Posts tagged: NACAC

Standing atop the podium, clad in red and white. The loud speakers belting out the best instrumental version of “O’ Canada”.  It’s the moment most athletes in Canada aspire to realise. On Sunday afternoon, standing inside the Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica Kevin Robertson got his moment. 

Competing at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Under-23 Championships, Robertson took home top spot in the men’s 3000 metre steeplechase. The Syracuse University student won in a time of 9 minutes and 4.77 seconds – a comfortable six seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. 

True to form for championship running, Sunday’s pace was far behind Robertson’s Club U23 record of 8:37.26. However, as the bell rang to signal the final lap of the competition Robertson took off, unleashing a powerful kick that produced a closing lap of less than 60 seconds that cemented his victory. 

Also seeing action in the steeplechase was Derek Strachan, who was competing in the U18 NACAC Championship being held alongside the U23 event. Unfortunately for the 17-year-old, he was just one of two entrants in the men’s 2000 metre steeplechase – rendering the event an exhibition. The Glebe Collegiate student finished the event in a time of 6 minutes and 26.97 seconds – three seconds behind Jean Carlos Soza of Nicaragua.

On Saturday, David Adeleye lined up in the finals of the U23 men’s 110 metre hurdles event. The University of Toronto student would finish fifth in a time of 14.13 seconds – about two-tenths off his Club U23 record.

Both Adeleye and Robertson are scheduled to return to action this weekend at the Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, BC. You’ll be able to follow all the action at home on athleticscanada.tv or via live results on live.athletics.ca.

By: Pippa Norman

The final day of the NACAC Combined Events Championship came to a thunderous conclusion today, with American Michelle Atherley and Bahamian Ken Mullings walking away as Area Champions.

Finishing with 6029 points, Atherley described her second day of competition as being full of highs and lows. She said her results in long jump and javelin were close to her lowest marks this season, but she managed to stick to her goal of running under 2:12 in her 800m.

On her way to the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon this summer with today’s first place finish, Atherley said for now, she’s excited to just relax.

“I’m looking forward to sleeping… I think my body really needs it,” she said. “I can’t wait to go home and see my friends.”

Fellow American Ashtin Mahler held second place for most of the day, before dropping out of the competition just before the 800m. In search of that World Championship qualifying score, Mahler decided to re-focus her energy into an upcoming World Combined Events Challenge competition in Spain.

Garnering a silver medal, Canadian Nicole Ostertag finished 228 points behind Atherley. Despite an afternoon scare in which Ostertag said she hit her javelin off her head, she still managed to pull out a personal best in every event and exceed her expectations.

“I’m really happy with that score,” said Ostertag of her personal best performance. “I didn’t come into this meet, thinking I could score that high. But I kept focused in each event and it ended up adding up.”

In the men’s decathlon, Bahamian Ken Mullings maintained his lead from day one, finishing with an overall score of 7537, a mere 197 points away from his personal best. Winning javelin was a highlight for Mullings, he said.

“Javelin was one of my weakest throwing events and now it’s getting up there with one of my strongest,” Mullings said.

He added that even without strong decathlon athletes such as Damien Warner or Lindon Victor present, Mullings’ victory still means a lot to him.

“At least now I can say I’m the champion of NACAC,” Mullings said. “I’m still happy because I got to win for the Bahamas.”

Finishing 1087 points behind Mullings, Canadian Shawn Beaudoin moved up in the standings today to snag a silver medal. Beaudoin said he struggled to return to the competition after over an hour delay due to lightning, but overall, he was happy with the consistency of his performance.

“It could have been a better score, for sure. But I’m happy to have won a medal,” he said.

Canadian Rostam Turner dropped from second to third place on day two of the competition, with an overall score of 6344. Finishing without a height in pole vault, Turner said he didn’t meet his expectations for the meet, but medalling was still important to him.

“It means a lot. It’s always a big deal, winning a medal at an international event,” Turner said.

By: Pippa Norman

A fierce competition is descending upon the Terry Fox Athletic Facility this weekend, as athletes from North America, Central America and the Caribbean arrive to compete in the NACAC Combined Events Championship.

Hosted by the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, the two-day championship will feature women competing in the heptathlon and men competing in the decathlon.

Leading the American contingent are former NCAA Champions Ashtin Mahler and Michelle Atherley. The pair are coming off a 2-3 finish at last weekend’s USA Championships in Arkansas and looking to finalize their spot in this summer’s World Championships.

A win this weekend in Ottawa will provide either woman with an automatic World Championship qualification that comes from being an Area Champion. The other will be looking for valuable performance points to improve their world rankings and find their way in to the global top-24 ranking to secure a spot on Team USA for the upcoming championships.

Donning the maple leaf this weekend will be Team Canada athletes Nicole Ostertag, Rostam Turner, Maddison Lawrence and Shawn Beaudoin.

Ostertag, a university senior and member of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club, won silver in the indoor pentathlon at the 2020 U SPORTS championships. More recently, she garnered multiple PBs and a new personal best of 5443 points in the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational in California.

Coming off a heel injury that put Ostertag out of commission for close to a year, she said she’s excited for the chance to compete this weekend.

“Because I’ve been injured, I haven’t been able to train as much as I’d like,” Ostertag said. “But in the past month or so I’ve been able to do more training and get some technical work in, so I’m excited to put that practice to use in competition.”

Unlike Ostertag, who was named to Team Canada in April, this won’t be Turner’s first time representing Canada on an international stage. A member of the Okanagan Athletics Club, Turner competed for Canada at the 2017 Francophone Games, in addition to winning the heptathlon at the U SPORTS championships that same year. 

Representing Canada this weekend adds another layer of adrenaline to the competition, Turner said.

“It’s super exciting and fun to represent Canada,” Turner said. “I guess [there’s] a little more pressure, but I feel like sometimes it can be a good thing.”

Turner said his goal for the weekend is to take it one event at a time and put up a “big score at the end” for an overall personal best. Turner’s current personal best is 7601 points in decathlon.

Alysha Newman, two-time Olympic pole vaulter, is another Canadian athlete with something to prove this weekend. Newman recently added heptathlon to her skillset after a concussion last year forced her to take a break from pole vault.

“[The plan] wasn’t really to take [heptathlon] up, it was to stay in shape and get ready for when the doctors cleared me to pole vault again,” Newman said. “I happened to just end up falling in love with it and being pretty good at it.”

Heading into her first ever heptathlon competition, Newman said her goal is to finish an entire two days of competition with a score in every event.

“I just want to make sure I can get through the whole thing,” Newman said.

Competition kicks off Saturday morning at 10 a.m. tomorrow and concluded Sunday around 6 p.m.