(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.

(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.

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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.

Louise Stonham Myrtle Beach

Lions start season on right foot in Myrtle Beach

by High SchoolInternationallinkinbio

After a week of putting in work under the bright South Carolina sun, the small contingent of Lions high school athletes attending training camp in Myrtle Beach had the opportunity to put a marker out and see where they were in their training. The results were promising with the Lions posting eight top ten finishes, including a victory by Louise Stonham in the 3000m steeplechase.

Stonham laid on the gas from the gun and ran right to the front of the pack. By the end of the fourth lap, the Arnprior District High School student had opened the gap on the field to two seconds. As Stonham hit the bell, her lead had grown to nearly eight seconds and she would close in her second fastest lap of the day to stop the clock in 11 minutes and 50.87 seconds.

Racing against a field of university students, Stonham appeared unfazed in her debut at the longer steeplechase distance. The 2021 Ontario U18 2000 metre steeplechase champion’s winning time now moves her to eighth in Club history for the event.

A second medal performance came from Maddie Seaby who took the silver over 3000 metres in a time of 10 minutes and 7.95 seconds. Running second the whole race, the grade 12 student found herself six seconds back of Colgate University senior Sophia Manners with two laps to go. However, the Carleton Place District High School student kicked her way home, closing in 2:38.05 to narrow the gap to just three seconds. Seaby’s time is the 12th fastest in Club history at the U18 level.

Falling just short of the podium were Olivia Baggley and Cora McQuinn who each placed fourth in their respective events. Baggley set a new lifetime best at 5,000 metres with an 18:27.74 clocking while McQuinn dropped more than half a second off her 400 metre best with her 57.91 performance.

Other individual top ten performances came from Amelia Van Brabant and Audrey Goddard. In the mile, Van Brabant placed fifth with a 5:10.43 performance while Goddard ran 15.30 for the 100 metre hurdles to place tenth.

Both women featured on relay teams which also placed well. Goddard ran lead off on the 4×200 metre relay with Tatiana Pender, Allison Dewar, and Cora McQuinn as the quartet placed seventh in 1:47.74. Van Brabant ran anchor on the 4×800 metre squad with Maddie Seaby, Ella Lalonde, and Louise Stonham as the ladies posted a time of 10:03.29 to finish sixth.

Full results from the meet are available on our website at https://ottawalions.com/results/2022-results

22-NCAA-Gale

Gale Breaks 30 Year Old Canadian Indoor 400m Record

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

While it may not be fair to expect records every meet, that seems to be what Lauren Gale keeps wanting to give. For the fourth competition in a row Gale broke a record – this time at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. Gale’s time of 51.64 seconds in the 400 metre final eclipsed , this time taking out Jillian Richardson’s 30 year old Canadian indoor 400 metre mark.

Gale earned her spot in Saturday’s final with a second place finish in her heat Friday night. Coming off the cut in in an unfamiliar third place, the fourth year student maintained her composure and comfortably moved into second as they entered the final turn – closing in 52.17.

Entering her first NCAA final, Gale was calm in her approach. “I’m going to run my race how I usually do, split my normal times and hold on at the end,” remarked the Tokyo Olympian.

Running in the second of two final heats, Gale found herself in possibly the tightest women’s 400 metre battle in NCAA history. While she ultimately placed fourth in her heat, forced to the back of the pack after the cut-in, Gale would place eighth overall – just fifteen hundredths off the podium.

“She was a little frustrated that she couldn’t run her second lap like she wanted to, but she was in the back and had a lot of traffic,” said CSU sprints coach J.J. Riese of Gale’s performance. “That’s how it goes though sometimes, and it is nothing to be ashamed about. Overall, she had a good run and set a record for her home country which is nothing to take lightly.”

Closer to home the both varsity programs wrapped up an expedited regular season at the Redbirds Last Chance meet in Montréal. Combined, the varsity programs garnered 14 podium performances including seven victories.

