Bianca-Borgella-2022-CDN-100m-Champ

Lions add three more medals on day three of Canadian Championships

by linkinbioNational

With temperatures in Langley soaring above 30 degrees centigrade in the first heat wave of the BC summer, the Ottawa Lions raised their game to meet the scorching temperatures on the track. The Lions amassed three more medals on day three of competition at the Canadian Track and Field Championships to bring their total to nine. 

When Bianca Borgella started her track career in earnest, a little more than a year ago, the personal bests and Canadian records came fast and furious for the T13 visually impaired athlete. It seemed almost as though she would run a new record every week in 100 metres at one point. Then the records stopped, but that all changed Saturday night at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. 

Powered by a quicker than normal start, Borgella ran away from a field that included Paralympic bronze medalist Marissa Papaconstantinou and burst through the finish line in a time of 12.43 seconds. The performance trimmed a full tenth of a second off her previous best, and Canadian T13 record, set last August at the final Twilight Meet of the season. 

The victory moved Borgella’s record to a perfect 2-0 at the Championship after she had won the ambulatory 400 metres the night before – also in a T13 Canadian Record time. 

For Lauren Gale, she learned a valuable lesson Saturday night in the 400 metre final – better to trip out of the blocks than at the end of the race. Despite a stumble out of the blocks, the Olympian regained her stride and sprinted her way to a silver medal in a time of 51.61 seconds. 

“It’s close to a personal best,” Gale noted positively about her race. “I’m happy to come second at Canadian nationals. I’m excited.”

The next stop for the 22-year-old will be the start line in Eugene, OR for the World Championships, which begin July 15. Gale, who bettered the World Athletics standard, is expected to be formally announced as a member of Team Canada this coming week. 

Out in the field, Tommy Nedow found the perfect time to launch the best throw of his season. The Brockville native whirled the two kilogram platter out to 53.07 metres on his third throw to secure the silver medal. 

Saturday’s silver medal was Nedow’s second medal in the senior discus competition, having captured the bronze three years ago in Montreal. 

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Vroom and Stonham lead medal haul on day two of Canadian Championships

by linkinbioNational

On the second day of the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, BC the Lions added five medals to their haul, including the first two golds.

The day ended with bang as the duo of Elizabeth Vroom and Louise Stonham ran their way to the top two spots on the medal podium. Vroom continued her unbeaten streak in the steeplechase this year, taking the 3000 metre race in a personal best time of 10:40.33 – making her the 16th fastest Canadian U20 runner in history. 

Stonham wasn’t far behind her teammate, as she dipped under 11 minutes for the first time, crossing the line in 10:58.66 for silver.

The ladies made it three straight Canadian U20 Championships where the Lions placed two runners on a steeplechase podium. Kevin Robertson and Will Cox went 1-3 at the 2019 Championships, while Jonathan Rioux and Andre Alie-Lamarche placed 2-3 in 2018. 

Bianca Borgella nabbed the other gold medal on day two, as she dominated the field in the para ambulatory 400 metres. The 19-year-old Borgella took off like a bolt of lightning out of the blocks, blowing past the competition to win in a time of 1:02.19. The performance bettered her own Canadian T13 record by more than a second and a half.

“Tired. Lactic,” were the first two words out of Audrey Goodard’s mouth following the final event of the two day U20 heptathlon. After a personal best in the event, 2:34.05, Goddard had amassed 4480 points to share the silver with London Western’s Robin Selkirk. 

The seven event competition was a learning experience for the future Western University student. “I have a lot more left than I think,” explained Goddard. “When I think that I don’t, I can push.”

Goddard’s medal was the first for a U20 heptathlete from the Lions since Olivia Leon’s silver in 2016. Her point total was also the third highest for a U20 athlete in Club history. 

Picking up his second medal of the championship was Josh Cassidy as he won a bronze in the para wheelchair 1500 metres. The Paralympian, who finished in a time of 3:26.62, will now refocus his efforts to the marathon, which he will compete in at the Commonwealth Games in August before taking on some fall marathon races. 

(Langley, British Columbia ---23 June 2022) Josh Cassidy competing on day two of the Canadian Track and Field Championships at McLeod Athletic Park. Photograph 2022 Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Cassidy takes silver in 800m; Goddard second after day one of heptathlon

by linkinbioNational

The first day of competition at the 2022 Canadian Track and Field Championships featured only one final for Lions athletes, but it was enough to produce the first medal of the championship. Josh Cassidy took home the silver medal in the wheelchair 800 metres Thursday with a time of one minute and 42.31 seconds.

