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With temperatures rising to 10 degrees Celsius, blue skies and puffy clouds above, it was a perfect, picturesque day for the scores of runners criss-crossing the the grounds of the Valley Course at Blackbear Resort in Langford, British Columbia at the 2020 Pan Am XC Cup. For Lions runner Kevin Robertson, it was the ideal setting for his debut in a Team Canada singlet.

The Syracuse University freshman toed the line yesterday in his first international race yesterday in the Victoria suburb of Langford after placing third at the Canadian Championships last November. Lined up with the some of the best runners in the Western Hemisphere, Robertson was 19th across the finish line, completing the 8-kilometre course in 29 minutes and 17 seconds. Robertson picked up two medals as a member of Team Canada as the U20 men earned NACAC silver and Pan Am bronze.

Robertson wasn’t the only one with a Lions connection participating in Saturday’s event with current coach Kirk Dillabaugh and alum Christian Weber taking part in the Can Am Masters XC race. The pair teamed up as part of the Old Ottawa South Harriers team where they placed 18th and 15th respectively. Weber, who ranks among the top five runners in Club history at both 5,000 and 10,000 metres, completed the five kilometre course in 22 minutes and 6 seconds while Dillabaugh crossed the line 41 seconds later in 22:47.

The Gee-Gee women picked up exactly where they left off on day two of the OUA Championships with two more medals to bring the championship total to five. Overall, the women’s team amassed 49 points to finish sixth overall – a scant 1.5 points behind Windsor in fifth. The men compiled 12 points on their way to a ninth place finish.

Both medals Saturday came from the women’s 600 metres where the duo of Madison Clarke and Maeliss Trapeau captured silver and bronze respectively. For both women it was their second medal of the Championship after Clarke took silver at 1000 metres and Trapeau helped the Gee Gees to bronze in the 4x800m.

Clarke was in a battle for gold from the gun, even leading as she hit the bell; however, as she hit the home stretch, Guelph’s Jenna Smith was able to narrowly eek ahead, winning 1:30.54 to 1:30.59. In a reversal of sorts, Trapeau found another gear to kick past Smith’s teammate Sadie-Jane Hickson for third in 1:31.40. Fellow Gee Gee Marie-Eve Dahms also picked up some team points as she placed seventh in 1:34.39.

Kyle Sprague posted the top performance of the weekend for the men when he cleared 1.95 metres in the high jump to place just off the podium in fourth. Saturday’s performance was yet another mark of consistency for the second year student as the springs in Sprague’s feet have seen him equal his personal best of 1.95 metres on four separate occasions this season.

The only other individual top eight finish on the men’s side came Derek Brougham in the heptathlon. The fourth year student amassed 3995 points over the two day  event to finish seventh overall. Brougham’s biggest points came from the final of events of each day, the high jump and 1000 metres, where he had performances of 1.86 metres and 3:05.20 respectively.

The Championship culminated with the 4×400 metres relays where the men and women finished a strong sixth and fifth respectively. The men’s quartet of Zach Leger, Quinn Lyness, Alex Vaculik, and Luka Vukovic produced their fastest time of the season to cross the line in 3:27.07. The women’s team of Madison Clarke, Lucy Hempstead, Sydney Smith and Marie-Eve Dahms also posted a season’s best with their time of 3:52.62.

The USports Championships are scheduled for March 5-7 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Dear Members and Alumni,

It has come to my attention that a letter I wrote to you all yesterday, February 24, was received in a manner different than intended. I will draw your attention to a revised statement below which should more appropriately clarify my intentions.

On December 17, 2019 SDRCC Arbitrator Bennett remitted the existing complaints concerning Andy McInnis to the Athletics Canada Commissioner’s Office to be handled in a manner consistent with its policies. Athletics Canada has not launched a new investigation into complaints concerning Andy McInnis, nor is it aware of any such investigation.

