Matt Hirji

Athletes hit best times at U of A track and field invitational

The Butterdome was crowded last weekend with the top athletes in Canada West track and field all striving to reach their personal bests at the Golden Bears Open.

The Pandas fared decently, winning first-place titles in the women’s 4x200 metre relay and the 4x800 metre relay. Courtney Wilkes also took first with a 12.09 metre triple jump. The Pandas are one of the country’s top-ten teams at number six.

On the Bears’ side, Adam Baptie competed in his first pentathlon and had a personal best in the long jump at 6.97 metres. Benjamin Williams was second in the 60 metre dash with a time of 6.99 seconds. The Bears were second in the 4x200 metre relay and Adam Osborne was second in pole vault at 4.21 metres.

Head coach Georgette Reed said the team has some phenomenal athletes including Janell Khan and Leah Walkeden who placed fourth and eighth in the women’s 60 metre dash.

“We also have a third-year who just kind of does it all, Debbie Trang. She’s the ultimate volunteer, the ultimate team person and she’s getting to the point now where she’s going to end up making our Canada West team and probably our CIS (national) team with her sprinting results because she’s just getting so fast. She broke eight seconds for the first time.”

Trang clocked 7.99 seconds in the 60 metre dash semi-finals and Reed said if she goes to the CanWest finals she will definitely make an impact.

“We’re really proud of the people that came out and competed this weekend and are really happy with the developmental results and the results of not only our top athletes and where they’re going, but for the athletes that have stuck with the program and are building and are now really starting to show promise and are definitely going to be a factor when it comes to the conference championships in February,” Reed said.

A bit of a disappointment for the team was that they were missing a couple top competitors due to illness, Reed explained.
“Some of our top guys like Stephen McPhee and Mitchell Home were supposed to compete this weekend and it ended up that Mitchell had the flu really bad and Stephen ended up with a foot problem and his doctors advised him not to compete.”

In the Jan. 8 dual meet with the University of Calgary, both McPhee and Home were on the second-place team in the 4x200 metre relay. Home also snatched first-place in the 300 metre dash.

Most of the athletes have at least two more competitions before selections are made for the CanWest finals in Saskatoon on Feb. 24. The coaches will evaluate each performance and decide from there who will best represent the Bears and Pandas. The qualifying criteria includes being in the top 12 or 13 in the conference. Reed has confidence in her team and said that while some of the other universities came up stronger in only the track events or the field events, the Bears and Pandas do well at both.

“We’re kind of one of those teams that’s finding that we’re really well rounded. We’ve got some strength on the track, in the sprints, in the middle distance and in distance. We’ve got some strength in the field events as far as the jumps and pole vault.”

Lindsey Bergevin wasn’t competing last weekend, but is one of the top pole vaulters and high jumpers in CanWest.

“She jumped 3.90 (metres) in the women’s pole vault and is probably one of the top competitors in the CIS right now. She’s also our school record holder in the high jump at 1.81 (metres) so she should be a double threat for performances and medals at CIS this year.”

This weekend, part of the team will travel to McGill University to take part in the McGill Invitational, while others will be at the Sled Dog meet at the University of Saskatchewan.

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