Harrison, Dubois, Lehner, Bujnowski headline U SPORTS track and field major award winners

05 Mar 2020, 01:15 PM 05 March 2020, 01:15 PM

U SPORTS Staff

Women

WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Michelle Harrison, Saskatchewan

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Michelle Harrison  had a season to remember at the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon, leading her team to a third straight conference title.

In her fifth and final year of eligibility, the Arts & Science student from Saskatoon finished her Canada West career on top, picking up a gold medal in all three events she competed in and breaking two conference records in the process. 

Starting off with the 60-metre hurdles, Harrison crossed the line in a time of 8.21 seconds, breaking the previous conference mark that was set by Olympian Jessica Zelinka.

In the 60-metre race Harrison pulled off one of the upsets of the meet, knocking off defending conference champion Sandra Latrace to claim her second gold medal of the competition.
Wrapping up her meet with the 4x200-metre relay, Harrison once again claimed gold, leading the Huskies to a new conference record time of 1:38.01.

At the conclusion of the meet, Harrison won a pair of conference awards. Her record-setting performance in the 60-metre hurdles saw her earn Outstanding Performance of the Meet honours while she also won Track Athlete of the Year accolades.

Harrison is the second straight Huskie to earn the award after Julianne Labach took home the honour last season.

"Michelle Harrison was able to take down the record of one of the most prestigious Canada West athletes of all time in Jessica Zelinka, so that was just a remarkable achievement,” said Huskies head coach Jason Reindl. "Our relay team, along with a supporting cast, have been on point all season. They had that record in their sights and were able to execute perfectly."

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Nominees

CW: Michelle Harrison, Saskatchewan (Winner)
OUA: Kate Current, Western
RSEQ: Audrey Jackson, Montreal
AUS: Jane Hergett, StFX

WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Ariane Dubois, Sherbrooke

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Ariane Dubois gold-medal performance stood out at the RSEQ Championships.

The fifth year business student took home gold in the weight throw with a toss of 18.96 m, breaking her own RSEQ record. This result earned her the RSEQ Field Performance of the season. On Saturday, the Laval, Que., native through no less than three times further than her previous record and added a bronze medal in the women’s shot put, thanks to a throw of 11.89 m.

Dubois is the first member of the Vert & Or to earn the award.

“Commitment, resilience, discipline and determination, these are the words that aptly describe the remarkable progress of our student-athlete and graduate Ariane Dubois,” said Vert & Or head coach. Luc Lafrance. “In her last year, even at the highest level, her progression leaves no one indifferent. Already a holder of the RSEQ record, she still managed to raise the bar even higher at the recent conference championship in an extremely tough competition. In addition to being very successful in the throwing circle, Ariane is also an assiduous student in terms of university studies. She fully deserves everything that is happening to her now.”

Nominees

CW: Osereme Omosun, Calgary
OUA: Kristin Schultz, Toronto
RESQ: Ariane Dubois, Shebrooke
AUS: Lorena Heubach, Dalhousie (Winner)

WOMEN’S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Audrey Leduc, Laval

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Audrey Leduc had a spectacular first year with the Rouge et Or. A former 100m national junior champion, Leduc won the conference 60m title at home two weeks ago at the RSEQ Championships in Quebec City. In fact, the psychology major from Gatineau, Que., won all three sprints she took part in this season (Rouge et Or Invitational, Carleton Last Chance Invitational and the RSEQ Championships). Her 7.45 at the Last Chance Invitational at is the fourth best time in Canada this year.

Leduc was also crowned RSEQ long jump Champion with a 6m jump, to set a new record and the fourth-best jump in the country in 2019-20.

Leduc becomes the first Rouge et Or student-athlete to win the award.

“Audrey is an excellent athlete who always want to be better,” said Rouge et Or head coach Sylvain Cloutier. “She’s already a strong leader in our team even though she’s a rookie. As anticipated, Audrey Leduc is a big part of the Rouge et Or and she will be fun to watch in the coming years.”

Nominees

CW: Olivia Cooper, Alberta
OUA: Kristin Schultz, Toronto
RSEQ: Audrey Leduc, Laval (Winner)
AUS: Caroline Gagnon, Moncton

WOMEN’S STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Madeleine Browne, Calgary

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A fourth-year Kinesiology student who finished second in the 600m at CW Championships in Saskatoon, Madeleine Browne is a high-achiever in the classroom and a dedicated volunteer.

Dedicating her time to volunteering at multiple veterinary institutions, Browne has also spent time with the University of Calgary Adapted Rehabilitation and Outdoor Physical Activity Program as well as with the Children’s Adapted Physical Activity Program.

Brown is the first Dino to take home the honour.