The defending champion in the event, from 2019, pushed the pace early while battling strong headwinds on the home stretch. Cassidy had a firm hold on the lead through about 550 metres before veteran Alexandre Dupoint used the wind at their backs to swing past him as they entered the final 200. Cassidy tried to respond, but could not find a way past Dupont on the homestretch.

He will try to get back on top of the podium today with the wheelchair 1500 metre final set to go at 4:40 pm Pacific. 

Day one also brought about the start of the heptathlon with Audrey Goddard and Brooklyn McCormick contesting the U20 and open competitions respectively. 

Goddard got off to a strong start in the 100 metre hurdles, her forte,and kept things rolling from there to a day one score of 2770 points to sit in second place after day one. 

The recent Merivale high school graduate was succinct in her characterization of her first heptathlon experience. “It was good.” 

Goddard had a consistent day one with marks of 14.70 seconds in the hurdles, 1.54 metres in high jump, 8.50 metres in shot put and 26.08 in the 200 metres.  “Nothing was amazing for me,” she said of her performances. But everything was “ok”.

McCormick, also competing in her first heptathlon, sits in 14th place after day one with 2137 points. 

The heptathlon finishes today with the long jump, javelin, and 800 metres starting at 9:30 am local time. 

OTTAWA, ON -- 08 July 2018: Saj Alhaddad racing in the 400m hurdles final at the 2018 Athletics Canada National Track and Field Championships held at the Terry Fox Athletics Facility in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Lions ready to take on nation in Langley

by linkinbioNational

Over the Rockies to the lower mainland we go. Since Monday, Lions athletes have been making their way to the city Langley, a suburb on the far outskirts of Vancoucver to fight for national medals. It’s a first for many of these athletes, as the U20 contingent have been left without a championship since 2019. While a select number of athletes had the pleasure of competing at last year’s Olympic Trials, this is also the first taste of national level competition for many since before the pandemic. 

In total, 37Lions athletes will be fighting for a spot on the podium this weekend at McLeod Athletic Park, where action gets going today. Among the favourites are Lauren Gale and Josh Cassidy. Both athletes have already been named to Team Canada for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK. It is anticipated Gale will also be named to the World Championship team, having bettered the 400 metre standard of 51.35 last month at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Gale, will also be among the medal favourites in the 200 metres, as she enters the competition with a season’s best and Club record of 22.82 seconds. 

Cassidy, a veteran of two Paralympic Games, will be looking to add to his large collection of national medals as he contests both the T54 800 and 1500 metres this week. Bouncing back from the Notwill Grand Prix in May where he failed to complete a race, Cassidy will be looking to find the form that saw him capture a trio of gold medals (800m/1500m/5000m) three years ago in Montreal.

Looking to find his way back on the national podium will be Saj Alhaddad in the 400 metres hurdles. The 30-year old has been a fixture in the national final for the past decade and enters the competition with the third fastest seed time. With already four Canadian medals to his name, look for Alhaddad to challenge his season’s best of 51.92 seconds set just two weeks ago at the Ontario Championships, where he ran to a silver medal. 

A triple medalist at the Ontario Championships, Tommy Nedow, will drop the hammer throw and focus his efforts on the shot put and discus this weekend in Langley. With a seed performance of 52.35 metres this season, Nedow is in a tight race to reclaim the bronze he won in 2019. In the shot put, the Southeastern Louisiana graduate will find himself in a tough battle for a medal in the shot put. Tommy enters the competition ranked 4th, but seeds three through six are all within 71  centimetres of each other. 

With Lions record holder Melissa Bishop-Nriagu not competing this season as she is pregnant with her second child, the women’s 800 metre gold is wide open. Hoping to find herself in the final mix is Sydney Smith. The University of Ottawa graduate student is coming off a new personal best of 2:05.35 set at the recent Ontario Championships and will be looking to secure herself a spot in the final where anything can happen. 

The men’s 800 metres will see Stephen Evans go after his first national medal. The former USports champion has found himself in multiple national finals in the past, but is still looking to make the breakthrough to that podium appearance. Evans appears primed for the task having set personal bests both indoors and out this season, was victorious in both Montreal and Guelph stops on the National Track Tour, the later included Evans’ first sub 1:48 run. 

