Guelph women and men lead heading into final day of CIS track & field championships, presented by Muscle MLK

TORONTO (CIS) - The Guelph Gryphons pulled into the lead in both the men's and women's team standings after an action packed day two at the 2016 CIS Track and Field Championships presented by MUSCLE MLK. A total of three CIS records fell on the day as a packed house at the Toronto Track and Field Centre cheered on the best track and field athletes the CIS has to offer.

Complete Results http://www.yorku.ca/yutc/v2/2016CISTF/

Jared Skeath of the Guelph Gryphons got the day started by taking home the gold in the men's weight throw. Skeath had the crowd roaring as he launched a winning toss of 20.53m, to capture his second straight CIS Championships gold medal in the weight throw. Skeath was followed by Chris Preece (18.48m) of the hometown York Lions, and Marc-Antoine Lafrayene-Dugas (18.42m) of the University of Sherbrooke in third place.

The throwers continued to impress as York's Brittany Crew set a new CIS Championships record in the women's shot put with a toss of 16.96m. It was the second gold medal of the meet for Crew, who also picked up the gold in the women's weight throw on day one. Ashley Connell of the Guelph Gryphons came in second, followed by Sarah Mitton of Windsor in third.

Another record fell in the women's pole vault, as Robin Bone of the Western Mustangs picked up the gold medal with a CIS record 4.25m vault. She outpaced her closest competitors Paige Ridout of Alberta and Rachael Wolfs of Windsor who both cleared 3.91m.

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues had a successful day on the track as they reached the top of the podium in both the mens' and womens' 1000m finals. Gabriela Stafford broke the CIS record en route to the gold medal in a time of 2:41.67. She was followed by Jenna Westaway (2:42.96) of Calgary in second and Katelyn Ayers (2:46.30) of Guelph in third. The third-year student was excited to be able break the record and credited Westaway with ensuring she was on the top of her game coming into the race.

« It feels really good, it's obviously nice to get a record so I'm happy with it ,» said Stafford. « Mentally I put a lot more thought into this race than I usually do, just because Jenna is such a strong runner I wasn't quite sure of what her strategy would be so I had a couple of options of what I was going to do. I decided to wait until 150 (metres) to go which was a little risky but being able to pull away from Jenna was a huge confidence booster for me leading up to Portland (World Indoor Championships) next week. »

Stafford was joined atop the podium by teammate Sacha Smart. Smart won the men's final in a time of 2:23.92, as he overtook the lead just before entering the bell lap. Despite late charges by Corey Bellmore of Windsor and Nicolas Morin of Laval, Smart hung on and crossed the finish line with an excited fist pump as the Toronto crowd roared in appreciation of his thrilling victory.

In hurdles action, Devyani Biswal of the Ottawa GeeGee's claimed the gold medal in the women's 60m, winning in a time of 8.40 seconds. She was followed by Sarah Hammond (8.44) of Guelph in second and Joy Spear Chief-Morris (8.48) of the Western Mustangs in third. The bronze was Spear Chief-Morris' second medal of the Championships, as she picked up the gold in the women's 60m on day one.

In an upset in the men's 60m hurdles, Jared Olson of the Saskatchewan Huskies picked up the gold medal in a time of 8.09 seconds. Olson, also the CIS Student-Athlete Community Service award winner this year, topped Western's Isoken Ogieva (8.15) who finished second and Jackson Cheung (8.20) who picked up the bronze. Top-seeded Gregory MacNeill of the U of T Blues collided with another athlete and was unable to complete the race.

The Women's 3000m was won by Regan Yee of Trinity Western as she squeaked by Tamara Jewett of U of T in a time of 9.37:12. Katrina Allison of the Guelph Gryphons picked up the bronze in a time of 9:39.59. Antoine Thibeault of Laval looked strong in the men's 3000m, as he won by over four seconds in a time of 8:10:20. He was followed by Paul Janikowski of Windsor in second place and Jean-Samuel Lapointe in third.

