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2009 OUA championship preview
HAMILTON, Ont. - A dozen schools from across Ontario University Athletics (OUA) will look to dethrone the Windsor Lancers as champions at the 2008-09 OUA Track & Field Championships, hosted by York University at the Toronto Track & Field Centre beginning this Friday.
Simply put, the Lancers have been dominant, winning 10 straight OUA men's team titles, and 17 of the last 18. The have also won the last four women's team titles. Windsor's men and women enter this weekend's competition ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the nation.
Seven individual track events will be contested, including 60 metre, 300 metre, 600 metre, 1,000 metre, 1,500 metre, 3,000 metre sprints, and the 60 metre hurdles. There will also be three relays; the 4 x 200 metre, 4 x 400 metre, and 4 x 800 metre. Six field events will also be held, including high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put and weight throw. Finally, the men's and women's pentathlon will combine both track and field disciplines.
The Lancers will look to defend their men's title by scoring heavily in the jumping events. Jamie Adjetey-Nelson (Windsor, Ont.), second in the decathlon at last summer's Olympic Trials, will contest two jumping events (high and long) as well as the 60 metre hurdles, shot put and 4 x 200 metre relay. Teammate Derek Watkins (Ottawa, Ont.), the 2007 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champion in high jump and triple jump, will contest all three jumps at York.
Noelle Montcalm (Windsor, Ont.), last year's Dr. Wendy Jerome Trophy winner as the women's outstanding performer, will lead the Lancers women's team. Montcalm captured gold in the 60 metre, 300 metre, 4 x 200 metre relay and bronze in the 60 metre hurdles, totalling 28.5 points in 2007-08. Montcalm is scheduled to contest the same events this year. First-year student-athlete Jaideene Lowe Stephenson (Toronto, Ont.) is currently ranked No. 1 in OUA and CIS in the triple jump as well as the long jump.
If one team is going to stop the Lancers, it may be the Guelph Gryphons, whose women's team are ranked No. 1 in the nation. Fifth-year athlete Steph Jackson (London, Ont.), last year's CIS champion in women's shot put, will aim to end her OUA career on a high note as she will look to defend her OUA title. Second-year athlete Lindsay Carson (Cambridge, Ont.) is ranked in the top two in the conference in the 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000 metre sprints and is also a part of the No. 1 ranked 4 x 800 metre relay team. Carson is a 2008 OUA All-Star in cross-country.
The Guelph men are ranked No. 3 in the nation, as their championship hopes rest heavily in the hands of their distance runners. Kyle Boorsma (Guelph, Ont.) is the top ranked 1,500 and 3,000 metre runner in the country. Boorsma and teammates Allan Brett and Derek Snider (Lindsay, Ont.) are ranked first, second and fourth in the 3,000 metre, and first, fourth and fifth in the 1,500 metre sprints.
Rounding out the top ranked men's teams in the country include the No. 4 York Lions, No. 5 Ottawa Gee-Gees and No. 8 Western Mustangs. York runner Tyrone Halstead (Mississauga, Ont.), last year's OUA Rookie of the Year, is the reigning OUA champion and CIS silver medalist in men's 60 metres, as he looks to add to his hardware in front of the home crowd. Teammate Chris Theriau (Kentville, N.S.) won the 60 metre hurdles in 2007-08.
Other top ranked teams competing in the women's events are the No. 3 Toronto Varsity Blues, No. 4 Mustangs and No. 8 Gee-Gees.
Other notable individuals competing this weekend include McMaster Marauders runner Jillian Wyman (Dundas, Ont.), who currently holds the top time in CIS in the women's 1,000 metre at 2:49.66; York athlete Heather Hamilton (Mississauga, Ont.) who won the OUA pole vault competition in 2007-08; Waterloo Warriors veteran Jason Goetz (Cambridge, Ont.) who set a school record in the triple jump last month; teammate Hugo Lopez (Newmarket, Ont.) also set a varsity record in the 60 metre hurdles.
The RMC Paladins will be competing at their first OUA championship since 2002.
For more information about the OUA Track & Field Championships, visit:
http://www.yorku.ca/sprtyork/OUATrack/2009/index.asp.
The event concludes on Saturday. The CIS Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place March 12 to 14 at the University of Windsor.
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