On the final day of competition at the 2019 Canada West Track and Field Championships in Edmonton, fourth-year Vike Timothy Longley was milliseconds away from getting on the podium in the men’s 1500-metre event.
After being unable to finish his 1000-metre event yesterday due to a mid race collision, Longley had one more opportunity to medal and qualify for the U SPORTS national championships. Unfortunately Longley missed the podium by 0:00.32 seconds and needed to be in the top two to qualify for the nationals next month in Winnipeg
Mitchell Basher also ran the 1500-metre and finished ninth with a time of 4:02.98 while Gabe Van hezewijk (4:08.13) finished 14th, Jonny Toombs (4:08.25) finished right behind in 15thand rookie Ross Henderson (4:14.38) finished in 24th.
Vlad Lyesin, Matthew Thibodeau, Tyler David, Derrick Ushko and first-year Vaughn Taylor were the first Vikes to hit the track on the day in the men’s 600-metre event. Taylor finished as the top Vikes with a time of 1:22.30 to finish in eighth followed by Lyesin (1:24.28) who finished in 16th, Thibodeau (1:25.01) who finished in 20th, David (1:25.31) who finished in 24thand Ushko (1:25.76) who finished in 27th.
“Tim and Vaughn both had outstanding races for us today,” said Vikes head coach Brent Founger. “Unfortunately for Tim he just missed the podium despite running a great tactical race. Vaughn also had a great showing in his first championship meet, fighting until the very end to win his heat. We are looking forward to what he will be able to due in the future with our program.”
In the women’s 1500-metre race first-year Caitlin Mann finished 11thwith a time of 4:52.08 with teammate Georgia Ginther a few spots behind in 15thfinishing with a time of 4:55.57.
“Overall it was another great day for our team,” added Fougner. ” We will come out of this weekend with 10 of our athletes hitting new personal bests and our men’s 4×800 relay team qualifying for nationals. The future it bright for this young group of runners.”
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies captured both the men and women’s team titles at this year’s Canada West Track and Field Championships. It is the first team sweep of the conference hardware since the 2003-04 season, when the Huskies also won both titles.
Saskatchewan, ranked No.2 in the nation in track led the women’s table from start to finish over the weekend at the University of Alberta, but the Huskie men, ranked No.8 among U SPORTS men’s teams had to storm back on Saturday after losing their Day 1 lead to the No.3 ranked Manitoba Bisons.
The Bisons slipped into the front-runner position after the 600m win by Miguel Morrison on Saturday and held the lead through five events. The Huskies however earned 26 points in the shot put including the gold and bronze podium positions to jump ahead. A record-breaking performance in the heptathlon by defending gold medalist Kieran Johnston, as well as silver and bronze medals in the high jump cemented the victory for Saskatchewan. It is the eighth time the U of S has swept the team titles at the Canada West championships.
All qualified Canada West student-athletes will now head to the 2019 U SPORTS championships at the University of Manitoba over the March 7-10 weekend.
Day 2 Results:
M 600-metre: Vaughn Taylor (8th– 1:22.30), Vlad Lyesin (16th– 1:24.28), Matthew Thibodeau (20th– 1:25.01), Tyler David (24th– 1:25.31), Derrick Ushko (27th– 1:25.76)
W 1500-metre: Caitlin Mann (11th– 4:52.08), Georgia Ginther (15th– 4:55.57)
M 1500-metre: Timothy Longley (4th– 3:59.54), Mitchell Basher (9th– 4:02.98), Gabe Van hezewijk (14th– 4:08.13), Jonny Toombs (15th– 4:08.25), Ross Henderson (24th– 4:14.38)
Day 1 Results:
M 1000-metre: Timothy Longley (DNF)
M 3000-metre: Jonny Toombs (4th– 8:45.39), Gabe Van hezewijk (5th– 8:48.49), Ross Henderson (11th– 9:08.62), Josh Kozelj (DNF)
W 3000-metre: Caitlin Mann (4th– 10:04.33), Georgia Ginther (8th– 10:31.36)
M 4×800-metre relay: Matthew Thibodeau, Vaughn Taylor, Derrick Ushko, Mitchell Basher (4th– 7:56.25)
Final Team Standings
Men:
1. Saskatchewan Huskies (145)
2. Manitoba Bisons (120.50)
3. Alberta Golden Bears (93)
4. Trinity Western (92)
5. Calgary Dinos (77.50)
6. Regina Cougars (67)
7. Lethbridge Pronghorns (37)
8. Victoria Vikes (22)
Women:
1. Saskatchewan Huskies (160)
2. Calgary Dinos (145)
3. Alberta Pandas (86)
4. Regina Cougars (75)
5. Trinity Western (67)
6. Manitoba Bisons (58)
7. Lethbridge Pronghorns (54)
8. Victoria Vikes (6)