A strong contingent of women will lead the U20 Lions into Langley. Elizabeth Vroom is the top seed entering the 3000 metre steeplechase following her Ontario Championship victory. Vroom, whose mark of 10:58.23  is nearly 15 seconds faster than the next entry, will be joined in the final by teammate Louise Stonham, who could also find herself on the podium. 

Training partners Amelia Van Brabant and Maddie Seaby will continue their season’s long duel at 3000 metres. The pair will enter the competition with the fourth and fifth fastest time respectively – an impressive feat for the two 17 year olds. . 

Finally, sprinter Katie Manor will look to turn a pair of provincial medals into national ones. . Manor produced a silver (100m) and gold (200m) and appears ready to elevate her running even further. Entering with personal bests of 11.94 seconds (100m) and 24.75 seconds (200m), the University of Ottawa student is ranked 6th and 9th respectively. 

Competition Schedule (All times in PST)

Thursday, June 23

09h30 U20 Heptathlon 100H Audrey Goddard
09h35 Open Heptathlon 100H Brooklyn McCormick
09h55 Open Women 400m Qualifying Helena Jovic/Doyin Ogunremi
10h55 U20 Men 100m Qualifying Seiyf Gebara/Luca Nicoletti
11h00 U20 Heptathlon High Jump Audrey Goddard
11h00 Open Heptathlon High Jump Brooklyn McCormick
11h10 Open Women 100m Qualifying Coralie Ostertag
11h25 Open Men 100m Qualifying Bertwin Ben-Smith/Michael Pinnock/Zach Bryant/Denzel Martineau
12h15 U20 Women 200m Qualifying Emma Martin
12h25 Open Women 200m Qualifying Doyin Ogunremi/Coralie Ostertag
12h45 Open Men 200m Qualifying Bertwin Ben-Smith/Michael Pinnock/Zach Bryant/Denzel Martineau
14h30 U20 Heptathlon Shot Put Audrey Goddard
14h30 Open Heptathlon Shot Put Brooklyn McCormick
16h45 Para Wheelchair 800m Final Josh Cassidy
17h00 U20 Heptathlon 200m Audrey Goddard
17h05 Open Heptathlon 200m Brooklyn McCormick

Helena Jovic competes at the Bob Vigars Classic in London, Ontario, Sunday, May 29, 2022. Mundo Sport Images/ GEOFF ROBINS

Lions set bests and win medals at Bob Vigars Classic

by linkinbioNationalProvincial

The National Track and Field Tour rolled its way into southwestern Ontario for its third stop on Sunday at the Bob Vigars Classic in London. The largest outing of the early outdoor season for the Lions saw 20 athletes compete at Western University’s Alumni Stadium – pulling in a number of personal bests and six podium performances. 

Rachael Burrows captured the three Lions victoires Sunday, sweeping all three sprint events. The Paralympian rolled her way to victories over 100, 200, and 400 metres in times of 23.61, 46.75, and 1:34.52 respectively. 

Also on the sprint straightaway, Kathryn Manor and Bertwin Ben-Smith each produced lifetime bests to earn spots in their respective 100 metre elite finals. 

Manor, who just wrapped up her first year at the University of Ottawa, dipped under the 12-second barrier for the first time in her career in the heats to claim the eighth spot in the final with a time of 11.96 seconds. The time makes Manor the fourth fastest U20 woman in Club history. She would place eighth in the final with a time of 12.12.

Ben-Smith trimmed one one-hundredth of a second off his best in the heats as clocked in at 10.72 seconds. The University of Guelph graduate followed up in the final with an all-conditions equaling best of 10.68 seconds to finish sixth. 

David Moulongou and Sydney Smith, competing at 400 metres, also found their way on to the “PB train”. Moulongou trimmed five hundredths of a second off his best, crossing the line in 49.60 seconds on his way to a second place finish in the open section. Smith showed she was nothing if not consistent in her fourth place finish in the elite section. The University of Ottawa graduate student matched her best of 55.59 seconds set just two weeks prior in Ottawa. 

The other medal on the track came from Helena Jovic as she took home the bronze in the 400 metre hurdles. The University of Toronto student crossed the line in 1:03.55.

In the field, Emma Dobson-Takoff produced a best leap of 11.01 metres, just three centimetres off her best, in the triple jump to place third. Also in the horizontal jumps, Maria Okwechime exceeded her lifetime best with a windy 5.70 metre leap to finish just off the podium in fourth. 