I would like to assure you that the Club and the Board of Directors will be cooperating with the Athletics Canada Commissioner’s Office to ensure that any enquiries from the Commissioner’s Office are handled in a respectful, thorough and timely manner.

Our priority is ensuring a safe sport environment within our club and our sport.  This includes making sure that complainants have their voices heard.  I want to encourage any athletes, coaches, board members, support staff or volunteers who may wish to file a complaint to do so by contacting the Commissioner’s Office at commissioner@athletics.ca.  Please visit Athletics Canadas’s website https://athletics.ca/safesport/ for more information on how to file a complaint.

While we understand that this has been very difficult for some of our members and alumni, we welcome the opportunity for much needed change in our sport.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me at ottawalionstfclubpresident@gmail.com or 613-323-7176.

Sincerely,
Nathalie Côté
President
Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

For the second week in a row and the third time this season, pole vaulter Caroline Poirier pushed her Gee Gee record to new heights, this time clearing 3.76 metres to claim bronze. It was a different story a year ago when Poirier found herself just off the podium in fourth. “I was like that can’t happen again,” Poirier said of the bar going up to 3.76 metres. “I was like I need to jump that 76 because everyone out there jumped 71 and I just got to step it up.” With her newest mark, Poirier is all but assured a spot at the USports Championships taking place in two weeks at the University of Alberta.

Also finding herself on the podium was Gee Gee veteran Madison Clarke in the 1000 metres, who was excited at finally cracking the 2:50 barrier. According to Clarke, her focus was just to stick with the lead back and kick in the final 100 metres. The tactics worked like a charm for the sixth year pyschology student as she clocked a new personal best of two minutes and 49.04 seconds to win a silver and guarantee her spot at the USports Championship. With two more races today, the 600 metres and 4×400 relay, Clarke wants to continue to feed off the energy of the Championships. “I’m just really excited and want to keep that going.”

Clarke would normally form part of the gee Gees 4×800 relay squad, but the quartet of Holly Hicks, Sydney Smith, Marie-Eve Dahms and Maeliss Trapeau more than held down the fort. The Gee Gee women nabbed their fourth straight bronze in the event with a seasonal best clocking of 9:06.24. The Gee Gees appeared to by in the running for silver at the final hand off as Trapeau received the baton with a few steps on the University of Toronto. However, recent Canadian U23 record holder in the 1000 metres, Lucia Stafford was able to eat away at the lead before finally over taking Trapeau in the final 300 metres.

In the women’s pentathlon, Emily Sprague had the competition of her life, putting together five solid events to tally 3341 points and finish fourth overall. It was a more than 100 point improvement for Sprague over her previous best from last year’s Championship fueled in part by a strong 1.62 metre clearance in the high jump. The performance temporarily moved the fourth year public administration student into a USports qualifying position. However, she was was knocked out of the top 12 later in the day by a competitor from the CanWest Championships.

Competition resumes at the OUA Championships this morning with the second day of the men’s heptathlon getting under way at 10 am. For live results, check out https://sidearmstats.com/yorku/track/index.htm.

As we approach a flurry of collegiate conference championships this coming weekend, the Lions hosted the Ravens Last Chance this past weekend with a number of Gee Gee athletes improving their ranking ahead of the OUA Championships, highlighted by Caroline Poirier’s new University of Ottawa record in the pole vault.

Poirier’s clearance of 3.75 metres in Saturday’s event was the third school record of the season for the sophomore health sciences student. With the mark, she now ranks sixth nationally and heads into the OUA Championships looking to improve upon her fourth place finish from a year ago. For her new school record, Poirier was named the University of Ottawa’s Female Athlete of the Week.

Sixth year student Madison Clarke also raised her position in the national rankings with a silver medal finish in the 600 metres. Clarke’s time of 1:31.04 was the second fastest of her career and moves her to fourth nationally, where she leads a trio of Gee Gees (Maeliss Trapeau and Sydney Smith) in USports qualifying positions.