Alexandra Telford led the haul with a pair of victories in both the 60 metre hurdles and 300 metre events. The Carleton University graduate student also picked up a pair of school records along the way. First was the hurdles, where she fended off strong runs by Club mate Vanessa Lu Langley (McGill) and former Gee-Gee Stephanie Lapolice (Laval) to win in a time of 9.10 seconds – five hundredths better than her previous record. Over 300 metres, Telford bested the field by nearly a second as she ran under 39 seconds for the first time. She is currently ranked first in both events heading into this coming weekend’s RSEQ Championship.

Another Carleton Record came from Alec Jeffrey who took second place in the shot put. The software engineering student heaved the 16 pound ball out to 14.55 metres, besting his previous record by nearly a metre and a half. Jeffrey is now ranked second heading into the Quebec conference championships this weekend, and 11th nationally.

The full list of other medal winners is included below:

GOLD

Sydney Smith – 600m (1:32.91)
Emma Dobson-Takoff – Triple Jump (10.75m)
Elizabeth Moreland – High Jump (1.58m)
Brianna Asiamah – Shot Put (11.60m)
Thomas Senechal-Becker – High Jump (2.02m)

SILVER

Hannah Frazer – 600m (1:37.52)
Elizabeth Moreland – Triple Jump (10.46m)
Vienna Courteau – Long Jump (5.14m)
Jackson Colquhoun – Triple Jump (13.30m)

BRONZE

Stephanie Leask, Hannah Frazer, Sia Mahajan, Skye Pellerin – 4x400m (4:09.32)
Fabrice Nonez, Dillon Landon, David Moulongou, Adam Davidson – 4x200m (1:35.18)

 

Complete results are available: https://ottawalions.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022_Redbird_Last_Chance_Results.pdf

Photos of the competition are available: https://www.mundosportimages.com/gallery/2022-McGill-Last-Chance-Qualifier/G0000L4snPxdnHmM/C000035fRIETKojQ

 

(Montreal, Canada---27 July 2019) Lauren Gale pulls away in the home straight to win the U20 400m at 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Claude Robillard Sports Centre in Montreal. 2019 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Banner weekend for Lions at NCAA conference championships

by linkinbioUniversity

Conference championship weekend south of the border brought much success and accolades to the pride. The five competing athletes collected two Canadian records, two team titles, three individual conference titles, a relay title, a silver medal, and athlete of the meet accolades.

Lauren Gale continued to sizzle this season as her two victories in the 200 and 400 metres at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico helped lead the Rams to a nearly 40 point victory over San Diego State. The Colorado State senior won both her events in commanding, and Canadian record setting fashion.

After breezing through qualifying Friday night, the 2021 Olympian laid down one of the most impressive performances in Canadian indoor track and field history as she took down the national under-23 400 metre record in a time of 51.78 seconds and then followed it up an hour later by bettering her two week old Canadian record with a time of 23.00 seconds for 200 metres.

For Gale, she didn’t set out to set records on Saturday. “I was going to get points for my team mainly,” explained the 22 year old after the meet. “My coach didn’t taper me much for this meet, we are aiming more for nationals. I was running the 400 and knew I had a 200 and maybe a 4×400 left so the goal wasn’t to get any records but just make it to the end of the meet and get as many points for my team as I could!”

Gale’s entry to the NCAA indoor championships was confirmed today, where she will contest the 400 metres only. She is the first Lion to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships since Adam Palamar placed fifth in the mile at the 2017 championships

In Birmingham, Alabama, the host site of the NCAA Championships, Tommy Nedow was busy throwing his way to a pair of medal performances. The Southeastern Louisiana student-athlete started the competition off with the second best performance of his life in the weight throw – hurling the 35 pound ball an impressive 17.87 metres. The mark was good enough for a bronze, seven spots higher than his 2021 performance.

 

Nedow rounded out the championship with a title of his own in the shot put. The 23 year-old heaved the 16 pound ball out to a seasonal best of 16.75 metres. Monday’s victory was the second straight for the Brockville native at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships.

