CIS track and field championships: OUA teams remain in hunt for team banners
EDMONTON (CIS) – Rachel Machin picked up two more medals, including her first gold, as she and her University of Calgary Dinos teammates continue to lead the women’s standings after the second day of competition at the 2012-13 CIS track and field championships in Edmonton. While the University of Guelph Gryphons’ men’s team picked up 61 points on Day 2, it was only good enough for second place in the standings as the University of Windsor Lancers (65) continue to hold onto first, albeit with just a four point lead, and despite having a 19-point advantage after Day 1.
Championship website (complete results): http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/trackfield/index
Machin, who finished second on Day 1 to teammate Rachael McIntosh in the pentathlon, earned a gold medal in long jump on Friday, with a leap of 6.01m. She then acquired silver when she crossed the line second in the 60m hurdles final with a time 8.62. The Dinos, ranked No.3 in CIS, now have 76 points to lead the women’s table. The Toronto Varsity Blues, on the strength of a 1-2 finish in the 300m race, are second with 68 points, while the OUA champion Guelph Gryphons are third with 52.25 points. The defending national champion University of Windsor Lancers are fourth with 45 points.
Calgary, winners of the CIS women’s banner in 2007, also got podium finishes from 2013 CIS Outstanding Track Event Performer Jenna Westaway (1,000m) and Rachael McIntosh who earned a bronze in the long jump behind teammate Machin.
On the men’s side, the OUA champion Guelph Gryphons posted an impressive 61 points to move into second in the standings, or at least it was impressive to everyone except Gryphons coach and OUA coach of the year Dave Scott-Thomas.
“We did not have a good day actually. With the strength of the program that we have we expected a little more today,” noted Scott-Thomas. “It was a great effort today, but the outcome was a little short of what we expected.”
Guelph and Windsor seem poised to duke it out for the men’s title, which would make it the sixth consecutive season a team from Ontario was crowned national champions. The two teams are tied in the men’s medal count, with six each, including two gold medals each. The Gryphons were national champions in 2008 and 2010, while the Lancers earned the trophy in 2009 and 2011. The Western Mustangs won last year.
“We have a challenge ahead of us tomorrow. We’ve been in a scrap with Windsor before, and I actually think it is one of the best rivalries in CIS. The key for us tomorrow will be to come out and be the team that we’re capable of being,” added Scott-Thomas.
The Gryphons earned all six medals they have on Day 2, including a very interesting 1-2 finish in the 1,000m run, and a surprising gold in the 4X800m relay.
In the 1,000m run, third-year Anthony Romaniw, a nominee for the CIS Outstanding Track Performer Award, generated a sizeable lead for much of the race, but as he was within footsteps of crossing the finish line, and his first CIS medal, he purposely slowed down and allowed teammate Stephen Holmes to pass him, and win the race. Holmes was gifted the gold with a time of 2:26.32, while Romaniw slowed to a time of 2:26.48, and Laval’s Jean-Samuel Lapointe (2:26.84) finished with the bronze.
“We had an idea about it before the race,” said Romaniw. “Stephen knew when I was going to make my move to gap some of the people we wanted to gap, so he was obviously more prepared for it than the rest of the field. I saw him coming up behind me towards the finish line, and Steve has been at CIS for four years, whereas this is my first, and I thought he would want gold more than I would. I look at it as more a team championship anyway, and I love my teammates.”
And, in the 4X800m relay, the Western Ontario Mustangs actually crossed the line first, but were disqualified after the race, bumping Guelph to gold, Windsor to silver and Toronto to bronze.
The Mustangs, winners of the 2012 CIS team championship, did pick up a pair of gold medals on the day, however, as Matt Brisson took top spot in the 60m hurdles, while Taylor Stewart jumped 7.87 meters in the long jump for gold, and just missing out on tying the CIS record of 7.88 meters.
The University of Regina Cougars also earned two gold medals on Day 2, as Kelly Wiebe won the 3,000m run with a time of 8:08.13, and high jumper Jeremy Eckert claimed first with a leap of 2.09m.