Across the pond in Europe, hurdler Farah Jacques ran her way to yet another lifetime best in the 60 metre hurdles. Jacques has now seen her best drop by nearly a tenth of a second this season as she sped her way to a 8.31 second clocking Monday in Eaubonne, France.  The performance was a narrow improvement on her previous best of 8.33 seconds set last month and moves her out of her share of third place on the all-time rankings with Ashlea Maddex.

South of the border, Melissa Bishop-Nriagu placed fourth in the 1000 metres at the BU Valentine Invite. Bishop-Nriagu’s time of 2:39.96 is the third fastest in the Olympian’s career, leaving her just off a Canadian sweep of the podium.

Collegiate conference championships kick off this weekend on both sides of the border with the University of Ottawa Gee Gees headed to the OUA Championships at York University where they will look to build on their eight USports Top 12 qualifying positions.

The last time we saw shot putter Tim Nedow in action he had heaved a 16 pound ball 20.85 metres enroute to a ninth place finish at last year’s World Championships in Doha. Nedow was part of the greatest shot put competition in history and the level of competition is only expected to rise this summer with the Olympic Games set for Tokyo in August.

The seven time Canadian shot put champion was back in the ring this past weekend at the Meyo Invite in South Bend, Indiana where he picked up exactly where he finished off last season. Hurling the shot out to a distance of 20.90 metres, Nedow easily claimed victory on the University of Notre Dame campus. The mark is the best season opener of Nedow’s career and currently ranks him 15th in the world.

To guarantee his spot in Tokyo, Nedow will need to hit the World Athletics standard of 21.10 metres, but for now he was happy with Saturday’s result. “As much as I want 21.10, I can’t be unhappy with this opener. It’s still one of my best tosses of all-time,” he said after the competition.

Back in Canada at the Windsor Team Challenge, a number of Lions athletes were busy setting personal best’s and putting themselves in a good position for a run at a USports medal next month. Among the first to get on the PB train was Leewinchel Jean who set two PB’s enroute to a bronze medal in the 60 metre hurdles. A first year student at the University of Windsor, Jean topped qualifying in 8.25 seconds before shaving his time down to 8.24 seconds in the final. The result moves him to ninth in club history.

In the women’s 600 metres, the trio of Maeliss Trapeau, Sydney Smith and Marie-Eve Dahms all improved their positions in the USports rankings on Sunday as they finished first, third and fifth respectively. Trapeau’s winning time of 1:32.40 fell short her lifetime best set last year, but moves her to fourth in the national university rankings. Smith, who is having the best season of her life, added to her personal best 500 metre effort from the previous week by crossing the line in 1:33.29 to move into seventh nationally. Lastly, Dahms has found her way into the top 12 nationally with her 1:34.14 clocking.

Rounding out the USports Top 12 performances from Sunday was Madison Clarke in the 1000 metres. The sixth year student’s time of two minutes and 52.72 seconds was good enough for a fourth place finish beyond Sydney Pattison of Wilfred Laurier. Clarke’s performance moves her to eighth nationally in the 1000. She is also currently ranked sixth at 1500 metres.

The Lions crew returns to action this Saturday as we host the Ravens Last Chance Meet at the Louis-Riel Dome. Action gets underway at 9:30 am with the U16 sections. The open sections follow at noon.

It was two for the price of one last weekend in Massachusetts for the Lions crew. A double header weekend that included a stops at both Harvard and Boston University produced a number of personal bests and more than a few all-time top ten marks.

Among the top performers was Olympian Farah Jacques in the hurdles. After lowering her personal best the weekend before at McGill, Jacques dropped the time again Friday in Cambridge as she ran to victory in 8.33 seconds. The time vaults Jacques into a two way tie for third on the all-time list with Ashlea Maddex. Showing a solid level of consistency, Jacques came back Saturday at BU to secure another victory, in 8.39 seconds.

