York University Lions track and field athletes David McKay, Eric Brathwaite and Chris Preece won medals at the Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que., this past weekend.
McKay, a pole vaulter, continued his tremendous season by winning the gold medal in his event with a jump of 4.95 metres. He was well ahead of the rest of the competition, as the silver-medal winning jump was recorded at 4.50 metres.
The victory is another in a long list of them for the third-year student-athlete. He put together an impressive indoor campaign in the winter, winning the gold medal in the pole vault at the OUA and CIS championships en route to being named York’s male athlete of the year, and this summer was crowned the Ontario pole vault champion.
Eric Brathwaite
Brathwaite and Preece both won bronze medals in their respective throwing events.
Brathwaite finished third in the shot put with a throw of 15.28 metres, continuing a strong 2013 that began with a silver medal in the same event at the CIS championships in Edmonton.
Preece, meanwhile, picked up the bronze in the hammer throw with a distance of 54.30 metres to win the first national medal of his career. He has had a stellar outdoor season in 2013, winning the bronze medal at the Ontario championships in July to earn a spot on the provincial team for the first time.
In other Canada Games results, volleyball players Marko Dakic and Alexander Duncan-Thibault were part of the Ontario team that finished in fourth place during the first week of competition.
All five student-athletes will be back at York this fall to resume action against Ontario University Athletics opponents. The track and field team doesn’t begin competition until late November, while the volleyball team will begin play in mid October with a home game against the Guelph Gryphons on Friday, Oct. 18.