(Canton, United States---03 December 2022) David Moulongou competing in the 2022 St Lawrence University Saints Holiday Relays. Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Ryan / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Lions athletes break records at season opener in New York

by ClublinkinbioUniversity

Arriving on the campus of St. Lawrence University Saturday morning the unseasonably warm weather may have had a few people wondering if they were competing outdoors, but the Lions and both varsity programs were in town to kick off the 2022-23 indoor campaign. This was the first time making the familiar drive down the 416 and across the border to our Northern New York neighbours since 2019 and the athletes were eager to make up for lost time as they set six meet records, including two facility records. 

University of Ottawa sophomore David Moulongou was the first to etch their name into the record books as he ran away from teammate Lucas Zanetti in the final lap of the 600 metres to win in 1 minute and 25.26 seconds. Zanetti held a near 10 metre lead as the pair heard the bell for the final lap before Moulongou shifted into another gear and ran his way to victory over the final 200 metres. The previous meet and facility record of 1:25.42 belonged to Lion Zachary Meredith and were set in 2019. 

Fellow second year uOttawa student Bianca Borgella was next to rewrite the record books with her 60 metre winning time of 7.78 seconds equalling the mark of Gee-Gee alum Sarah de Carufel from 2014. Borgella dominated the field, opening an eight metre gap by the halfway point and winning by a half second over teammate Kennedy Banton-Lindsay. Borgella’s mark time moves her to 12th on Club’s U20 list and she is 9th in the early season USports rankings. 

Training partners Sydney Smith and Stephen Evans each produced dominating results in their respective 1000 metre events. Evans went first, trimming more than a second off his own meet record with his winning time of 2:28.20. While Evan’s margin of victory was sizable (15.78 seconds), Smith’s complete domination of the women’s field took it to another level as she lapped all but one runner to win in a new facility record of 2:49.80. The reigning Ontario 800 metre champion bested the 18 year old facility record by more than two and a half seconds and moved to number 16 on the Club’s all-time list. 

The 300 metres also produced a pair of meet records for Club athletes. The University of Ottawa’s Doyin Ogunremi took down her old standard by nearly half a second with her winning time of 41.70 seconds. Jay Yetman shaved 14 hundredths off the three year old meet record with his winning time of 36.01 seconds. The performance was also a new personal best for the grade 12 student at Glebe Collegiate.

For a full list of results from Holiday Relays as well as photos from the event, please visit our results page.

(Ottawa, Canada---02 October 2021) Pippa Norman (Carleton Ravens) competing in the University/Open Women's race at the 2021 Capital Cross Country Challenge held at Mooney’s Bay Park in Ottawa. Photograph 2021 Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Norman and MacDonald lead Ravens at RSEQ XC Championship

by linkinbioProvincialUniversity

It was a challenging setting for Saturday’s Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Cross Country Championships at the Centre de plein air Kinadapt. Located about 75 minutes north of Montreal in the small town of Rawdon, the course which is more routinely used for dog sledding, brought a unique set of challenges to the Carleton Ravens runners.

Undeterred by the challenging course, veterans Pippa Norman and Aria MacDonald both improved upon their placing from last year’s championship as they crossed the line back-to-back in 43rd and 44th place. Norman completed the eight kilometre course in a time of 33 minutes and 43.7 seconds with MacDonald finishing just 6.8 seconds later. 

Following shortly behind was Saorise Kealy, who finished in 33:57.7 to place 48th overall. Bryn Reynolds rounded out the Ravens quartet in 72nd. 

The Raven men were represented by the duo of David Birinberg and Nic Hawrysh. Finishing in a time of 29:12.4, Birinberg was the top Raven as he placed 88th overall. Hawrysh finished in 130th.
For full results from the RSEQ Championships, please visit our results page.

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Gee-Gee Men finish 7th; Women place 8th at OUA XC Championships

by linkinbioProvincialUniversity

For the second year in a row, it was a beautiful day in London for the Ontario University Athletics Cross Country Championship with the sun shining and temperatures reaching 16 degrees. Running on the Thames Valley Golf Course the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees improved their finishing positions for both the men and women from a year ago as they placed seventh and eighth respectively. 

The Gee-Gee women’s finish, their highest since 2015 (7th), was led by rookie Noemie Beauregard. The fourth year Nutrition Sciences student finished the eight kilometre course in 30 minutes and 40 seconds to place 14th overall. Beauregard’s placing earned her Second Team OUA All-Star status – the first by a Gee-Gee since Ruth Burrowes in 2015. 

Nina Gunther was the next Gee-Gee across the finish line as she placed 27th overall in a time of 32:01. The remaining scorers for the Garnet & Grey were Kyler Fowler (60), Elana Tyman (71) and Taylor Brown (72). 

Also on the women’s side, Lions Elizabeth Vroom and Gigi Porter had strong debuts at the OUA Championships for the Queen’s Gaels. The pair of first year students both factored in to the scoring for Queen’s as they placed 25th and 36th respectively as they helped the Gaels to a fourth place finish

On the men’s side, the Gee-Gee’s 183 points put them in seventh place, just one point behind the University of Windsor in sixth. Veteran André Alie-Lamarche was the top finisher, placing 20th overall in a time of 26:01. Crossing the line 32 seconds later was fellow fourth year runner Adrian Fournier as he cracked the top-20 in 28th place. Rounding out the scoring for the Gee-Gees was Nic Roberts (34), Nicolas Abanto Enns (42), and rookie Zach Sikka (59).

For full results for the OUA XC Championships, please visit our results page.

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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. 

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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