Championship Recap Day 3: Gryphons sweep national titles for second consecutive year

For the second year in a row, the Guelph Gryphons stood atop both the men's (123 points) and women's (139 points) standings, capping off a stellar 2019 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships Presented by Beynon Sports, at the James Daly Fieldhouse in Winnipeg. 

Leading the way for the Gryphon women was Female Athlete of the Meet Jenna Westaway, who concluded a phenomenal showing with a gold medal in the 1500 metres with a time of 4:18.17 on Saturday. It was the third first-place finish for the Canadian indoor record-holder, after a gold in the 1000 metres, as well as the 4x800-metre relay on Day 2.

"It's a really lovely honour," Westaway said after the meet. "Truly, winning the 4x800m relay and getting the team title as a group, that was really special to me."

https://youtu.be/_b070snMN8c

Daniel Harper and Philip Osei – who have both been on Canadian national teams in the past – continued their strong weekends for Guelph on the men's side, helping to break the U SPORTS record in the 4x400-metre relay with a time of 3:11.67. Harper was also part of the gold medal-winning 4x200-metre relay team on Day 2, along with securing a bronze in the 300-metre run. Osei was just as strong with a silver in the 300-metre run.

"I feel like this is a big stepping stone," Osei said, "We're just trying to bring track back to Canadian universities and trying to keep other athletes at home and show that we can establish a good culture in Canada. This is a very big thing."

(Credit: Trevor Hagan)

Guelph head coach Dave Scott-Thomas swept the Fox 40 Coach of the Year honours, but made sure to bring his entire coaching staff to the podium for the awards.

"We're way too big for anybody to take credit for anything that happens for us. It'd be impossible," he said.

"I started with quite a small unit and the only way we were able to function at this level was with a team effort. I'm grateful for the notion of that type of award, but I've got the best staff in the country. It's not only that we get along so well, we also make it okay to disagree and push each other and that's how you get better.

Earning the George Gemer Award for Male Athlete of the Meet was York's Pierce Lepage. The 2018 silver medallist in the decathlon at the Commonwealth Games brought home a gold medal in the 60-metre hurdles on Day 2 with a time of 7.83 seconds. He also captured a bronze medal in high jump on Friday with a leap of 2.09 metres and was a key member of the Lions' silver medal-winning 4x200-metre relay team on Day 3.

"I was a little worried coming in, because I actually had a cold," Lepage said. "I'm used to five events a day though so it wasn't too bad."

Rounding out the top three on the men's side were Toronto with 72 points and Manitoba with 60.5. The silver and bronze on the women's side went to Saskatchewan with 99 points and Western with 57.

Full Results

RÉSULTATS

TEAM STANDINGS

Men 

1. Guelph (123)

2. Toronto (72)

3. Manitoba (60.5)

4. Western (53)

5. Alberta (43)

6. York (39.5)

7. Laval (34)

8. Saskatchewan (31)

9. Windsor (29)

T10. Waterloo (23)

T10. Dalhousie (23)

12. Trinity Western (20)

13. Sherbrooke (18.5)

14. Montréal (18)

15. Calgary (16.5)

16. Regina (15)

17. Ottawa (10)

18. Lethbridge (9)

19. McGill (6)

T20. McMaster (5)

T20. Saint Mary's (5)

T22. Moncton (3)

T22. UNB (3)

24. StFX (2)

Women

1. Guelph (139)

2. Saskatchewan (99)

3. Western (57)

4. Laval (46)

5. Toronto (43)

6. Calgary (36)

7. Sherbrooke (35)

8. York (29)

9. Manitoba (25)

10. Lethbridge (24)

T11. Windsor (20)

T11. Alberta (20)

13. Trinity Western (18)

14. Ottawa (17)

15. McGill (14)

16. Regina (12)

17. Montréal (9)

T18. Dalhousie (8)

T18. UPEI (8)

20. UNB (2)

21. Lakehead (1)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS

Women's Triple Jump

1. Lauren (Abby) Woods, McGill (12.46m)
2. Mowalola Adeleye, Trinity Western (12.13m)
3. Laura Amoi, Toronto (12.02m)

Men's Pole Vault

1. Brennan Seguin, Guelph (5.00m)
2. Spencer Allen, Alberta (4.95m)
3. Dan Gleason, Western (4.90m)

Women's 600 Metre Run

1. Julianne Labach, Saskatchewan (1:28.70)
2. Olivia Romaniw, Guelph (1:29.04)
3. Jenna Smith, Guelph (1:29.31)

Men's 600 Metre Run

1. Stephen Evans, Ottawa (1:19.44)
2. Miguel Morrison, Manitoba (1:19.64)
3. Jack Berkshire, Toronto (1:19.90) 

Men's Shot Put

1. Mark Bujnowski, Guelph (18.17m)
2. Simon Beaulieu, Laval (16.41m)
3. Brennan Degenhardt, Saskatchewan (16.35m)

 Women's 4x200 Metre Relay

1. Guelph (1:36.46)* U SPORTS Record
2. Saskatchewan (1:37.88)
3. Manitoba (1:38.89) 

Men's 4x200 Metre Relay

1. Guelph (1:26.14)
2. York (1:27.26)
3. Alberta (1:27.50) 

Women's High Jump

1. Maude Croteau-Vaillancou, Sherbrooke (1.74m)
2. Emily Branderhorst, Toronto (1.74m)
3. Joely Welburn, Regina (1.71m)

Men's Triple Jump

1. Femi Akinduro, Toronto (14.73m)
2. Angelo Bortolin, Windsor (14.62m)
3. Scott Billings, Western (14.52m)

Women's 1500 Metre Run

1. Jenna Westaway, Guelph (4:18.17)
2. Courtney Hufsmith, Saskatchewan (4:18.66)
3. Aurélie Dubé-Lavoie, Laval (4:22.32) 

Men's 1500 Metre Run

1. Jack Sheffar, Western (3:50.76)
2. Jean-Simon Desgagnés, Laval (3:51.13)
3. Kevin Robertson, Montréal (3:51.96)

Women's 4x400 Metre Relay

1. Guelph (3:40.08)* U SPORTS Record
2. Saskatchewan (3:45.56)
3. Calgary (3:47.09)

Men's 4x400 Metre Relay

1. Guelph (3:11.67)
2. Alberta (3:15.67)
3. Toronto (3:17.18)

INDIVIDUAL HONOURS

Men

• George Gemer Award (Athlete of the Meet): Pierce Lepage, York
• Bob Boucher Award (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Dave Scott-Thomas, Guelph

Women

• Athlete of the Meet: Jenna Westaway, Guelph
• Sue Wise Award (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Dave Scott-Thomas, Guelph