(Ottawa, Canada---08 July 2017) Katarina Vlahovic, Keira Christie-Galloway competing in the U20 100m hurdle final at the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships. (Photo by Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Tough weekend for Lions at NCAA Preliminaries

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

A spot at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships was on the line this past weekend for three Lions athletes as they took part in regional events at the University of Indiana (East) and the University of Arkansas (West). 

Syracuse runner Kevin Robertson got the action started last Wednesday night in the 3000 metre steeplechase finishing 39th in the field of 48.  Racing in the second of three quarter final heats, the third year student was two seconds back of the leaders by the second pass of the finish line. With laps between 76 and 80 seconds, Robertson was unable to narrow the gap and finished in a time of nine minutes and 9.22 seconds. 

At McDonnell Field in Arkansas, Keira Christie-Galloway closed out her collegiate career Thursday night with a fourth place finish in her first round heat of the 100 metre hurdles. The Arizona State runner’s time of 13.52 seconds was a scant four hundredths of second outside of a qualifying spot. 

Lauren Gale looked primed to return to the NCAA Championships next month after comfortably winning her 400 metre heat at the West Preliminary on Thursday night. Running out of lane two, the six time Mountain West Conference 400 metre champion finished two tenths ahead of Baylor’s Kavia Francis in a time of 52.40. 

However, Gale’s fortunes were not as good yesterday in the quarter final. After narrowly missing qualifying in the 4×100 relay early in the session, Gale dropped out of the 400 metre quarter final almost immediately after the gun went off, according to the school’s press release. As a result she did not compete in the 4×400 relay.

Photo: Graham Baird

Kevin Robertson sets new steeplechase best in Virginia

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

It seems as though every time Kevin Robertson steps on the track this season, he runs just a little faster than the last time. Such was the case Friday night at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville when the Syracuse junior won his heat of the 3000 metre steeplechase in a new lifetime best of 8 minutes and 46.98 seconds. 

Friday night’s time was Robertson’s second personal best performance of the season and all three of his steeplechase runs have been under his pre-season best. 

“The fitness is coming along really well and I feel like my steeple technique is getting better every race,” said Robertson following his race. “I’ll probably race a 1500 next weekend where I’ll get to see what I’ve got in a flat race”

The Bell High School grad will return his focus to the steeplechase at next month’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championship at Duke University and then at the NCAA East Regional Preliminary where he hopes to earn a spot on the line at the NCAA Championships in June. 

The Jack Christiansen Invitational in Colorado may have had you thinking you were at a cross country meet with the mercury hovering around 10 degrees celsius and the wind blowing between 40 to 55 km/h. Despite the unfavourable conditions, Lauren Gale finished the final home meet of her collegiate career with a pair of sizable victories.

Gale started the day off by outclassing the 400 metre field by more than five seconds as she powered through the gusting winds to win a time of 52.49 seconds. The Colorado State senior promptly followed that up with an outdoor all-conditions best of 23.07 seconds – more than a second and a half ahead of teammate Grace Goldsworthy in second. While the trailing wind of 4.0 m/s was too much for record purposes, the performance was within the allowable limit for NCAA ranking purposes.

With her two victories on Saturday, Gale now ranks 29th and 30th in the NCAA for the 200 and 400 metres respectively. 

Keira Christie-Galloway took top spot at the ASU Twilight Collegiate in Tempe, AZ. The Arizona State runner won the 100 metre hurdle event in a time of 13.38 seconds, narrowly edging out teammate Cortney Jones. Christie-Galloway, who owns a seasonal best of 13.34 seconds, is currently ranked 41st in the NCAA and well positioned to return to the NCAA West Preliminaries next month. 

Down in Texas,Sharelle Samuel’s winning streak over the 400 metre hurdles was snapped Saturday at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco. The Harvard senior placed 10th in 59.41 seconds – the second best of her career. Samuel was also 12th in the open 400 metres in 55.52 seconds.

Rounding out the performances from the weekend, Tommy Nedow posted two top five finishes at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge. Nedow placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 51.50 metres and took fifth in the shot put with a heave of 16.35 metres. The Southeastern Louisiana University student also placed 9th in the hammer throw, hurling the 16 pound ball out to 51.49 metres. 

(Toronto, Canada---18 March 2022) David Adeleye of the University of Toronto competing on day one of the OUA Track and Field Championships at the Toronto Track and Field Centre on the campus of York University. Photograph 2022 Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Adeleye and Telford bring home bronze from USports Championship

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

The 41st edition of the USports Track and Field Championships wrapped up Saturday at the Irving Oil Fieldhouse in St. John, New Brunswick with much to celebrate. While the championship marked the return of the national event after a one year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions, it was also the first time the event had ever been held on Canada’s east coast. With a pair of bronze medals and another two fourth place finishes, it was a successful weekend for the Lions athletes.

