Windsor looks to defend OUA Track and Field titles on home turf

HAMILTON, Ont. - With Ontario squads dominating both the men’s and women’s national rankings, the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Track and Field Championships are sure to feature some of the top collegiate athletic talent in the country. The event, hosted by the University of Windsor, will take place February 21-22.

For up to date information and results from the OUA Track and Field Championship, visit the championship home page, here. Live streaming coverage of the championship can be seen here.

The hosts are looking to continue their OUA success. The Windsor men, currently ranked No. 3 in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), will be looking to take their 15th consecutive team title and their 22nd in the last 23 years. Not to be outdone, the Lancers’ women’s squad, ranked fourth in the CIS, has claimed three straight banners, and seven of the last eight.

Windsor’s men’s team is bolstered by fourth-year sprinter Aaron Bowman and second-year multi-event athlete Branden Wilhelm. Bowman (London, Ont.) is the defending OUA 60-metre champion and has the top time in the CIS this season at 6.73 seconds. Wilhelm (Woodstock, Ont.), improving on his rookie campaign, currently holds the top CIS ranking in the pentathlon, but also ranks second in high jump with a mark of 2.11 metres and fifth in long jump with a leap of 7.10 metres.

The Lancers are also looking for strong results from distance runners Fraser Kegel (Aurora, Ont.), Matt Walters (North Bay, Ont.) and Nicholas Falk (Windsor, Ont.) , who are all ranked in the top five in the 1500-metre and the top eight in the 3000-metre. Kegel holds the No. 2 ranking in the 1500m and has the top time posted by an OUA athlete this season (3:48.23).

Posing the biggest threat to the Windsor men’s title run may be the Guelph Gryphons. The Gryphons are currently the top-ranked team in the CIS and are looking to carry over the success they achieved in cross country to some of the distance events at the OUA championships. 

Gryphons’ first-year runner Yves Sikuwabo’s time of 2:23.50 in the 1000-metres is the top time in the CIS this year,  but the Ottawa native’s time is only four one hundredths of a second better than the number two time, posted by Guelph teammate Anthony Romaniw (Hamilton, Ont.). In the 3000-metres, Guelph runners boast the top three times posted by OUA athletes this year. Leading the way is Andrew Nixon (Thunder Bay, Ont.), whose time of 8:04.30 gives him the number one ranking in the CIS.  His teammates Ross Proudfoot (Lively, Ont.) and Aaron Hendrikx (Parkhill, Ont.) are close behind.

Tim Hendry hopes to bring Guelph medals in points in the throwing events. A native of Parry Sound, Ont., Hendry is the top ranked athlete in the CIS in the shot put after taking gold at the McGill Team Challenge in January. His top ranked distance of 18.33 metres is nearly half a metre better than his closest CIS competitor. Hendry also holds the No. 4 ranking in the 35-pound weight throw.

The Western Mustangs enter the OUA championships on the heels of claiming the CIS title in 2012. Currently ranked third in the CIS, the strength of the Mustangs squad is their versatility, with medal hopefuls in nearly every event.

Matt Brisson earned silver in the 60-metre hurdles at the 2012 OUA championships for Western, and looks to climb to the top of the podium this year. Brisson, from St. Thomas, Ont., is currently the top ranked runner in the 60-metre hurdles in the CIS and his 7.99 time is the only sub-eight second time posted this season.  The top ranked runner in the 600-metres also wears purple. Scott Leitch (London, Ont.) posted a time of 1:18.67, nearly half-second better than the nearest competitor, to earn the number one ranking in the event. Leitch also runs the anchor leg of the Mustangs top ranked 4x800 metre relay team.

Western is also hoping Taylor Stewart can leap to gold. Stewart is making a name for himself in his rookie season.  The London, Ont. native holds the top ranking in the CIS in long jump after posting a 7.61-metre jump at the Meyo Invitational meet at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Stewart is also ranked second in triple jump (14.57m), best amongst OUA competition.

The fifth-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees are a team built for speed. The Gee-Gees sprinters are led by Oluwasegun Makinde (Ottawa) and Michael Robertson (Williamstown, Ont.). Makinde, who served as an alternate on the Canadian 4x100-metre relay team at the 2012 London Olympics, is ranked fourth in the CIS in the 60-metres (6.82), third in the 60-metre hurdles (8.13) and third in the 300-metre (0:34.21).  Robertson holds the top ranking in the 300-metre (0:33.83) and posted a 6.96 time in the 60-metre. The pair, coupled with Gabriel Tesfaye (London, Ont.) and Tolu Makinde (Ottawa), combine to form the top ranked 4x200-metre relay team in the CIS.

The York Lions enter the 2013 OUA Track and Field Championships as the sixth-ranked team in the CIS. At this point in the season, field events have been the strength of the Lions squad. Daniel Novia (Mississauga, Ont.) ranks first in the CIS in the 35-pount weight throw, with a heave of 20.15 metres, while teammate Eric Brathwaite (Brampton, Ont.) holds the third position. Novia is also among the top shot putters in the nation, currently ranked fourth, behind teammate Umar Khan (Markham, Ont.) whose 17.67-metre throw ranks him third. Rich Jansen (Bradford, Ont.) currently ranks second in the OUA and fifth in the CIS with a 14.29-metre leap in the triple jump and David McKay (Victoria, B.C.) is the top ranked OUA athlete, second in the CIS, in the pole vault with a season-best 4.84-metre jump.

The women’s side is as hotly contested as the men’s. The Windsor Lancers enter as the three-time defending OUA champions, but are currently ranked fourth in the CIS and third in the OUA. Their title hopes rest largely on the shoulders of throwers Shealynn McLaughlin, Celine Gibb and Ami Schimanski, as well as hurdler Amilia Di Chiara.