The men's high jump was an interesting event, with Sean Cate of Guelph winning with a leap of 2.16m. Alhaji Murray of the University of Manitoba came in second followed by bronze medalist Branden Wilhelm of Windsor.

In women's long jump action, Sandra Latrace of the University of Lethbridge brought home the gold medal, followed by Astrid Nyame of the University of Saskatchewan in second and Emily Omahen of Windsor in third. Riley Bell (7.40m) of the Western Mustangs finished in first place in the men's long jump, followed by Ahmed Alkaberry (7.32m) of Regina in second and Branden Wilhelm (7.10m) of the Windsor Lancers in third.

The 300m finals were crowd pleasers as both the men's and the women's races were thrilling finishes which went down to the wire. In the women's event, Ashley Whiteman of the University of Alberta won the gold in a time of 39.10 seconds, followed by Naomi Lance of Waterloo in 39.10 and York's Sheereen Harris in third with a time of 39.44 seconds. In the men's event Nathan George of Trinity Western picked up the gold out of the B Final, as he raced to the line in a time of 33.52 seconds. He was followed up Rayshaun Franklin of U of T in 33.66 seconds. York's Bismark Boateng won the bronze medal on his home track as he finished first in the A Final in a time of 33.93.

In the men's heptathlon James Turner of U of T proved he's the most well-rounded male athlete in the CIS as he brought home the gold medal with 5374 points. He was followed by teammate Rostam Turner in second with 5134 points and Milos Savic of the University of Windsor in third with 4947 points.

The most exciting action of the action packed day two may have come in the 4x800m relays, as the events capped off the track events for the day. A roaring crowd voiced their appreciation of the non-stop competitors as the U of T Varsity Blues brought home the gold medal in the women's event in a time of 8:49.74. The University of Sherbrooke picked up the silver in 8:54.43, followed by Guelph in a time of 8:55.75.

In the men's event, Windsor picked up a come from behind win as they nipped the men from the University of Victoria at the line in an incredible finish. The Lancers Corey Bellemore finished .04 seconds ahead of a diving Brendon Restall from the Vikes as each team gave everything they had. The bronze medal went to the Laval Rouge et Or.

TEAM STANDINGS: AFTER DAY 2

Women
1. Guelph, 53 points
2. Toronto, 50
3. Western, 47
4. York, 43
5. Alberta, 39
6. Saskatchewan, 34
7. Windsor, 31
8. Trinity Western, 19
9. Calgary, 16
10. Sherbrooke, 15
11. McGill, 13
12. Dalhousie, 11
13. Ottawa, 10
13. Lethbridge, 10
15. Laval, 9
16. Manitoba, 8
16. Waterloo, 8
18. Victoria, 5
18. Regina, 5
20. St. FX, 3

Men
1. Guelph, 61.50 points
2. Windsor, 55
3. Toronto, 40
4. Laval, 35
5. Saskatchewan, 26
5. Western, 26
5. York, 26
8. Regina, 25
9. Trinity Western, 16
10. Dalhousie, 13
11. Sherbrooke, 12
12. Manitoba, 10
13. Victoria, 8
13. Montreal, 8
15. Ottawa, 5.50
16. Lethbridge, 5
16. Alberta, 5
18. Waterloo, 4
19. McMaster, 3
19. Laurier, 3

INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS: DAY 2

Shot Put (W)
1. Brittany Crew, York 16.96 CIS Championships Record
2. Ashley Connell, Guelph, 15.60
3. Sarah Mitton, Windsor, 14.83

Long Jump (M)
1. Riley Bell, Western, 7.40
2. Ahmed Alkaberry, Regina, 7.32
3. Branden Wilhelm, Windsor, 7.10

Pole Vault (W)
1. Robin Bone, Western 4.25
2. Paige Ridout, Alberta 3.91
3. Rachael Wolfs, Windsor 3.91

1000m (W)
1. Gabriela Stafford, Toronto, 2:41.67 CIS Championships Record
2. Jenna Westaway, Calgary, 2:42.67
3. Katelyn Ayers, Guelph, 2:46.96

