When the USports Championship came to a close Saturday night, the half dozen women representing the Gee Gees had put on quite a show over the three day event, amassing 23 points and a top 10 finish. The highlight of the Championships was undoubtedly the strong performance of of Madison Clarke, who was responsible for 17 of those points, including a silver in the 600 metres.
The 600 metres was the premier event for the small Gee Gees team as half the team with half the team qualifying for the three lap race. After Sydney Smith’s eighth place finish in qualifying, Clarke and Maeliss Trapeau toed the line in the Butterdome Saturday afternoon in what would turn out to be an near replica of the OUA final from two weeks prior. For the second time in two weeks, Clarke placed second to Guelph’s Jenna Smith and by the exact same 0.04 second differential, as Clarke finished in 1:30.94.
For Trapeau, the results didn’t quite follow the OUA formchart as her finishing position flipped with Guelph’s Sadie Jane-Hickson as the biotechnology student placed fourth in 1:31.19, 11 hundredths behind Jane-Hickson.
Before her success at 600 metres, Clarke ran her way to a new lifetime best of two minutes and 47.05 seconds in Friday night’s 1000 metre final. The performance was good enough for fourth place and trimmed nearly two seconds off previous best set at the OUA Championships.
Clarke put together another top five finish Friday night as part of the 4×800 metre relay. Teamming up with Trapeau, Smith and Marie-Eve Dahms, Clarke and company ran their way to a seasonal best time of nine minutes and 5.46 seconds.
The only other Lion to post a top eight finish was hurdler Leewinchell Jean. The University of Windsor rookie was seventh across the line in the 60 metre hurdle final, stopping the clock at 8.27 seconds.
Other results:
Gee Gees 4x400m relay 9th 3:50.31 (Madison Clarke, Rebecca Brennan, Sydney Smith, Marie-Eve Dahms)
Caroline Poirier Pole Vault 11th 3.50m
Claudine Nafaa Pole Vault 12th 3.50m