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Pedersen and Beauregard top finishers at Bayfront Open

by linkinbioProvincialUniversity

Friday marked a return to action for the Club’s harriers. Varsity runners from both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University and the Lions took to the starting line of the McMaster Bayfront Open along the shore of Burlington Bay in Hamilton. 

Running as the sole Lion in the Open 8km race, Nico Pedersen posted a top three finish in his final prep race before next month’s Ontario Championship. The 22-year-old averaged 3:17 kilometres as he crossed the line in a time of 26 minutes and 17.7 seconds – 23 seconds behind winner Brent Smalley.

It was as close to a championship field as you could get ahead of the OUA Championships with just the Windsor Lancers missing from the starting line. For the Gee-Gees, first year athlete and fourth year student, Noemie Beauregard continued to lead the team as she placed 12th in 8km race in a time of 29 minutes and 34.8 seconds. 

Teammate Nina Gunther also found a place in the top-30 with her 28th place finish in 31:08.2. The top woman for the Ravens was fourth year journalism student Pippa Norman who crossed the line in 63rd place. 

Elizabeth Vroom and Gillian Porter, both first year students at Queen’s University, placed 21st and 32nd respectively. 

On the men’s side, André Alie-Lamarche was the top Gee-Gee in 28th. Teammate Jackson Roy was 2.4 seconds back in 26:00.6 to place 31st. With three more Gee-Gees placing within the top 50, the team finished 7th with 180 points. 

Ravens rookie David Birinberg was the top finisher for Carleton, crossing the line in 29 minutes and 23.4 seconds for 106th. 

Varsity runners will return to action on the final weekend of the month with the OUA Championships set for the 29th in London and the RSEQ Championships going the day after in Rawdon, Quebec.

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Lions run well at Capital XC Challenge

by High SchoollinkinbioLocalUniversity

With the sun shining and temperatures hovering in the mid-teens, it was a beautiful weekend for a cross country meet. In total, more than 750 athletes ran through the park at Mooney’s Bay, on one of Canada’s most unique and challenging courses, at the annual Capital XC Event this past Friday and Saturday.

The event opened with the high school girls junior varsity event, where St. Pius X’s Isabella Chiumera took top spot in the four kilometre race. Chiumera’s time of 15:05.51 was nearly 11 seconds ahead of the Lions’ Grace Streek, while Quinn Coughlin of Opeongo rounded out the podium in third. 

Malachi Kenny of Pembroke’s Bishop Smith High School was the winner of the junior varsity boys contest in 13 minutes and 4.41 seconds. Kenny edged out Glebe’s Saul Taler, who finished just five seconds behind on the four kilometre course.

There were some popular faces atop the varsity girls podium as Lion Louise Stonham took top place in the five kilometre event. Stonham finished in 18 minutes and 11.89 seconds, about 100 metres ahead of training partner Lauren Alexander who was competing for Glebe. Ariel Gibbons of Renfrew rounded out the podium in 19:44.89.

Records are made to be broken and that is exactly what the top three finishers in the varsity boys did in Friday’s final race. The trio of Robin Lefebvre, Derek Strachan, and Ilyass Kasmi all improved on the previous record of 16:02.07 set by Angus Skinner last season. Lefebcvre took nearly 20 seconds off the previous standard as he crossed the line in 15 minutes and 43.52 seconds. Strachan was eight seconds back in silver, while Kasmi finished in 15:55.91 for third. 

Saturday featured the University/Open sections where McGill and Queen’s Universities won the men’s and women’s titles respectively. The University of Ottawa finished third in both races. 

McGill was led to victory by Matthew Beaudet, who won the six kilometre race in a time of 18 minutes and 37.07 seconds. While Jude Wheeler-Dee and Roman Mironov of Queen’s rounded out the podium. The top finisher for the Gee-Gees was André Alie-Lamarche who placed sixth in a time of 19:21.48. Nicholas Pedersen was the top runner for the Lions in eighth.

On the women’s side, Becca Brennan of Monarch Athletics took top spot with a time of 22 minutes and 30.95 seconds. The former Lion and Gee-Gee was followed closely behind the University of Ottawa’s Noemie Beauregard in 22:33.23. Manon Plouvier of Queen’s rounded out the podium in third. 

In the elementary school races, Lions athletes took home three of the six team titles. Elmdale Public School captured the U10 boys and girls titles, while Collège Notre-Dame took home the U14 boys title. 

(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.

(Guelph, Canada---07 June 2019) Stephen Evans competing in the 800m at the 2019 Speed River Inferno Track and Field Festival held at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph. Copyright image 2019 Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Robertson, Evans, and Gale have big weekend south of the border

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

Another stellar weekend of performances for the Lions south of the border this past weekend as Kevin Robertson set a big personal best for the second week in a row, Stephen Evans the best season opener of his career, and Lauren Gale ran the second fastest outdoor 400 of her life. 

Like we said just a week ago, all Kevin Robertson seems to do these days is run faster. The Syracuse junior skimmed more than four seconds off his previous 1500 metre best en route to a sixth place finish at the Virgina Grand Prix on Sunday with a time of 3:46.26.

