Gryphons excel in both track and field events to lead OUA championships after day one

Photo by Gerry Marentette
Photo by Gerry Marentette
February 24, 2018

WINDSOR, Ont. - The best athletes in Ontario descended on the Border City Friday to compete in the 2018 edition of the OUA conference Championships. Sprinters, runners, jumpers, and throwers all came to Windsor with a ticket to punch, event to win, or score to beat as they showcased what they had in hopes of getting the nod for a U SPORTS berth.

The host Lancers sit within striking distance of the Guelph women's team, with the Gryphons only holding a 14-point margin over the Blue & Gold (89-75), while the Western Mustangs sit third overall with 63 points. On the men's side, the Gryphon men enjoy a comfortable 94-54 point lead over the second place Mustangs. The Toronto Varsity Blues sit in third with 48 points, and Windsor is currently fourth with 41 points.

The Gryphon men put forth a strong showing on day one, quite literally running away from the competition. The Gryphons' athleticism showed mostly on the track, where the men claimed gold in the men's 1000 metre as well as the 4x800 relay with a time of 7:41.35. On the field, Mark Bujnowski and Thomas Nedow showed their strength with first and second place finishes respectively in the Shot Put.

In second place for the men was the Western Mustangs who sat an astonishing 40 points back from the first place Gryphons. The Mustangs were helped largely by Ramzi Abdulahi, who won the 300 metre race with a time of 34.43 seconds, as well as a third place finish in the 4x800 metre relay.

Rounding out the top three for day one were the Toronto Varsity Blues who had 48 points on the day. The Blues started things out well, winning the weight toss when Ezana Debalkew threw 17.51 metres. Jack Berkshire came second in the 300 metre (34.55) and Craig Klomp finished second in 1000 metre (2:26.67) to leave the Blues in podium position after the first day of competition.

On the women's side, the Gryphons led the way again, this time though by a much smaller margin. Guelph succeeded both on the track and on the field as they placed eight athletes on the podium. The Gryphons' achievements were highlighted by Sarah Hammond and her first place finish in the 60 metre hurdles (8.18s) and Marissa Dubois' 5.89m leap to win the long jump.

The Lancers, sitting with 75 points were hot the Gryphons' tail. The Lancers were boosted by great performances from a few performances, including Oonagh Webster who won the pentathlon by a mere two points, edging Western's Kate Beaudry 3293 to 3291. Rachael Wolfs was her high-flying self as well, winning the pole vault with a jump of 4.15m. The Blue and Gold also had a strong showing in the women's 300 metre, with Kelsey Balkwill winning handily with a time of 38.11s

The Mustang women were helped out by a great showing in the pentathlon with Kate Beaudry and Madeline Rampton, who scored 3291 and 3283 respectively. The Mustangs also claimed the lower end of the podium when Emily Good and Stephanie Shepard came second and third with tosses of 13.79 and 13.52 metres respectively.

Competition continues Saturday at 9:00am when the women's weight throw kicks off day two of the championship. The event can be seen live at www.oua.tv, while the event schedule and performance list can be found at www.goLancers.ca.

Men's Standings (following Day 1)

  1. Guelph Gryphons (94)
  2. Western Mustangs (54)
  3. Toronto Varsity Blues (48)
  4. Windsor Lancers (41)
  5. York Lions (40)
  6. Waterloo Warriors (16)
  7. McMaster Marauders (14)
  8. Ottawa Gee-Gees (3)
  9. Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks (1)
  10. Brock Badgers (1)

Women's Standings (following Day 1)

  1. Guelph Gryphons (89)
  2. Windsor Lancers (75)
  3. Western Mustangs (63)
  4. Toronto Varsity Blues (56)
  5. York Lions (35)
  6. Ottawa Gee-Gees (19)
  7. Queen's Gaels (6)
  8. Lakehead Thunderwolves (2)
  9. Waterloo Warriors (2)
  10. McMaster Marauders (2)
  11. Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks (1)

Individual Medalists – DAY 1

Men's Weight Throw

  1. Ezana Debalkew, Toronto (17.51m)
  2. Drew Erskine, York (15.87m)
  3. Jonathan Raspanti, York (15.21m)

Women's 1000 Metre

  1. Lucia Stafford, Toronto (2:45.48)
  2. Madelein Kelly, Toronto (2:46.95)
  3. Dana Earhart, Guelph (2:47.44)

Men's 1000 Metre

  1. Thomas Land, Guelph (2:26.48)
  2. Craig Klomp, Toronto (2:26.67)
  3. Mostafa Elkurdy, Guelph (2:26.68)

Men's 60 Metre Hurdles

  1. Kayden Johnson, York (7.92s)
  2. Jackson Cheung, Guelph (8.23s)
  3. Anthony Kwan, Toronto (8.36s)

Women's 60 Metre Hurdles

  1. Sarah Hammond, Guelph (8.18s)
  2. Keira Christie-Galloway, Ottawa (8.31s)
  3. Emma Nero, Guelph (8.5s)

Men's Long Jump

  1. Joerg Ahne, Waterloo (7.42m)
  2. Johnny Balogun, Western (7.15m)
  3. Nicholas Fyffe, York (7.04m)

Women's Pole Vault

  1. Rachael Wolfs, Windsor (4.12m)
  2. Brittany Salmon, Toronto (3.9m)
  3. Tessa Hamilton, Guelph (3.75m)

Women's Shot Put

  1. Sarah Mitton, Windsor (16.82m)
  2. Emily Good, Western (13.97m)
  3. Stephanie Shapard, Western (13.52m)

Women's 3000 Metre

  1. Sasha Gollish, Toronto (9:32.34)
  2. Danielle Jossinet, Guelph (9:33.08
  3. Kristina Popadich Western (9:33.29)

Men's 3000 Metre

  1. Jack Sheffar, Western (8:23.94)
  2. Sergio Raez-Villanueva, McMaster (8:26.69)
  3. Connor Black, Guelph (8:27.22)

Women's Pentathlon

  1. Oonagh Webster, Windsor (3293)
  2.  Katie Beaudry, Western (3291)
  3. Madeline Rampton Western (3283)

Men's Shot Put

  1. Mark Bujnowski, Guelph (16.35m)
  2. Thomas Nedow, Guelph (15.93m)
  3. Brett Boersma, Windsor (15.72m)

Women's Long Jump

  1. Marissa Dubois, Guelph (5.89m)
  2. Holly Pitters, York (5.87m)
  3. Taryn Lamorie, Windsor (5.75m)

Women's 300 Metre

  1. Kelsey Balkwill, Windsor (38.13s)
  2. Christy Ihunaegbo, York (39.01s)
  3. Morgan Byng, Guelph (39.12s)

Men's 300 Metre

  1. Ramzi Abdulahi, Western (34.43s)
  2. Jack Berkshire, Toronto (34.55s)
  3. Jaiden Brown, Windsor (34.61s)

Women's 4x800 Metre

  1. Toronto (8:52.23)
  2. Guelph (8:54.42)
  3. Ottawa (9:02.4)

Men's 4x800 Metre

  1. Guelph (7:41.35)
  2. Windsor (7:44.12
  3. Western (7:48.21)