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Nominees

CW: Madeleine Browne, Calgary (Winner)
OUA: Katrina Innanen, Toronto
RSEQ: Jade Bouchard-Nguyen, Montreal
AUS: Joelle Leger, Moncton

Men

MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Karson Lehner, Saskatchewan

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Karson Lehner had a record-breaking season in 2019-20. The third-year runner from Prince Albert broke a 33 year-old Huskie record and as well as the Canada West record with a blistering run of 33.07 in the 300-metre dash at the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon.

Lehner followed that up with a silver medal in the 60-metre race on Saturday to help the Huskies to a second-place team finish at the meet.

At the conclusion of the meet Lehner won a pair of conference awards. His record-setting performance in the 300-metre race saw him earn Outstanding Performance of the Meet honours while also winning Track Athlete of the Year accolades.

Majoring in computer science, Lehner is the first Huskie to earn the honour.

“Cyprian Enweani’s Huskie record that prior to last year was the Canada West record for three decades was one of those records that stood on the books that a lot of people attacked,” said Reindl. “It was just exceptional run for a young man that is passionate and committed to pursuing excellence in everything that he does.”

Nominees

CW: Karson Lehner, Saskatchewan (Winner)
OUA: Jack Berkshire, Toronto
RSEQ: Kevin Robertson, Montreal
AUS: Hudson Grimshaw-Surette, Dalhousie

MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Mark Bujnowski, Guelph

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No stranger to success, Mark Bujnowski earns award recognition for the second time in his U SPORTS career.

A native of Mount Brydges, Ont., Bujnowski burst onto the scene with the top male rookie honour two years ago, and followed that up with an OUA Most Valuable Field Performer nod last season, before earning the national award this year.

The decorated junior and agricultural science major began his OUA Championships with a gold medal toss in the weight throw. His 17.73m result topped the next closest competitor by well over one meter, helping him better his result from a year ago in both distance and podium position. Bujnowski went beyond that dominance in his encore event; however, leaving no doubt about who sits atop the shot-put heap. His 18.45m throw put him over three meters clear of this year’s silver medalist, and established a new OUA record capping off the first double OUA gold outing.

Bujnowski is the second Gryphon to earn the award, following Tim Hendry who took home the honour in 2012.

Nominees

CW: Oyinkansola Akinola, Manitoba
OUA: Mark Bujnowski, Guelph (Winner)
RSEQ: Émile Olivier, Montreal
AUS: Jarod Manuel, UNB

MEN’S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Scott Joseph, Regina

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Scott Joseph won a pair of medals at the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon, capturing gold in the long jump with a record-setting performance on Friday, before earning bronze in the triple jump on Saturday.

Friday's win in the long jump was one for the ages. The Swift Current, Sask., native led the event for most of the day before Saskatchewan's Michael Akintunde reeled off a jump of 7.38 metres on his final attempt to vault into first place. But Joseph was up more than up to the challenge, unleashing a monster jump of 7.67 metres to not only claim Canada West gold but also break head coach Wade Huber's school record that he set back in 2006.

"I wouldn't have wanted my record to go down in any other way," Huber said. "To accomplish what he did in that setting was just flat-out exhilarating. I've seen so many good jumpers come through this program, and Scott is better than any of them. At 18 years old, Scott's journey in this sport in just beginning and I can not wait to see what he can do moving forward."

Huber's record of 7.53 metres was not only the school mark, but also the provincial record for any athlete from Saskatchewan - indoor or outdoor. Joseph's jump was just four centimetres away from the Canadian U20 record, which was set by Jim McAndrew at 7.71m back in 1975. McAndrew went on to compete in the Summer Olympics in Montreal the following year.

A Kinesiology & Health Studies student, Joseph is the second Cougar to be named U SPORTS Rookie of the Year and the first since high jumper Jeremy Eckert, who earned the award following the 2009 meet.

Nominees

CW: Scott Joseph, Regina (Winner)
OUA: Marcel Scheele, Western
RSEQ: Marc-André Trudeau-Perron
AUS: Nick Beaulieu, Dalhousie

MEN’S STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Eric Lutz, Calgary

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A third-year Arts student from Red Deer, Alta., Lutz, was a triple-gold medallist in the 1000m, 1500m and 4x800m relay at the CW Championships in Saskatoon. He has mentored at-risk youth at the Centre for Newcomers as well as a mental health campaign leader at Renew Fest.

Lutz is the third Dino to earn the award since 2009, following Evan Kimick (2009, 2012), and Andrew Dargie (2014)

Nominees

CW: Eric Lutz, Calgary (Winner)
OUA: Stuart Cameron, Western
RSEQ: Jonathan Tedeschi, Laval
AUS: Jacob Halloran, Dalhousie

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Championship Preview: Gryphons aim for third straight title sweep in Edmonton

05 Mar 2020, 10:00 AM 05 March 2020, 10:00 AM

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Harrison, Dubois, Lehner, Bujnowski headline U SPORTS track and field major award winners

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Championship Preview: Gryphons aim for third straight title sweep in Edmonton