1000m (M)
1. Sacha Smart, Toronto, 2:23.92
2. Corey Bellemore, Windsor, 2:24.36
3. Nicolas Morin, Laval, 2:24.39

60m Hurdles (M)
1. Jared Olson, Saskatchewan, 8.09
2. Isoken Ogieva, Western, 8.15
3. Jackson Cheung, Guelph, 8.20

60m Hurdles (W)
1. Devyani Bismal, Ottawa, 8.40
2. Sarah Hammond, Guelph, 8.44
3. Joy Spear Chief-Morris, Western, 8.48

3000m (W)
1. Regan Yee, Trinity Western, 9:37.12
2. Tamara Jewett, Toronto, 9:37.46
3. Katrina Allison, Guelph, 9:39.59

3000m (M)
1. Antoine Thibeault, Laval, 8:10.20
2. Paul Janikowski, Windsor, 8:14.90
3. Jean-Samuel Lapointe, Laval, 8:15.36

High Jump (M)
1. Sean Cate, Guelph, 2.16
2. Alhaji Mansaray, Manitoba, 2.10
3. Branden Wilhelm, Windsor, 2.10

Long Jump (W)
1. Sandra Latrace, Lethbridge, 5.82
2. Astrid Nyame, Saskatchewan, 5.82
3. Emily Omahen, Windsor, 5.80

Weight Throw (M)
1. Jared Skeath, Guelph, 20.53
2. Chris Preece, York, 18.48
3. Marc-Antoine Lafranaye-Dugas, Sherbrooke, 18.42

300m (W)
1. Ashley Whiteman, Alberta, 39.10
2. Naomi Lance, Waterloo, 39.17
3. Sheereen Harris, York, 39.44

300m (M)
1. Nathan George, Trinity Western, 33.52
2. Rayshaun Franklin, Toronto, 33.66
3. Bismark Boateng, York, 33.93

4X800m (W)
1. Toronto, 8:49.74
(Gillian Ceyhan, Madeleine Kelly, Honor Walmsley, Rachel Jewett)
2. Sherbrooke, 8:54.43
(Winona Lefebvre-Castillo, Beatrice Moyen-Sylvestre, Maite Bouchard, Marie-Eve Jacques)
3. Guelph, 8:55.75
(Emily Gordon, Cheryse Mitton, Janelle Hanna, Sophia Watts)

4X800m (M)
1. Windsor, 7:30.80
(Taylor MacArthur, Joe Kagumba, Nick MAcMackin, Corey Bellemore)
2. Victoria, 7:30.84
(Tyler Smith, Isaac Penner, Cole Peterson, Brendon Restall)
3. Laval, 7:35.55
(Benoit Dider, Benjamin Raymond, Nicolas Morin, Alex Busseires)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS: DAY 1

Weight Throw (W)
1. Brittany Crew, York, 18.90
2.Olena Olenick, Saskatchewan, 18.08
3. Jordana Badley-Castello, Windsor, 17.61

60m (W)
1.Joy Spear Chief-Morris, Western, 7.40
2. Sheereen Harris, York, 7.54
3. Shannay Beals, Dalhousie, 7.54

60m (M)
1. Tevaughn Campbell, Regina, 6.67
2. Bismark Boateng, York, 6.74
3. Kyle Thompson, Guelph, 6.78

Pentathlon (W)
1. Kaleigh Hole, Western, 3940
2. Helena Reinfels, McGill, 3868
3. Astrid Nyame, Saskatchean, 3824

DAY 3 SCHEDULE (selected events webcast daily at www.CIS-SIC.tv)

Saturday, March 12
12:30 Triple Jump (W) Final
12:30 Pole Vault (M) Final
13:15 600m (W) Final
13:30 600m (M) Final
14:15 4x200m Relay (W) Final
14:25 4x200m Relay (M) Final
14:30 High Jump (W) Final
14:45 Triple Jump (M) Final
14:45 Shot Put (M) Final
14:45 1500m (W) Final
15:00 1500m (M) Final
16:00 4x400m Relay (W) Final
16:15 4x400m Relay (M) Final