to a close. Both women, members of Team Canada at last year’s World Under 20 Championships, picked up new lifetime bests on the way to conference gold.
For Christie-Galloway, her transition to the NCAA from USport competition with the University of Ottawa Gee Gees has been as smooth one. The Iowa State Cyclone sped her way to a new lifetime best of 13.10 seconds in the 100m hurdles and another Big 12 title on Sunday. Christie-Galloway, who also captured the indoor conference title, has completely re-written the Iowa State record book in her short four and a half months in Ames, having set the school record three times already this season.
Also at the Big 12 Championships, Cyclone and Lion teammate Erinn Stenman-Fahey finished sixth in the 800m, crossing the line in a time of 2:08.87. For the senior Stenman-Fahey’s her placing Sunday in the 800m was the best of her career at the conference level.
Lauren Gale also ran her way into the record books this weekend as she swept the Mountain West conference indoor and outdoor 400m titles in her freshman year. The Colorado State Ram blew the field out of the water in Friday’s heats as she stopped the clock at 52.68 seconds, nearly a full second improvement from her previous best set just two weeks prior. The time was a school record and also moves her to number two in club history.
Gale’s dominance continued through the final where she cruised to victory in 53.18 seconds, more than a full second ahead of her nearest competitor. In addition to her individual accolade, Gale also picked up gold as a member of the Colorado State 4x100m relay as well as a bronze in the 4x400m.
At the Pac 12 Championships in Tucson, Arizona, Shona McCulloch continued to show she has a bright future in the 3000m steeplechase. The University of Washington sophomore placed fifth overall in a time of 10:23.02 to move into second in club history behind Danelle Woods. McCulloch also took part in the 5000m where she placed 19th in 16:46.43.
Rounding out the performances, Jeremie Venne saved the best race of his collegiate career for his last one. The Saint Francis senior placed second in the IC4A 1500m Saturday in Princeton, New Jersey in a new personal best time of 3:48.22.
Next up for Christie-Galloway, Stenman-Fahey and Gale will be the NCAA West Preliminaries scheduled for next Thursday through Saturday in Sacramento, California.