Also breaking through barriers was Stephen Evans, who snuck under the 1:50 barrier for the first time indoors on Saturday. After notching an indoor personal best the week before on the same track, Evans dropped another second off the clock, crossing in 1:49.24 to finish fourth overall.

Also on the fast track of Boston University, Sydney Smith and Marie-Eve Dahms found themselves re-writing the Club’s record book at 500 metres. The pair went 2-3 in the two and half lap race, nearly crossing the line in lock step as Smith edged Dahms 1:14.82 to 1:14.83. The times now rank fifth and sixth respectively in Club history.

Also moving up the all-time list over the weekend was Philip Frank as he added more than two hundred points to his previous best in the heptathlon. A sophomore at the University of Texas, Frank placed 1oth at the Razorback Invite in Fayetville with a total of 5159 points. After a personal best of 6.99 seconds seconds to start the competition, the former Canadian U20 medalist in the high jump could only muster a clearance of 1.87 metres to finish off day one. However, he came back on day two with a trio of lifetime bests to role right on past the 5000 point plateau. Frank’s total now moves him to second in Club history.

The Lions return to action this weekend as they head down to Windsor for the Lancer Team Challenge.

National Champion, Olympian, Pan American and Commonwealth Games medalist. These are all titles used to describe shot putter Tim Nedow. Wednesday night at the 67th Annual Ottawa Sport Awards, Nedow could add another – Ottawa’s Male Athlete of the Year.

The 6 foot 7 inch mammoth of a man became just the fourth Lion to receive the Athlete of the Year distinction, following in the footsteps of Melissa Bishop (2015), Jason Dunkerley (2004) and Glenroy Gilbert (1996). “It’s a pretty big deal. This is my first time at the awards show and after seeing all the great sports team and athletes here, it’s quite an honour,” said Nedow following the event.

The 2019 season was a special one for Nedow that included a new outdoor best and a ninth place finish at the World Championships in Doha. The Brockville native kicked the season off in style with a monstrous heave of 21.18 metres in late April. Unfortunately for Nedow the mark came a scant 11 days before the 2020 Olympic qualifying period. The season would follow with Nedow’s seventh straight Canadian title in the shot put and a fourth place finish at the Pan Am Games in Lima before he got ready for Doha.

In the Qatari capital, Nedow put forward his best performance yet in a global championship. First he popped the 16 pound steel ball out to 20.94 metres in his final effort in qualifying to secure a spot in the final. He would follow that up two days later with a 20.84 metre heave to finish ninth overall in the strongest competition in the event’s history.

“It’s nice to be recognized after having probably my best year so far, being Top 10 in the world,” explained Nedow. “It definitely gives me confidence and knowing Ottawa is supporting me turning into Tokyo 2020.”

To no one’s surprise, Nedow was also took home for top athlete in the sport of Athletics. He was one of four individual Lions who were also honoured. Kevin Robertson was recognized for his efforts in cross country running where he was a bronze medalist at the Canadian Under 20 Championships last fall. As well, club record holder Salome Nyirarukundo was recognized for her dominance of road races this past year, in particular the marathon where she ran 2:30:44. Finally, Joshua Cassidy was recognized as the Parasport winner following his triple gold performance at the Canadian Championships and his victory in the Los Angeles Marathon.

Also honoured last night were the follow five gold medal winning relay teams:

• Ontario Open Men’s 4x400m
• Canadian Open Men’s 4x100m
• Canadian Open Women’s 4x400m
• Canadian Open Men’s 4x400m
• Canadian U20 Women’s 4x400m

To quote Beyonce, “Who run the world? Girls!” In the case of this past weekend, it was Farah Jacques, Madison Clarke and Caroline Poirier who all ran and jumped their way to gold medals at this past weekend’s McGill Team Challenge – historically the largest indoor meet in Canada.

Jacques started the weekend with a significant victory in the 60 metre final Friday night. The 2016 Olympic finalist posted her fastest time over the distance since January of the same year, winning in a time of 7.55 seconds. Jacques, who transferred over to the hurdle events last season carried that speed into Saturday’s 60 metre hurdle final where she posted a personal best of 8.37 seconds – nearly a half second clear of second place.

