While the domestic cross country season was wrapping up in London this weekend, the indoor campaign was just getting started with Lions competing at Western, McGill, and York University. While small in numbers, the impact of the performances was large with athletes registering a pair of school records, two U SPORTS qualifiers, and multiple early season victories to set the tone for the season ahead.
London: Wins and Records at the Bob Vigars Season Opener
Setting the tone in London was one of the youngest competitors as grade 11 standout Ellie McGregor surged past a field of university athletes to win the women’s 600 metres. Already one of Canada’s top youth 800m runners, McGregor closed hard over the final lap to edge Western’s Kelly Mantel, stopping the clock at 1:34.94 to Mantel’s 1:35.37.
In the field, Ella Lalonde, a fourth-year University of Ottawa nursing student, matched her lifetime best with a clearance of 1.56 metres to take silver in the women’s high jump. Lalonde’s leap exceeded the OUA Championship standard, an encouraging start to her season.
The pentathlon brought more good news. Waverley Lyons, a first year student at Western, finished fourth with 2750 points, capping her day with a decisive win in the 800m. Carleton’s Clara Markey, competing in her first university combined event, placed fifth with 2636 points to establish a new Carleton record, surpassing Nicole Istead’s 2019 standard.
Finishing up on the track, the Gee-Gees William Harris closed out the meet with a win in the men’s 300. The third-year Gee-Gee edged Western’s Ayden Blain in 35.91, taking the victory by just two hundredths of a second.
Montreal: Nicoletti Breaks 39-Year-Old McGill Record at the Martlet Open
With uncertainty hanging over the future of McGill’s track and field program in recent days, the Martlet Open at McGill University carried some additional emotional weight, but a trio of Lions athletes competing for McGill responded with poise and power.
The performance of the meet, and possibly the country this weekend, belonged to Luca Nicoletti, a fourth-year materials engineering student, who blasted across the finish line of the men’s 300m in 34.11 seconds. The performance took down McGill’s longest-standing track record of 34.14 set by Orlando Haughton in 1986, and also surpassed the U SPORTS automatic standard of 34.17.
“Breaking the school record was a mini-goal for me,” Nicoletti said in a McGill press release. “But there’s more to come this season.” Luca’s run was a significant improvement on his previous best of 34.35 set at last year’s Martlet Opener.
The Lions added another mid-distance win through William Sanders, a second-year chemical engineering student who took command of the men’s 600m from the gun and never let it go. His winning time of 1:20.33 moves him to No. 4 on the Lions All-Time U20 list.
Sprinter Jay Yetman also impressed in his season debut, running lifetime bests in both the heats and final of the 60m, resulting in him trimming two tenths off his best as he finished fifth in 7.06. Yetman, who spent the majority of the fall with McGill’s rugby team, added a runner-up finish in the 200m with an indoor best of 22.24.
Toronto: Davis Delivers a Massive Throw and a U SPORTS Standard
At the York Holiday Open, University of Guelph second-year studen Liam Davis delivered one of the weekend’s biggest results, launching the 35 pound weight 18.17 metres, an early-season national lead and an automatic qualifier for the 2025 U SPORTS Championships.
The performance rockets Davis to No. 2 all-time in Ottawa Lions history and gives him the Club U23 record, surpassing James Fahie’s 1991 mark. It also represents another step up in performance after a strong rookie campaign with the Gryphons that saw him qualify for nationals in both throwing events.
Next Stop: New York
The momentum now carries into this Friday’s Saints Holiday Relays in Canton, NY, where the Lions, Ravens, and Gee-Gees will line up for the final competition before the holiday break. With sharp early-season form already on display, the group will look to close out the indoor season’s opening chapter on a high note.