 

At the Ivy League Championships in New York City, Sharelle Samuel helped the Crimson of Harvard to their first conference indoor title since 2017. Samuel ran the second leg of the Crimson’s winning 4×400 metre relay team and also placed seventh in the 500 metre final.

 

Elsewhere, Keira Christie-Galloway had the strongest performance of her indoor season at the Pac-12 Invitational in Seattle. The Arizona State student ran a seasonal best in the 60 metres and just missed her season’s best in the 60 metre hurdles with a time of 8.38 seconds to place fifth in the final. Meanwhile, Kevin Robertson ran the second fastest 3000 metres of his life, finishing 26th at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in Blacksburg, Virginia. He also helped the Syracuse Orangemen to a ninth place finish in the distance medley relay, where he finished the final 1600 metre leg in 4:08.49.

 

22NCAA-Indoor-conference

Lions set for conference championships south of the border

by linkinbioUniversity

It’s conference championship weekend south of the border. To help you keep track of what’s going on this weekend, we’ve amalgamated all the relevant information for you below.

Lauren Gale (Colorado State University)
Mountain West Conference Championship
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Events: 200m, 400m, 4x400m
PB: 23.08 (200m), 51.56 (400m)

Live Results: https://rt.trackscoreboard.com/meets/22522/events
Live Stream: https://themw.com/watch/ or Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV or Roku

Schedule

400m Heats – Friday 4:30pm Eastern
200m Heats – Friday 6:00pm Eastern
400m Final – Saturday 1:50pm Eastern (*pending qualification)
200m Final – Saturday 2:50pm Eastern (*pending qualification)
4x400m Final – Saturday 3:50pm Eastern

NOTES: Lauren is the two time defending MW Conference indoor 400m champion

Keira Christie-Galloway (Arizona State University)
Pac-12 Invitational
Seattle, Washington

Events: 60m, 60m Hurdles
PB:  8.07 (60m), 8.17 (60m Hurdles)

Live Results: https://live.pntfo.com/meets/10807
Live Stream: https://pac-12-indoor-invitational.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=14424&do=videos&video_id=321252#

Schedule
60m Hurdles Heats – Friday 7:30pm Eastern
60m Heats – Friday 8:00pm Eastern
60m Hurdles Final – Saturday 2:00pm Eastern (*pending qualification)
60m Final – Saturday 3:35pm Eastern (*pending qualification)

Tommy Nedow (Southeastern Louisiana)
Southland Conference Championships
Birmingham, Alabama

Events: Shot put, Weight throw
PB: 16.93m (Shot Put), 17.90m (Weight Throw)

Live Results: http://xpresstiming.com/Live/2022/Indoor/Southland/
Live Stream: http://southlanddigitialnetwork.com/

Schedule
Weight Throw: Sunday 7:00pm Eastern
Shot Put Final: Monday 2:00pm Eastern

Kevin Robertson (Syracuse)
Atlantic Coast Conference Championships
Blacksburg, Virginia

Events: 3000m, DMR
PB: 8:08.97 (3000m)

Live Results: https://results.flashresults.com/2022_02-24_ACC/index.htm
Live Stream: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e6b90f8-2490-4ea6-94eb-1948fe276e4b (Saturday 12:55pm Eastern)

Schedule
DMR: 9th 9:53.64 (Kevin split 4:08.49 for 1600m)
3000m: Saturday 3:55pm Eastern

Sharelle Samuel (Harvard)
Ivy League Heptagonal Championships
New York, NY

Events: 500m, DMR
PB: 1:14.61 (500m)

Live Results: https://results.armorytrack.com/meets/11222
Live Stream: https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/edb3a386-604c-341a-ba4a-b7b7e44d41a7/track-and-field#bucketId=29794&sourceCollection=Browse_By_Sport_New

Schedule

500m Heats: Saturday 12:45pm Eastern
500m Final: Sunday 12:00pm Eastern (*pending qualification)
DMR: Sunday 2:15pm Eastern

Note: Sharelle is the defending indoors Heps 500 metre silver medalist

Copyright Sean Burges/Mundo Sport Images

Gale sets Canadian record at 200m

by linkinbioUniversity

There is a new name in the Canadian record books this week and she goes by the name of Lauren Gale. However, it’s just not in the event you’re thinking it is. 

