A world masters record from Wendy Alexis highlighted a wave of standout performances by Ottawa Lions athletes across multiple meets this past weekend, led by a historic sprint in the W70 60 metres at the Ottawa Lions Winter Mini Meet hosted at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.
Alexis delivered the headline performance of the meet in the preliminary round of the 60 metres, clocking 9.11 seconds to break the World Masters Athletics W70 record of 9.17 set last February by fellow Canadian Karla del Grande. The mark lowers the global standard by six hundredths of a second and adds another milestone to Alexis’ long list of international masters achievements.
In addition to the record-setting performance, Lions athletes combined to produce 26 new personal bests at the Mini Meet across sprints, middle distance and field events.
Among the top open performances in Canton, Ange-Mathis Kramo continued to show strong early-season form in the men’s sprints. The Paul-Desmarais High School senior won the 60 metres in 6.96 seconds, his third-fastest career performance at the distance, and doubled back to dominate the 300 metres – winning in an indoor best of 34.40 seconds. University of Ottawa sprinter William Harris placed second in the 300 metres in 35.67.
Primarily known for his success in the sprints, James Compeau stepped up in distance and delivered a breakthrough effort in the 600 metres, winning in a lifetime best 1:21.00. Compeau, a second-year Finance student at the Telfer School of Management and a member of the Gee-Gees’ record-setting 4×400-metre relay earlier this season alongside Harris, ran largely unchallenged – crossing the line more than six seconds ahead of the field. His performance places him 12th on the University of Ottawa’s all-time list.
While Lions athletes were competing in Canton, several others posted nationally significant marks in Boston.
Queen’s University fourth-year runner Elizabeth Vroom recorded two lifetime bests in as many days across separate meets. She opened her weekend at the Harvard Crimson Open with a school record 2:45.22 in the 1000 metres, a performance that moves her to third on the club’s all-time list. Vroom followed with a 4:43.44 mile at the BU Valentine Invitational, setting a new club U23 record and delivering the fastest performance by a Lion at the distance since Tracy Robertson ran 4:39.10 to win the NCAA Indoor title in 2001. Heading into next weekend’s OUA Championships, Vroom now ranks seventh nationally in U SPORTS in the 1000 metres and sixth in the 1500 metres based on converted performances.
Also in Boston, Lauren Gale led the women’s 400-metre field with a seasonal best 52.56, winning her heat by nearly two and a half seconds. She later returned to place fourth in the 60-metre final in 7.66 seconds after posting the fastest qualifying time in the preliminary round.
Back in Ontario, throws specialist Liam Davis delivered his strongest meet since November at the University of Guelph Last Chance competition. The second-year Guelph student won the weight throw with a mark of 18.04 metres and added a fourth-place finish in the shot put at 15.10 metres, rounding out a productive weekend for Lions athletes across three meets.