The York University Lions track and field team divided and conquered this weekend. Some of the team travelled to Windsor, Ont., to compete at the annual Windsor Team Challenge, while the rest went to the SPIRE NCAA Division I Indoor Invitational in Geneva, Ohio. Both sides saw huge successes both on the track and in the field.
In Ohio,
Christy Ihunaegbo once again dominated the women's track events. She finished second in the 300m dash with a season's best performance of 38.21. Not only did she walk away with a silver medal, but she also set a new school record, surpassing the old one set by former Lion and Olympian Khamica Bingham in 2014. This performance puts her in second place in the U SPORTS rankings.
Ihunaegbo – along with
Courtney Dwyer,
Marvelous Agbonwaneten and
Nicolette Witherspoon – also set a new school record in the 4x400m relay, running a time of 3:43.88. The old record has stood since 1984. They have also moved their way to number one in the U SPORTS rankings.
Kayden Johnson hurdled his way to a bronze medal in a personal best time of 8.11 seconds in the 60m hurdles event and he continues to hold onto first place in the U SPORTS rankings.
The men's 4x400m relay team of
Xavier Jehovah,
Levar Russell,
Daniele Orsini and
Mark Hutchinson improved their time to 3:16.72, less than a second behind the standing school record of 3:16.02.
Samuel Adams jumped 4.73m in the pole vault, enough to win gold in the event. The team also earned two silver medals in the field.
Holly Pitters claimed the silver medal in the long jump with a jump of 5.78m, while
Nicholas Fyffe took home silver in the triple jump with a distance of 14.82m.
The team saw outstanding results in Windsor, Ont., as well. Sprinter
Xavier Joseph won the men's 60m with a personal best time of 6.94 seconds. He is now tied for third in U SPORTS rankings with fellow Lion
Demari Grant.
In the field, rookie
Leah Jones earned a bronze medal in women's long jump with a personal best performance of 5.51m.
Rasheeda Gurley claimed the silver medal in the women's pentathlon, finishing with 3065 points.
Third-year
Jonathan Raspanti threw his way to a gold medal finish in the weight throw, with a best throw of 15.54m. Teammate
Drew Erskine finished second in the same event with a throw of 15.29m.
Some members of the team will head to the University of Toronto on Friday to partake in the Hal Brown Last Chance Meet. The following weekend, they will head back to Windsor, Ont., for the OUA championships.
