Lions athletes shook off the holiday break in emphatic fashion last Saturday at the University of Sherbrooke’s Vert et Or Invitation, with the first meet of the new year producing 24 personal bests. Further underscoring the sharpness on display, five all-time top-10 performances were added to the Gee-Gees and Ravens record books, along with a new Lions top-10 mark, highlighting a highly productive holiday training period.
At the centre of the day’s biggest breakthrough was William Sanders, who delivered one of the meet’s standout performances in the men’s 300 metres. Racing for McGill, the Ottawa Lions standout surged to victory in 34.81 seconds, slicing 16 hundredths off his previous personal best set last season at the Ravens Last Chance Meet. Once conversions are applied for Sherbrooke’s flat track, Sanders now sits fourth in the early-season U SPORTS rankings, trailing only his McGill teammate and fellow Lion Luca Nicoletti. Finishing behind Sanders was the University of Ottawa’s James Compeau, who crossed the line in 35.83.
Another gold medal performance came from Ellie McGregor, who continued her remarkable season by winning the women’s 600 metres in a personal-best 1:34.04. McGregor powered past Myriam Deslandes of the Montreal Carabins (1:34.65), the top-ranked RSEQ athlete, to claim her second victory of the season against university competition.
Rounding out the list of meet winners was Leewinchell Jean, who delivered a commanding victory in the 60-metre hurdles. Jean crossed the line in a lifetime-best 8.29 seconds, finishing more than two-tenths ahead of Sherbrooke’s Gabriel Pomerleau. The education student now sits 11th in U SPORTS and has moved to seventh on the Gee-Gees’ all-time list.
Still on the track, Safwan El Mansari added another podium finish to his sophomore campaign with a silver medal in the 600 metres. The Gee-Gees runner clocked 1:20.68, finishing just two-tenths of a second behind Sherbrooke’s Thomas Péladeau. With his adjusted time, El Mansari currently sits 10th in the U SPORTS rankings.
In the men’s 60 metres, Noah Leinweber became the second Gee-Gee this season to break the seven-second barrier. The human kinetics graduate student clocked 6.97 in the semis, qualifying for the final where he finished seventh overall. Leinweber, who competed for the Windsor Lancers as an undergraduate, joins Joel Gurnsey in the sub-seven club this winter — the first time uOttawa has had multiple athletes under seven seconds since 2013, when four sprinters achieved the standard. Leinweber’s time ranks him eighth on the Gee-Gees’ all-time list.
Over on the Carleton Ravens side, several athletes made their mark in Sherbrooke by climbing into the school’s all-time top-10 rankings. Cole Simard ran 7.14 to rank fourth on the 60 metres list, while Will Flett’s 7.36 performance moved him into ninth. In the men’s 1000 metres, rookie Duncan Gray added his name to the school record books by running 2:42.55, ranking ninth in Ravens history.
With the Vert et Or Invitation now in the books, the Lions and their university athletes will enjoy a rare weekend off before returning to competition the following week in Montreal for what is expected to be the final edition of the McGill Team Challenge.