For the first time in history there was more on the line at the varsity intersquad then seeing where your fitness levels were. This past Saturday, Team Black consisting of members from the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Lions were the winning team with a combined 175 points, 9 ahead of Team Garnett and 15 in front of Team Grey.
While picking up victories in five events, Team Black’s strong finish was bolstered by their team of male sprinters. To this point, the quartet of David Adeleye, Brandyn Martineau, Michael Pinnock and Alex Manual swept the top four spots in the 60 metres, picking up 29 points between them. Other winners for the Carleton and Lions combined team included Doyin Ogunremi (women’s 300m), Beatha Nishimwe (women’s 3000m), Sebastian Saville (men’s 500m) and Callum Saravanamuttoo (men’s 3000m).
The third placed Team Garnet only managed three victories enroute to their second place finish with all three coming in the field. Pole vaulter Caroline Poirier was in great early season form, clearing 3.45 metres to take victory. The Louis-Riel graduate is now in her second year at the University of Ottawa and certainly looks primed to improve upon her fourth place finish at last season’s OUA Championships and take a run at her personal best of 3.70 metres. In the shot put, freshman Brianna Asismah pushed the 4 kilogram ball out to 11.28 metres for victory. Kyle Sprague was victorious in the long jump.
The only athlete to pick up more than one victory Saturday was University of Ottawa senior Emily Sprague who captured both the 60 metres and long jump. The combined events athlete showed off her versatility with a personal best of 8.26 seconds to take the 60 and a 4.76 metre effort in the long jump. Her two wins for Team Grey represented a third of the team’s total.
Off the track, the NCAA Cross Country Championships took place Saturday with both Farah Abdulkarim and Shona McCulloch in action. On a cold and rainy course in Terre Haute, Indiana McCulloch moved up 73 spots over last year’s finish as she placed 115th on the 6 kilometre course in a time of 21 minutes and 20.3 seconds. McCulloch and her Washington Husky team placed 11th overall with 296 points.
In the men’s race, Farah Abdulkarim had to pull out just over two kilometres in following an early race injury. The Ole Miss senior said he slid on the turf and suffered a hip strain in the race’s opening kilometre. However, Abdulkarim is confident about a speedy recovery, simply stating, “I’ll be good to go,” in a message following the race. His Rebel teammates certainly missed his leadership and points on the championship course as they fell back from a pre-race ninth place ranking to finish 22nd.
For photos of Saturday’s Intersquad Meet, please check out the album on our Facebook page.