It’s Championship weekend across the continent as universities battle it out for conference bragging rights. For the Ottawa Lions, the focus will be on Quebec City and Windsor where the OUA and RSEQ respectively will be held.
At the RSEQ Championships, the throwing duo of Brianna Asiamah and Connor Fraser will lead the way for the Carleton Ravens.
Asiamah will be competing in her first RSEQ Championship after twice qualifying for the USports Championship while an undergraduate at the University of Ottawa. She holds a personal best this season of 13.31 metres, which ranks her fourth in the nation and tops among the Quebec conference competitors.
Fraser has thrice bettered the Carleton school record this season and enters the weekend with a best throw of 15.27 metres. He sits seventh in the national rankings and will square off against Laval’s Anthony Labbe for a shot at the gold medal.
Rookie Adelle MacLeod will be looking to continue her string of school record performances in the Quebec capital. MacLeod, who is also a member of the Ravens figure skating team, is ranked third heading into the triple jump competition where she has a best leap this season of 11.18 metres. Teammate Ella-Grace Gilbert is also expected to factor into the mix sitting fifth in the rankings heading in.
Representing McGill University, the Lions’ Luca Nicoletti is a medal threat in both the 60 and 300 metre events. The second year engineering student ranks fourth and third respectively heading into the championship.
Led by school record holders Katie Manor and Doyin Ogunremi, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees enter this year’s OUA Championships with a shot of bringing a few medals home and securing multiple berths for the USport Championship in two weeks.
Manor owns a personal best of 7.53 seconds over 60 metres and will be a factor in determining the medals in Windsor as she enters the competition ranked fourth. The third year student will also be in the mix for team points at 300 metres where she is one of eight athletes with a ranking performance under 40 seconds.
Ogunremi will be among the favourites to step on the medal podium at 300 metres following her record breaking performance less than a week ago. Her run of 38.73 seconds currently ranks her in third.
The pair of runners will form a core nucleus of both the 4×200 and 4×400 metre relay squads which will be looking to cement their spot for the USport Championship. Each relay is currently ranked 11th nationally with only the top-12 receiving a spot on the starting line in Winnipeg.
In the field, look for Jessica Gyamfi to make some waves in both the shot put and weight throw events. The second year nursing student enters the shot put ranked fourth in the province with a best of 12.65 metres. She will likely need to better that mark to make the podium Friday night. Gymafi will also contest the weight throw competition where she is ranked seventh.
Representing the University of Toronto, David Adeleye will be a heavy medal favourite in his speciality – the 60 metre hurdles. The fourth-year student currently sits second in the national rankings with a Club U23 record time of 7.90 set two weeks ago on the same Windsor track. With Guelph’s Craig Thorne ranked first in the nation, Friday night’s final should give a good preview of what to expect at the USports Championship.
Audrey Goddard will be looking re-kindle the same OUA magic that led to a lifetime best and bronze medal performance in the pentathlon a year ago. The Western University student enters Friday’s event ranked fourth behind two of her Western teammates. Kathryn Moreland of the Gee-Gees will be gunning for her third personal best of the season as she enters ranked fifth.
South of the border, Maddie Seaby will contest the 3000 metres at her inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championship.
The stage is set for an exhilarating championship weekend, where these athletes will push their limits for glory and a chance to shine on the national stage. Best of luck to all of the Lions in action this weekend!
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