The climb began last August in Ottawa.
When Leewinchell Jean, William Harris, Safwan El Mansari and David Moulongou captured bronze at the Canadian Track and Field Championships on home soil, the University of Ottawa men’s 4×400-metre relay established a foundation for what would become this season’s defining pursuit.
Over the winter, the personnel shifted — James Compeau stepped into the lead-off role — but the focus remained unchanged. Earlier this month, the Gee-Gees quartet broke a 13-year school record at Boston University, a breakthrough that signaled their progress.
On Saturday at York University, that steady ascent produced another milestone.
Compeau, El Mansari, Harris and Moulongou captured gold at the OUA championships in 3 minutes 15.71 seconds, setting a championship record and securing the first conference title in the event in program history.
The time eclipsed the previous OUA meet record of 3:15.87 set by Guelph in 2019. Ottawa led from the opening leg and never relinquished control.
Saturday’s OUA title adds another layer to a season that continues to build toward the U SPORTS Championships in Winnipeg next month.
Earlier in the day, El Mansari ran 1:19.11 to claim silver in the men’s 600 metres, then returned hours later to contribute a key leg in the championship-record relay. Teammate Thomas Senechal-Becker continued his upward trajectory, clearing a season-best 2.14 metres to earn bronze in the high jump. Jessica Gyamfi added another bronze to the Gee-Gees’ collection with a 13.27-metre throw in the women’s shot put.
In other action, a number of Lions athletes matched their podium finishes with personal-best performances.
Competing for Queen’s University, Elizabeth Vroom posted a lifetime best of 4:25.48 to claim silver in the women’s 1500 metres. It was Vroom’s second medal of the championship after anchoring the Gaels to bronze in the 4×800-metre relay.
The hurdles produced a pair of silver medals. Paulina Procyk, running for the University of Toronto, clocked a personal-best 8.46 seconds in the women’s 60-metre hurdles to secure an automatic berth to the U SPORTS Championships. On the men’s side, Western University’s David Adeleye delivered a season-best 7.89 seconds in both the preliminary and final rounds on his way to silver. Teammate Leo Wallner compiled a personal-best 4,863 points in the heptathlon to finish second and earn his first U SPORTS qualification.
Rounding out the weekend’s medalists, University of Guelph sophomore Liam Davis produced a personal-best throw of 15.95 metres in the shot put to capture silver. Davis, along with middle-distance runner Nicolas Belan, shared in Guelph’s men’s team title as the Gryphons totaled 136 points to Western’s 105.
On the women’s side, Kaiya Woodcock — a finalist in the 60 metres — celebrated as the Gryphon women secured team gold with 185 points, 52 clear of Western.