Guelph also earned podium trips in the weight throw (Tim Hendry, bronze), the 3,000m run (Ross Proudfoot, bronze), and the long jump (Jorg Ahne, silver). Windsor’s other medals on the men’s side came courtesy Branden Wilhelm who earned silver in the high jump, one day after winning the pentathlon, and Matt Walters (silver) in the 3,000m.
In the 300m dash, the Ottawa Gee-Gees earned gold and silver thanks to Devin Biocchi (34.11) and Oluwasgeun Makinde (34.29), while McMaster runner Scott Hutchinson picked up bronze with a time of 34.34.
On the women’s side, the Varsity Blues picked up four medals on Day 2, including two gold medals, as they maintained their hold second place in the standings. Hayley Warren won gold in the 60m hurdles; Alicia Brown was crowned champion of the 300m race, just ahead of teammate Sarah Wells, and Toronto’s 4X800m relay claimed silver as well.
In one of the evening’s big events, the women’s 1,000m run, two of the brightest future CIS stars went toe-to-toe. Ottawa’s Emma Galbraith, the 2013 CIS Rookie of the Year, and Jenna Westaway from Calgary, a Rookie of the Year nominee and winner of the 2013 CIS Outstanding Track Event Performer Award, were close through much of the race, but Galbraith managed to separate in the final three laps to win her first CIS gold medal. Victoria’s Kendra Pomfret earned the bronze.
Mélanie Blouin, who finished 19th at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London and won the 2013 CIS Outstanding Field Event Performer for 2013, picked up gold in the pole vault.
Day 3 action begins at 12:30 p.m.MT on Saturday, March 9 with the women’s triple jump final. The championships conclude at 4:30 p.m. MT with the 4X400m relay events.
TEAM STANDINGS: AFTER DAY 2
Women
1. Calgary, 76 points
2. Toronto, 68
3. Guelph, 52.25
4. Windsor, 45
5. Western, 30.25
6. Laval, 20
7. Alberta, 19
8. Trinity Western, 18.25
9. Saskatchewan, 17
9.Victoria, 17
11.York, 13
12.Lethbridge, 10
12.Montreal, 10
12.Ottawa, 10
15.Regina, 6
15.McMaster, 6
17.McGill, 4
18.Dalhousie, 3
19.Queen’s, 2
19.Sherbrooke, 2
21.Manitoba, .25
Men
1. Windsor, 65 points
2. Guelph, 61
3. Ottawa, 38
4. Sherbrooke, 32
5. Western, 31
6. Regina, 30.5
7. Toronto, 20.5
8. York, 18
9. Laval, 12
10.Victoria, 10
11.Alberta, 9
11.Manitoba, 9
11.Dalhousie, 9
14.Saskatchewan, 8
14.Trinity Western, 8
16.Calgary, 7
16.McMaster, 7
18.Waterloo, 5
19.McGill, 4
20. Lethbridge, 3
21. St. Francis Xavier, 2
INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS: DAY 2
Weight Throw (M)
1. Daniel Novia, York, 20.22
2. Marc-Antoine Lafrenayé Dugas, Sherbrooke, 18.64
3. Tim Hendry, Guelph, 18.51
Long Jump (M)
1. Taylor Stewart, Western 7.87
2. Jorg Ahne, Guelph 7.54
3. Olivier Huet, Sherbrooke 7.53
Pole Vault (W)
1. Mélanie Blouin, Laval, 4.05
2. Robin Bone, Western 3.85
2. Rebecca Marchant, Trinity Western, 3.85
1000m (W)
1. Emma Galbraith, Ottawa 2:52.09
2. Jenna Westaway, Calgary 2:52.89
3. Kendra Pomfret, Victoria 2:52.93
1000m (M)
1. Steve Holmes, Guelph 2:26.32
2. Anthony Romaniw, Guelph 2:26.48
3. Jean-Samuel Lapointe, Laval 2:26.84
60m Hurdles (M)
1. Matt Brisson, Western, 7.87
2. Calum Innes, Trinity Western, 7.98
3. Isoken Ogieva, Western 8.04
60m Hurdles (W)
1. Hayley Warren, Toronto 8.42
2. Rachel Machin, Calgary 8.62
3. Nicola Charlesworth, Calgary 8.65
3000m (W)
1. Andrea Seccafien, Guelph 9:35.12