Taking home the first medal of the weekend was David Adeleye in the 60 metre hurdles. The second year student at the University of Toronto, posted a time of 8.15 seconds in the final to narrowly edge out the next three finishers, who all crossed the line with four hundreds of a second of David. 

In the heats, Adeleye posted the fastest time of his career – a blazing 8.07 seconds. The time makes the Ashbury graduate the sixth fastest in Club history. 

A five time relay medalist at Canadian age class championships, Alexandra Telford snagged her first individual medal on the national stage with a bronze in the 300 metres. Running a Carleton University record of 38.69 seconds in the slow section of the timed final, Telford had to wait a few minutes for the fast section to go before her spot on the podium was confirmed. 

Thomas Senechal-Becker had his eyes on a podium spot heading into Friday night’s high jump final, but would settle for fourth place. The first year student at the University of Ottawa entered ranked third with a best of 2.05 metres, but struggled with misses at his early heights and was able to go no higher than 2.02 metres on the day. 

Similarly to Senechal-Becker, Sydney Smith narrowly missed the podium as well. The OUA 600 metre champion finished an agonizing four hundredths of a second out of third. Smith sat in second, with a narrow lead over eventual champion Sadie-Jane Hickson of Guelph at the bell before quickly pushing to the lead on the backstretch. She would maintain the lead through most of the final corner before it appears she is bumped and ends up swinging wide out into lane two as she enters the straightaway. Fighting for the line, Smith was out leaned in the final metre for bronze. 

Smith’s meet was not over, as she would finish the Championship by helping the Gee-Gees 4×400 metre relay team to a seventh place finish. The quartet, which also included Doyin Ogunremi, Frédérique Bell, and Hannah Frazer posted a time of 3:54.71 – their second fastest of the season. 

The final top eight finish came from shot putter Brianna Asiamah. The third year student at the University of Ottawa managed a best throw of 12.31 metres to place eighth in her first USports Championship. 

Other Lions results from the Championship include:

Paulina Procyk & Helena Jovic (Toronto) 4x200m – 9th 1:44.74
Vanessa Lu Langley & Audrey Gilmour (McGill) 4x200m – 11th 1:57.53
Will Cox (Dalhousie) 3000m – 12th 8:37.96
Robert Mitchell (Calgary) 4×800 – 11th 7:56.68
Helena Jovic (Toronto) 4x400m – 5th 3:53.20

22USportsTF_WebBanner

USports Championships kick off today with 14 Lions in action

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

For the first time in two years, Canada’s best university athletes are gathering in New Brunswick for national bragging rights and some glittering hardware. The USports Track and Field Championships start today in St. John at the recently built Irving Oil Fieldhouse and continues through Saturday.

A total of seven Lions varsity athletes representing the University of Ottawa and Carleton have made the trip out east for the Championship where they will be joined by seven other Club members representing their respective universities.

The University of Ottawa is led by OUA Champion Sydney Smith who looks to add national champion to her running resume in the 600 metres and will also run anchor on the Gee-Gees 4×400 metre relay team. Smith enters the heats of the 600, which take place today at 6:30pm eastern, as the top seed.

Joining the medal hunt for the Gee-Gees is Thomas Sénéchal-Becker in the high jump. The first year accounting student boasts a best of 2.05 metres this season, which ranks him third in the country heading into this weekend’s competition. The OUA silver medalist jumps for gold Friday night at 4pm.

Brianna Asiamah enters Friday night’s shot put competition ranked 10th in the country. The third year social work student will be pushing for a spot in the final when action goes Friday night at 6pm.

The Gee-Gees 4×400 metre relay team will be running in the fast section of the timed final Saturday afternoon. The quartet of Doyin Ogunremi, Frédérique Bell, Hannah Frazer, and Sydney Smith just missed out on a medal at the OUA championships and are eager to show the country just how fast they can go when the gun goes off at 3pm on Saturday.

Carleton University’s lone entry in this year’s championship is Alexandra Telford. The architecture graduate student is among the medal favourites when competition in the 300 metres gets underway on Friday – having posted the third fastest time in the country while winning the RSEQ Championships two weeks ago.

