Land and Balkwill named Investors Group Athletes of the Week, powered by 2XU
BURLINGTON, Ont. – The following athletes have been named Investors Group Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week, powered by 2XU, for the period ending March 13, 2018.
Male Athlete of the Week – Tommy Land (Turkey Point, Ont.) – 4th Year – Guelph Gryphons
For the second time in a three week span, this time buoyed by a championship-caliber performance at the U SPORTS finale, Tommy Land has raced his way into OUA Male Athlete of the Week honours.
Land, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student had already stockpiled medals in his first four years of competition as a Gryphon. It would have been difficult for most to top the accolades he had already received, but Land, known for his competitive spirit and bulldog tenacity, actually surpassed his historic 2016-17 campaign with one for the ages.
The Turkey Point, Ont. native won events throughout the OUA schedule; honing his performances for the two biggest meets of the season, which would be his final races as a Gryphon. After being named the U SPORTS Track Athlete of the Year to start off his championship weekend, Land lived up to the billing in both of his races at the University of Windsor. Coming from behind to produce an astonishing kick down the stretch in both of his events, Land swept gold in the 600m and 1000m events to end his storied career in style.
The feather in the cap of Land’s impressive finale was the nod as U SPORTS Male Performer of the Meet, sharing the honour with the University of Alberta's Austin Cole, while also leading his Guelph Gryphons to victory over the rest of the talented universities across Canada.
Female Athlete of the Week – Kelsey Balkwill (Woodslee, Ont.) – 4th Year – Windsor Lancers
Kelsey Balkwill made her presence felt all weekend long on familiar territory, as the Windsor Lancers star left the U SPORTS Track & Field Championships with a quartet of medals and, as a result, has been named the OUA Female Athlete of the Week.
Balkwill had an outstanding weekend for the blue and gold, both individually and in her two relay races, collecting hardware across the board for her efforts. The Masters student in Human Kinetics collected three gold medals – winning the 300m, 600m, and 4x400m, respectively – while rounding out her championship performance with a silver medal in the 4x200m.
To finish off her winning ways individually, Balkwill received the nod as U SPORTS Championship Female Performer of the Meet, and for the team, she contributed 38 of the Windsor’s 79 total points to lead the Lancers to a U SPROTS bronze medal finish; their first team medal since 2012.