The group of throwers is among the best in the CIS. McLaughlin (Essex, Ont.) is ranked third in both the shot put and 20-pound weight throw and earned gold in both events at the York Open earlier this month. Gibb and Schimanski are more specialists. Schimanski (Brussells, Ont.) ranks second in the weight throw (17.89 metres), while Gibb holds the top ranking in the shot put (14.60 metres) and the 15th rank in the weight throw.

Di Chiara holds the top spot in the CIS in the 60-metre hurdles. The Thornhill, Ont. native posted her CIS-best time of 8.48 at the Windsor Team Challenge, which was hosted in the same venue as the OUA Championships. Di Chiara also posted a gold medal performance at the York Open and earned silver at the Mike Lints Open at Grand Valley Statue University in Michigan earlier this year.

The Lancers are also hoping to gain points from their fifth-ranked 4x200-metre relay team, middle distance runners Heather Kurpe (Grimsby, Ont.) and Samantha Kellam (Amherstburg, Ont.) and 3000-metre specialist Jen Corrick (Orillia, Ont.).

Bolstered by a strong group of middle and long-distance runners, the Guelph Gryphons look poised to dethrone the Lancers this year as they enter the championships as the top ranked team in the CIS. In the 3000m, Guelph boasts four of the top five runners in the CIS, including CIS cross country champion Andrea Seccafien (Guelph, Ont.) who holds the top spot with a time of 9:20.64 and No. 2 Genevieve Lalonde (Moncton, N.B.). What may be even more impressive is that Gryphon runners hold six of the top nine spots in the 1500-metre rankings, led by St. Andrews, Ont. native Lydia Frost whose time of 4:24.64 sits her third, just ahead of fourth-ranked teammate Lalonde.

Guelph will also be strong in the relay events. The 4x800-metre team of Carise Thompson, Seccafien, Lalonde and Nadine Frost posted the only sub-nine minute time in the CIS this year (8:59.28) to win the event at the McGill Team Challenge in January.

Additionally, Julia Wallace will be relied on for medal finishes in the long jump, triple jump and high jump. Wallace (Whitby, Ont.) is ranked third in the high jump (1.75 metres) and long jump (5.90 metres) and second in the triple jump (12.58 metres). Her high jump and long jump rankings are the highest of any OUA athlete in the events.

The University of Toronto will also field a strong squad at the 2013 championships. The Varsity Blues are  ranked second in the CIS, and will bring a well rounded team to Windsor in hopes of claiming their first OUA banner since 2004. The Blues have medal hopefuls in nearly every track event, including sprinters Khamica Bingham and Hayley Warren, middle distance runners Sarah Wells and Natalie Geiger, and distance runner Colleen Hennessey (Oakville, Ont.). Rachel Jewett (Toronto) is also a favorite for gold in the pentathlon, and is the defending OUA champion in the event.

In her first season, Bingham (Brampton, Ont.) has made people take notice, holding the No. 1 ranking in both the 60-metres (7.44) and the 300-metres (0:38.33). Warren (Orillia, Ont.) posted a time of 8.48 in the 60-metre hurdles, which leaves her tied for the top CIS ranking in the event.

In addition to their respective fifth and sixth CIS ranking in the 300-metres, the duo of Wells (Unionville, Ont.) and Geiger will give the Blues an excellent chance at a podium finish in the 600-metre as well. Wells is ranked second nationally in the 600 (1:30.29), and is tops among OUA runners. Geiger, who joins the Varsity Blue after three years competing in the NCAA with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, ranks fourth in the OUA and sixth in the CIS in the event.

It has been ten years since the Western Mustangs women last claimed an OUA championship in track and field. Entering this year’s event ranked fifth in the CIS and fourth in the OUA, the Mustangs will hope gain medals and strong finishes in a wide variety of events. One of the Mustang’s biggest gold medal favourites is pole vaulter Robin Bone (Darien, Conn.). In her first season of competition, Bone is the top ranked OUA athlete in the event and her mark of 4.04 metres is enough to be ranked third in the CIS. Caroline Ehrhardt (Espanola, Ont.) will also be a force in the horizontal jump events for Western. The third-year athlete is holds the top CIS ranking in the triple jump (12.74 metres) and is ranked fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.82 metres.

On the track, Brenna Thomson (De Winton, Alta.) is a medal hopeful in the 60-metre and 300-metre for the Mustangs. Thomson’s 300-metre time of 0:39.06 is the third best in both the OUA and CIS this year, and she ranks fifth in the CIS with a time of 7.66 in the 60-metres. The Mustangs are also looking to post medal results in both the 4x200 and 4x400 metre relays, with Thomson playing a key role in both events.

The Ottawa Gee-Gees enter the championships ranked ninth in the CIS. The Gee-Gees are led by middle distance runner Emma Galbraith.  The Merrickville, Ont. native is second in the CIS rankings for the 1000-metres with a time of 2:46.89, and fifth in the 600-metres (1:31.78) and 1500-metres (4:28.24). Hurdler Devyani Biswal (Ottawa) will also look to reach the podium for the garnet and grey. Biswal posted a time of 8.67 in the 60-metre hurdles at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in February, giving her the fourth ranking in the CIS.

Other field teams at the 2013 OUA Track & Field Championships will be York, Lakehead, Laurier, McMaster, Ryerson, Queen’s, Waterloo and a women’s contingent from Laurentian.

The 2013 OUA Track & Field Championships will take place at the St. Denis Centre on the campus of the University of Windsor.  Action will begin February 21 at 12:30 p.m. with the men’s weight throw and will wrap up at approximately 5 p.m. on February 22 with the final medal presentations.  A full schedule of events and other information on the championships can be found at the event website here. The OUA Track and Field Championships will be available by live video streaming here. And remember to visit OUA.ca for results.