2. Carise Thompson, Guelph 9:41.76
3. Victoria Coates, McMaster 9:43.33
3000m (M)
1. Kelly Wiebe, Regina 8:08.13
2. Matt Walters, Windsor 8:10.58
3. Ross Proudfoot, Guelph 8:11.11
High Jump (M)
1. Jeremy Eckert, Regina 2.09
2. Branden Wilhelm, Windsor 2.06
3. Alhaji Mansaray, Manitoba 2.06
Long Jump (W)
1. Rachel Machin, Calgary 6.01
2. Julia Wallace, Guelph 5.97
3. Rachael McIntosh, Calgary 5.95
Shot Put (W)
1. Celine Freeman-Gibb, Windsor 15.40
2. Cynthia Appiah, York 14.22
3. Shealyn McLaughlin, Windsor 14.08
300m (W)
1. Alicia Brown, Toronto 38.28
2. Sarah Wells, Toronto 38.43
3. Brenna Thomson, Western 38.56
300m (M)
1. Devin Biocchi, Ottawa 34.11
2. Oluwasegun Makinde, Ottawa 34.29
3. Scott Hutchinson, McMaster 34.34
4X800m (W)
1. Victoria, 8:51.36
(Grace Annear, Rachel François, Jenica Moore, Kendra Pomfret)
2. Toronto, 8:53.05
(Rosa Serafini, Rachel Jewett, Coleen Hennessy, Kelly Hennessy)
3. Guelph, 9:00.80
(Rachel Aubry, Lydia Frost, Nadine Frost, Geneviève Lalonde)
4X800m (M)
1. Guelph, 7:31.62
(Drew Anderson, Chris Hutton, Rob Jackson, Tommy Lecours)
2. Windsor, 7:32.87
(Paul La Marra, Jordan Wand, Alex Ullman, Corey Bellemore)
3. Toronto, 7:33.95
(Sasha Smart, Michael Trnkus, Ethan Davenport, Connor Outhit)
*NOTE – Western originally finished 1st in the men’s 4X800M DQ
DAY 3 SCHEDULE (selected events webcast daily at www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, March 9
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
EDMONTON (CIS) – The University of Windsor Lancers earned three medals, including two gold, on the opening day of the 2012-13 CIS track and field championships in Edmonton, to lead the men’s standings with an impressive 28 points, 19 more than their nearest competitor. On the women’s side, the Canada West champion University of Calgary Dinos lead with 26 points following gold and silver medal showings. Both Windsor and Calgary were dominant in the pentathlon on Thursday, taking the top two podium spots respectively.
Championship website (complete results): http://english.cis-sic.ca/
Fourth-year Dino Rachael McIntosh, originally from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, came from behind in the women’s pentathlon, winning three (shot put, long jump and 800m) of the final five events, to finish first with 4,179 points. Teammate Rachel Machin, a nominee for the 2013 CIS outstanding field event performer award, finished second with 3,993 points thanks to victories in the first two pent events, the 60m hurdles and the high jump. Toronto’s Rachel Jewett made it clean-sweep for athletes named “Rachel” when she finished third in the pent with 3,735 points. The sophomore scored second place finishes in the 800m run, and the high jump.
In the men’s pent, Windsor’s Branden Wilhelm led early and managed to hang on to first place despite a hard charge from teammate Jesse Drennan. Wilhelm finished with 3,888 points, while Drennan was second with 3,825 points. Dalhousie’s Rob McCulloch, who finished second in the high jump, earned the bronze with 3,706 points.
“I’m so happy right now,” exclaimed Wilhelm. “Last year was a train wreck for me. I was injured last year at the national championship, but attempted to compete anyway and ended up finishing last in some events. I redeemed myself today. Just even being able to compete today, I can’t even explain how happy I am right now.”
