The York University Lions track and field team opened the 2019 U SPORTS championships on Thursday at the University of Manitoba with a gold-medal performance from thrower Brittany Crew.
Crew got the Lions off to a great start by winning the gold medal in the weight throw in the first event of the meet. Crew’s winning throw came on her second toss of the day, as she heaved her weight 18.78m to earn her fifth career U SPORTS gold medal and third in the weight throw. She bested second-place competitor Ariane Dubois of Sherbrooke, Que., by 44cm and third-place finisher Noemie Jeffrey of Laval, Que., by 1.33m. Crew was named the U SPORTS Female Field Athlete of the Year earlier in the day and will go for her sixth career U SPORTS gold medal in the shot-put tomorrow. More details on the York Lions website.
The Lions reached the podium five times on Day 2 of the 2019 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships on Friday, as all-world athlete Pierce Lepage led the way for the Lions with two gold medals and a bronze in his first U SPORTS championships.
Lepage started his day by winning his heat in the men’s 60m hurdles in 8.01 seconds. In the final just two hours later, he cruised to victory in 7.83 seconds, just .04 seconds off the U SPORTS championship meet record to pick up his first gold medal of the meet. Lepage won his second gold medal of the day a short time later in the men’s long jump, breaking the York school record in the process as he leapt to the top of the podium with a distance of 7.69m.
Lepage made quick work of the long jump, only registering two jumps before heading to the other side of the track to compete in the men’s high jump, which started just 30 minutes after the long jump. The silver medallist in the decathlon at the 2018 Commonwealth Games would win his third medal of the day with a bronze in the event, clearing the bar at 2.09m. More details.
The Lions completed their season on Saturday with some thrilling action on Day 3. The team had four individual athletes and three relay teams competing on the final day of the 2018-19 season, with the men’s 4x200m relay team providing some fireworks on the track in a thrilling performance.
After a spectacular Day 2 where he earned two gold medals in the men’s 60m hurdles and long jump and a bronze in the high jump, Lepage subbed into the men’s 4x200m relay and got the Lions off to a great start in the B final, giving them a lead after the first leg. He handed off to relay specialist Daniele Orsini who maintained the lead through the second leg. Despite a rough handoff and some contact around the first corner, Tohma Van Bergen turned on the jets and held off a charge from the Regina Cougars to run a blistering third leg before giving the baton to anchor runner Zeon Bass. Bass maintained the Lions’ lead throughout the final lap as the Lions won the B final in a time of 1:27.26 and played the waiting game to see where they would sit after the A final. More details.