Moving up in distance, Madison Clarke was the class of both the 1000 and 1500 metre fields. The sixth year University of Ottawa psychology student laid down the second best time of her life, 2:51.64, to take gold in Friday night’s 1000 metre event. The result was good enough to propel Clarke to fourth in the USports rankings. Saturday’s performance over 1500 metres was even more impressive with Clarke clipping nearly a second off her previous best to stop the clock at 4:29.19 and move her to fifth in the USports rankings.

Completing the quintet of gold was University of Ottawa sophomore Caroline Poirier. The former gymnast flew through the air and over a bar suspended 3.72 metres in the air on Saturday to take the win over former Gee Gee teammate and current Laval University student, Claudine Nafaa. Saturday’s clearance was also a new lifetime best for the Ecole Secondaire Louis-Riel graduate, besting her 3.71 metre effort from 2018 when she won silver at the Canadian U20 Championships. Poirier, who just missed out on last year’s USports Championships appears well positioned to make a run for Edmonton as she currently sits sixth in the rankings.

South of the border, Stephen Evans was third at the Terrier Classic 800 metres in Boston after crossing the line in a time of 1:50.20. In New York City, Harvard sophomore Sharelle Samuel posted a seasonal best 55.89 to finish ninth in the Dr. Sanders Invitational at the Armory.

The Lions crew returns to action this weekend as they head to Boston University for their Scarlet and White Invite.

Melissa Bishop-Nriagu opened up her run to Tokyo with a victory this past weekend at the Wolverine Invitational on the campus of the University of Michigan. Competing at 600 metres, the two time Olympian was the class of the field, winning in a meet record of 1:29.82. Saturday’s race was Bishop-Nriagu’s first run at the distance since setting a personal best 1:27.95 at the 2013 Millrose Games.

Elsewhere south of the border, Harvard sophomore Sharelle Samuel took top spot at the Beantown Challenge 500 metres on her home track. Samuel’s time of 1:16.33 put her nearly a half second clear of second place Kristina Cherrington of the University Connecticut.

Across the continent, Lauren Gale took top spot over 400 metres at the Potts Open at the University of Colorado. Gale, who was the indoor and outdoor 400 metre champion in the Mountain West Conference in her freshman season in 2019, opened her 2020 campaign with a 55.39 second clocking, nearly three seconds clear of second place.

At the Can Am Classic in Windsor, Lancer rookie Leewinchell Jean placed fifth in the 60 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 8.36 seconds. Jean, who is known for his exploits over the 400 metre hurdles, has been making strong strides in the shorter event, currently ranking ninth in USports.

Closer to home, Lions, Gee Gees and Ravens athletes were in Sherbrooke, Quebec for the Vert et Or Invitational where they took home a combined seven medals including gold from sophomore Caroline Poirier in the pole vault. The second year health sciences student cleared a height of 3.30 metres to out duel former Gee Gee Claudine Nafaa, competing for Laval, in a count back.

Fellow second year student Kyle Sprague found himself reaching new heights in the men’s high jump with his clearance of 1.95 metres. The mark was good enough for third and was a five centimetre improvement on his previous lifetime best, set back in 2017.

Marie-Eve Dahms took bronze in the women’s 600 metres with a time of 1:35.46, her fastest time ever on a 200 metre track. While it is early in the season, the mark currently has the human kinetics student ranked sixth in USports. Dahms’ training partner Hannah Frazer picked up a silver over 1000 metres with a 3:08.19 clocking.

Also picking up medals were Brianna Asiamah with bronze in the shot put while both the Gee Gee men’s and women’s 4×200 metre relay teams picked up silver.

The Lions return to action this weekend at the uOttawa WinterNational Invitational which kicks off Friday night with the 800 and 300 metres and concludes Saturday with the full slate of events. For details check out the technical package.