The second-year from Woodstock, ON, picked up first place finishes in the long jump, high jump and shot put, and finished second in the 60m hurdles. However, he crossed the line in the 1,000m run in 10th place, three spots behind Drennan.
“I’m so proud of Jesse,” said Wilhelm. “That was a huge personal best for him. He had me pretty scared there for a while, I wasn’t certain I was going to win, but in the end, I’m glad he was there to push me.”
The 1-2 Lancer finish in the pentathlon, combined with a gold medal in the men’s 60m dash from Aaron Bowman, gave the OUA powerhouse a sizeable 19 point lead heading into the second day of competition. Bowman won the 60m sprint with a time of 6.73, while Alberta’s Ben Williams finished second (6.78) and Ottawa’s Oluwasegun Makinde finished third with a time of 6.84.
“I can’t even comprehend what we did today,” added Wilhelm. “We maxed out in points as a team; we earned as many points as we possibly could have and I think when people see that tomorrow they are going to be shocked. I think we’re ready to challenge for the title.”
While they aren’t the defending CIS champions, or even the recent OUA title holders, the Windsor men did win 14 straight conference banners from 1999 to 2012. The Western University Mustangs are the defending CIS champions, and they sit in fifth after Day 1 with five points, while the 2012-13 Ontario champion Guelph Gryphons did not earn a single point on Thursday.
Ontario schools have dominated at the national level in recent years, sweeping all 10 CIS team banners since Calgary (women) and Sherbrooke (men) triumphed in 2007. A year ago, OUA athletes claimed two thirds of the CIS gold medals (22 out of 34).
While the Dinos lead the women’s table, it is a slim five point lead over second place Toronto. Windsor, which is the defending champion on the women’s side, is in third with 15 points. The host Alberta Pandas are in fourth with 14 points following silver and bronze medals in the women’s 60m sprint. Rookie Katrina Martin finished second in her first CIS championship run, while teammate Leah Walkeden was third. Both runners trailed Toronto’s Khamica Bingham who won the race with a time of 7.47.
In Thursday’s only other final, Lethbridge’s Kayla Gallagher took home the gold medal in weight throw with a distance of 18.24m. That eclipsed distances by Windsor teammate Shealyn McLaughlin (17.49m) and Ami Schimanski (17.24m).
Day two of the championship begins with the men’s weight throw final on Friday at 4:00 pm MT. The event was originally slated to start at 4:30 pm MT, but was bumped up a half-an-hour, while the women’s pole vault final was changed to 5:30 pm MT.
TEAM STANDINGS: AFTER DAY 1
Women
1 Calgary, 26
2 Toronto, 21
3 Windsor, 15
4 Alberta, 14
5 Lethbridge, 10
6 Guelph, 7
7 York, 5
7 Western, 5
9 Laval, 4
9 McGill, 4
11 Dalhousie, 3
12 Trinity Western, 2
13 Saskatchewan, 1
Men
1 Windsor, 28
2 Ottawa, 9
3 Alberta, 8
4 Dalhousie, 6
5 Western, 5
5 Toronto, 5
5 Waterloo, 5
8 Sherbrooke, 4
9 Calgary, 3
9 Manitoba, 3
11 Laval, 2
INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS: DAY 1
Weight Throw (W)
1. Kayla Gallagher, Lethbridge, 18.24
2. Shealyn McLaughlin, Windsor, 17.49
3. Ami Schimanski, Windsor, 17.24
60m (W)
1. Khamica Bingham, Toronto, 7.47
2. Katrina Martin, Alberta, 7.51
3. Leah Walkeden, Alberta, 7.60
60m (M)
1. Aaron Bowman, Windsor , 6.73
2. Ben Williams, Alberta, 6.78
3. Oluwasegun Makinde, Ottawa, 6.84
Pentathlon (W)
1. Rachael McIntosh, Calgary , 4,179
2. Rachel Machin, Calgary, 3,993
3. Rachel Jewett, Toronto, 3,735
Pentathlon (M)
1. Branden Wilhem, Windsor, 3,888
2. Jesse Drennan, Windsor, 3,825
3. Robert McCulloch, Dalhousie, 3,706