Telford had qualified in the 60m hurdles as well, but dropped the event to focus on the 300, as the hurdles are also scheduled for Friday. It will be a tight turnaround for the 300 metre field with the heats scheduled for 4:50pm and the final set to go just 110 minutes later at 7:40.

A trio of Lions will be representing the Varsity Blues of Toronto this weekend. David Adeleye will contest the 60 metre hurdles, where he enters with the sixth fastest time. The duo of Paulina Procyk and Helena Jovic will run on the Blues 4×200 metre squad, with Jovic also featuring on the 4×4 team as well.

Leewinchell Jean, a third year student at the University of Windsor, will line up for his second USports Championships this weekend. A finalist in the 60 metre hurdles two years ago, Jean will only contest the 4×400 metre relay this weekend for the Lancers as an injury hampered early season preparation in his marquee event.

In tonight’s 4×200 metre relay heats, Vanessa Lu-Langley will pass the baton to clubmate Audrey Gilmour as the pair represent McGill University. The Martlets enter the championship with the sixth fastest time in the country this season.

Rounding out the field of Lions is Will Cox, representing Dalhousie University. Cox will run the 3000 metres for the Tigers Friday night at 5:50pm. The AUS Champion enters the championship ranked 13th.

Lions Schedule

Thursday, March 31

Sydney Smith (uOttawa) 600m Heat 2 6:30pm
Paulina Procyk & Helena Jovic (Toronto) 4x200m Heat 3 7:20pm
Vanessa Lu Langley & Audrey Gilmour (McGill) 4x200m Heat 3 7:20pm

Friday, April 1

David Adeleye (Toronto) 60mH Heat 1 3:45pm
Thomas Sénéchal-Becker (uOttawa) High Jump Final 4:00pm
David Adeleye (Toronto) 60mH Final 4:40pm*
Alexandra Telford (Carleton) 300m Heat 1 4:50pm
Will Cox (Dalhousie) 3000m Final 5:50pm
Brianna Asiamah (uOttawa) Shot Put Final 6:00pm
Alexandra Telford (Carleton) 300m Final 6:40pm*

Saturday, April 2

Sydney Smith (uOttawa) 600m Final 12:15pm*
Paulina Procyk & Helena Jovic (Toronto) 4x200m Final 1:15pm*
Vanessa Lu Langley & Audrey Gilmour (McGill) 4x200m Final 1:15pm*
Helena Jovic (Toronto) 4x400m Final 3:00pm
Doyin Ogunremi, Frédérique Bell, Hannah Frazer, Sydney Smith (uOttawa) 4x400m Final 3:00pm

Live Results can be found at https://www.windsortiming.com/LiveResults/2022/USport/index.php

All the action will be streamed live on CBC.ca/sports

(Montreal, Canada---27 July 2019) Kevin Robertson running to Gold in the U20 3000m steeplechase at 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Claude Robillard Sports Centre in Montreal. 2019 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Robertson sets new Club U23 steeplechase standard

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

When Kevin Robertson opened his 2022 outdoor season on Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina, it was in an event we haven’t seen him run in a while – the 3000 metre steeplechase. The 2019 Canadian U20 champion had not contested the event since capturing his only national title three years ago. A combination or COVID and lyme disease kept him away from his favourite event, but he returned like he had not missed a step.

The Syracuse University junior placed 12th in the Raleigh Relays with a U23 Club record of 8:53.53 – a full 20 seconds faster than his Canadian championship winning time and Club U20 record.

“Yep it felt pretty natural getting back into it,” noted Robertson after his run. However, he’s confident there is much more in store for him this season. “I only started steeple practice a week ago so I feel like I have a lot of room to improve this season. Just cleaning up my form should help me run a lot faster.”

At the Canadian Indoor Championships in New Brunswick, Madeline Seaby took bronze in the U18 women’s 3000 metre event. The Carleton Place resident crossed the line in a time of 10 minutes and 11.96 seconds and was followed by training partner Olivia Baggley in 10:31.16. Baggley placed sixth.

Seaby also took fifth in the 1500 metres in 4:50.21.

The Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in Miami was the site of Sharelle Samuel’s second straight victory over the 400 metre hurdles. The Harvard senior crossed the line in a collegiate best of 1:01.44 as she narrowly edged out Karlie Zumbro of Ball State for top spot.

Tommy Nedow took top spot in the discus at the Bulldog Relays hosted by Mississippi State University with a throw of 48.86 metres. It was his second victory in as many weeks in the event. Nedow also finished third in the shot put with a best throw of 15.50 metres.