Sunday’s run is just the latest in a series of personal best performances this season. Beginning all the way back in December of 2021 with a lifetime best in the 300 metres at Cornell, Robertson has run a personal best in every competition since with the exception of the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championship 3000, and that was only because he had obliterated his previous best in the event the meet before. 

On the other side of the continent, Stephen Evans produced the best opening run of his career as he took second at the Payton Jordan Invite 800 metres in California on Friday night. The former USport champion continued the strong running that saw him produce multiple indoor 800 bests as he crossed the line in 1 minute and 48.52 seconds – the second fastest performance of his life. 

Finally, Lauren Gale put on a show at the Fresno State Invitational. The Colorado State senior took top spot in the 400 metres with a time of 51.99 seconds. It was the closest matchup of the season for Gale with second place finisher Tiana Holmes of New Mexico State University finishing 69 hundredths of a second behind the 2021 Olympian. 

The pair will battle again in two weeks time as Gale looks to capture an unprecedented sixth straight Mountain West Conference 400 metre title (indoors and outdoors).

In addition to her individual success, Gale led the Rams 4×400 metre relay to a school record performance of 3:36.42. The mark is just one of six Colorado State records Gale now holds indoors and outdoors.

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. 

Sharelle_Samuel_400H_FeatureImage

Samuel smashes personal best; wins at Auburn

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

They say good things come to those wait. For Sharelle Samuel the wait had been nearly five years in the making, but after a new personal best at the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Alabama on Saturday it was definitely worth it. The Harvard University senior took top spot in the 400 metre hurdles in a time of 58.23 seconds. Samuel’s previous best in the event came back in July of 2017 when she ran to a silver medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 59.59 seconds.

In addition to a new personal best, Sharelle’s performance on Saturday also moved her to third on the Club’s all-time list behind former Canadian team members Rosey Edeh and Isabelle Gervais. Furthermore, the economics student is currently ranked 27th in the NCAA and 13th in the East Region. The top 24 athletes in the East Region will qualify for the NCAA East Preliminaries the last weekend of May in Indiana.

Saturday’s victory also extended Samuel’s winning streak in the 400 metre hurdles to four, as she remains undefeated in the event this season.

Samuel also placed sixth in the flat 400 on Saturday, running a collegiate best time of 54.50 seconds.

In Colorado, Lauren Gale made her return to the track after nearly a month away from competition following her appearance at the World Indoor Championships. Despite temperatures hovering around 6 degrees centigrade, the Colorado State senior easily won her 400 metre event on her home track at the Doug Max Invitational in a time of 52.84 seconds – more than two seconds ahead of second place.

Elsewhere in NCAA competition, Tommy Nedow took second place in the discus with a throw of 52.64 metres at a home meet for Southeastern Louisiana University. Nedow was also fourth in the shot put with a best of 15.16 metres. At the Mt. Sac Relays in California, Keira Christie-Galloway placed 16th in the 100 metre hurdles with a time of 13.69 seconds.

Finishing off the long weekend was Josh Cassidy as he rolled to a seventh place finish in Monday’s Boston Marathon. The former Boston champion covered the 26.2 mile course, which winds from the suburb of Hopkinton to famed Boylston Street, in 1 hour, 35 minutes and 2 seconds. Cassidy, who failed to finish Saturday’s 5km event after an issue with his chair, was consistent in his racing Monday – sitting in third through fifth position most of the race. In a post race Instagram story Cassidy likened the final mile to hitting a wall where he was passed by Ireland’s Patrick Monahan and Spain’s Raphael Botello Jimenez – finishing 24 seconds behind the pair.

(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

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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.

22WIC_Lauren_Gale

Gale takes down another Canadian record

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

For the fourth meet in a row Lauren Gale has broken a Canadian record; however this time she had a little help. Running lead off on the 4×400 metre relay entry at last weekend’s World Indoor Championships, Gale helped Team Canada to a time of 3 minutes and 31.45 seconds as they placed fourth in their heat in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.

Despite the new Canadian indoor record, the team of Gale, Kyra Constantine, Natassha McDonald, and Sage Watson failed to advance to the final. The previous record of 3:36.03 had been set 22 years prior in Glasgow.

Gale now holds Canadian indoor records at 200 and 400 metres as well as the relay.

Closer to home, the outdoor season was kicking into full swing with a trio of Lions in action for their respective NCAA schools.

Competing at a dual meet in Mobile, Alabama, Tommy Nedow took top spot in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw. The Southeastern Louisiana student won his speciality, the discus, by an impressive five metres as his best throw on the day measured out at 52.35 metres. His winning throws in the shot put and hammer throw measured 16.39 and 51.41 metres respectively.

On home turf in Tempe, Arizona State University runner Keira Christie Galloway placed fifth in the 100 metre hurdles at the Baldy Castillo Invitational. The 22 year old’s time of 13.43 seconds currently ranks as the fourth fastest in the PAC-12 conference.

In Houston, Sharelle Samuel opened her season with victory at the Houston Spring Break Invitational. The Harvard senior took top spot in the 400 metre hurdles with a time of 1:01.64 – nearly three seconds clear of second place.