Championships Track & Field

Track & Field

Craig Thorne breaks U SPORTS record as Gryphons close out Day 2 on top

U SPORTS Staff

Photo: Electric Umbrella/Huskie Athletics

SASKATOON, SK (U SPORTS) – After two days of competition at the 2023 FFUN U SPORTS Track & Field Championship, presented by Discover Saskatoon, Guelph sits on top of the leaderboard in both the men’s and women’s team events. The men’s team has 74 points after the first two days, followed by Toronto with 42.5 points and Manitoba with 34 points. On the women's side, Guelph has a commanding lead with 120 points. Western is in second with 41 points, followed by Alberta and Laval with 35 points each.

The first final of the day was in the men’s weight throw, with Guelph’s Mark Bujnowski taking the win with a throw of 19.59m. Silver went to Andreas Troshcke from Lethbridge with a throw of 18.88m, while Windsor’s Anthony Atkinson took bronze with a throw of 18.49m.

The first track event to finish was the women’s 1000m, and it was Guelph’s Sadie-Jane Hickson taking home the gold with a blazing time of 2:44.49. Teammate Cameron Ormond would take the silver with a time of 2:45.42. Laval’s Emma Dagenais claimed third with a time of 2:45.57.

In the men’s 1000m Jude Wheeler-Dee out of Queen’s would take the victory with a time of 2:24.59. Aidan Goslett from Dalhousie finished second just behind at 2:24.83. Alec Purnell from Guelph rounded out the podium with a time of 2:25.72. The men’s para 1000m had Nicholas Neri from Windsor finishing in a time of 3:05.77.

The women’s 60m hurdles final saw Alberta’s Catharina Kluyts coming ever so close to the U SPORTS record with a time of 8.16 just one, one hundredth back of Michelle Harrison’s record. Guelph would take the other two places on the podium, with Kendra Leger finishing in 8.36 while Tyra Boug ran an 8.45.

The men’s hurdle final saw only five finishers, with Guelph’s Craig Thorne breaking the U SPORTS record with an outstanding time of 7.77. Antoine Lebrune of Sherbrooke finished second in 8.01, while Émile Lapointe of Montréal was third in a time of 8.08.

 

Women’s long jump had Laval’s Audrey Leduc winning with a big jump of 6.11m. Jasmine Lew of Toronto took second with a jump of 6.03, and Joely Welburn rounded out the top three with a best jump of 5.99m, her second medal of the event after taking silver in the pentathlon on day one.

Men’s high jump saw Thomas Senechai-Becker jump 2.14m for the win. Aiden Grout of Toronto jumped 2.11m for silver, with Caleb Keeling of Windsor jumping 2.08m for the bronze medal.

In the women’s 3000m, it was Jennifer Erickson taking the gold medal for Victoria with a time of 9:37.02 in what was a strategic race. Sophie Coutts ran 9:39.20 for Western to take the silver medal. Jenna McFadyen of the Huskies won the bronze in front of the home crowd with a time of 9:39.37.

The men’s 3000m saw Alex Drover taking home the win for McMaster with a winning time of 8:07.88. Nicholas Bannon of Guelph finished second in 8:08.34, while McGill’s Matthew Beaudet finished third in a time of 8:09.62.

The men’s heptathlon finished their second day on Friday night, with Jared Hendrick-Polack of Western finishing with 5190 and a gold medal. Cameron Bruce of Toronto took home the silver with a strong score of 5135, while Max Speiser rounded out the top three taking the bronze for Manitoba with a score of 5040.

The women’s 300m final saw Guelph’s star Zoe Sherar taking her fourth consecutive title with a time of 37.64. Saskatchewan’s Kendra Farmer nabbed silver with a time of 38.28, while Audrey Jackson for Montréal took home the bronze with a time of 38.63.

The men’s 300m was won by Guelph’s Daniel Harper in a time of 34.15. Emmett Bravakis of Toronto finished second in 34.38, with Marcus Penaloza-Abankwah of Guelph taking third in a time of 34.57.

Women’s shot put had Anna McConnell of Manitoba taking home gold for the Bisons with a throw of 14.44m. Jennifer Weber of Saskatchewan took silver with a throw of 13.75m. Liv Sands of Western rounded out the top three with a throw of 13.54m.

Men’s long jump was filled with excitement as Michael Akintunde of Saskatchewan used the home crowd to his advantage on his final jump to take the win with a massive jump of 7.62m. Johnathan Jacob of Guelph took home silver with a jump of 7.54m. Eric Che of Toronto took home the bronze with a solid jump of 7.35m.

In the women’s 4x800m action Guelph took gold with a time of 8:48.10, Alberta took silver with a time of 8:52.17, and Western rounded out the podium with an 8:53.50.

Finishing off the track action was the men’s 4x800m. Montréal took home gold with a time of 7:34.50, Manitoba finished second in 7:35.04, while Guelph finished third in a time of 7:35.39.

In the final event of the evening, it was a Guelph sweep of the podium in women’s pole vault. Jennifer Elizarov took the gold with a clearance of 4.03. Lynton Lam cleared 3.98 for silver, and Mia Rodney finished third with a clearance of 3.93m.

The 2023 U SPORTS Track & Field Championship, presented by Discover Saskatoon, will wrap up on Saturday. Field events start at 12:30 p.m. CST, while the action on the track will get underway at 1:15 p.m. CST. Final medal presentations, along with major awards and team award presentations are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CST. Catch the action live on CBC Gem and on CBC YouTube.