The 22 year old Gale sped to a third place finish in Friday night’s Don Kirby 200 metre event with blistering 23.08 second clocking. The previous standard of 23.32 by Angela Bailey was the second oldest mark on the Canadian record books – set 16 years before Gale’s birth in January 1984. Gale’s time has also moved her to 11th on the NCAA ranking list where the top-16 receive an invitation to the national meet scheduled for early March.

Originally, Gale had envisioned it would be Jillian Richardson’s national indoor 400 metre record of 51.69 she would be trying to better heading into the competition in New Mexico. The Colorado State senior had dipped under Richardson’s mark the week prior, but was not eligible for the record due to her performance taking place on an oversized 300 metre track. However, the morning after the 200, Gale and her coach made the decision to sit out the 400 due to some tightness in her hamstring. 

Gale will have this weekend off as she prepares for next weekend’s Mountain West Conference Championships back in Albuquerque. She will be looking for her third successive 400 metre conference title.

Staying south of the border, Stephen Evans may just move to Boston after he set his third straight indoor personal best at 800 metres at the Boston University Valentine Invite. Evans placed fourth among the field of more than two hundred runners with his 1:48.65 clocking. Prior to 2022, Evan’s best 800 metre performance indoors was a run of one minute and 49.24 seconds back in 2020 – also set at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center. 

Evans wasn’t the only Lion dropping PB’s in the Massachusetts’ capital. Syracuse junior Kevin Robertson may have finished 44th in the 3000 metres Saturday night, but his time of 8:08.97 was nearly 23 seconds faster than he had ever covered the distance before. It was Robertson’s third personal best in successive weeks, which also saw the 20-year-old trim more than nine seconds off his mile best across two efforts. 

The third year student explains the improvement has been part of continual progression since recovering from Lyme disease contracted during the summer of 2020, but acknowledged he’s made some changes away from the track as well. “In contrast to my freshman year, I’ve been handling my life outside of running better to help me be less stressed and more confident which I feel has made a difference for me,” explained Robertson. 

Closer to home the varsity programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University returned to action for the first time in 2022 at the York Open. Combined, athletes representing the two schools took home five victories over the two day competition.

Among the victors was Alexandra Telford, who topped the women’s 300 metre field with a personal best and Carleton record  time of 39.25 seconds. The architecture graduate student had set the previous record of 41.58 back in 2018 while she was completing her undergraduate degree. With the record breaking performance, Telford currently sits sixth in the national USports rankings. 

Telford, who also set a personal best in the 60 metres over the weekend, was pleased to see the progress she’s noticed in practice translate into some early season success in competition. “It’s good motivation to see how much faster we can get in the next few meets,” said Telford of her preparation for the RSEQ and Usports Championships coming up in the next two months. 

University of Ottawa first year student Katie Manor also found herself in the USports top ten after the first weekend of competition. The École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais graduate laid down a personal best time of 7.66 seconds in the 60 metre preliminaries last Friday, which currently ranks her tenth nationally. She would place fifth, just behind Telford, in the final with a time of 7.75 seconds. 

Other winners from the York Open included Sydney Smith, who topped the women’s 600m field with a 1:32.58 clocking. Yasser Riad won the men’s 1000 metres in 2:35.36 while Gee-Gees teammate Andre Alie-Lamarche finished three seconds ahead of the men’s 1500 metre field in 4:06.11. The final victory came from the field, where third year University of Ottawa student Jackson Colquhoun hopped, skipped, and jumped his way to 13.22 metres in the triple jump.