The York University Lions track and field team reached the podium five times on Day 2 of the 2019 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships on Friday at the University of Manitoba. 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 medalist 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.
 
The dynamic duo of Brittany Crew and Kaitlin Brooks both reached the podium in the women's shot put, as Crew took home the gold medal with throw of 17.56m and Brooks claimed the bronze with a heave of 14.82m. Crew broke her own U SPORTS championship record of 16.96m with her second throw of the day which came in at 17.30, and set the record again on her third throw which landed at 17.56m. For good measure, she would surpass her previous record three more times with her remaining three throws in a dominant performance. With the first-place finish Crew picked up her sixth career gold medal at the U SPORTS championships as she competed in her final U SPORTS championships with the Lions after a history making four-year career.   
 
Brooks was in the silver medal position until Sara Villani of Western passed her on her final attempt to finish in second-place. The bronze medal for Brooks marks her second straight U SPORTS after she claimed the silver medal in Windsor last year.


 
Drew Erskine was the first Lions competitor to take to the field on Day 2 and placed tenth in the men's weight throw with a toss of 14.93m. Elsewhere in the field, competing in her second U SPORTS championships, sophomore Leah Jones placed seventh in the women's long jump with a leap of 5.56m, while Emmanuel Nketiah, who was competing in his first U SPORTS championships, placed 12^th in the men's long jump with a distance of 6.57m.
 
Jackson West, another U SPORTS rookie, placed 11^th in the men's high jump after clearing the bar at 1.90m, while Naomi Henry placed 14^th in the women's pole vault.
 
The Lions experienced some bad injury luck on the track as Mikeisha Bobb, who came into the event dealing with an injury suffered at the OUA championships, came in 11^th place in the women's 60m hurdles in a time of 9.24 seconds after pulling up just shy of the finish line. After an amazing leg in the women's 4x200m relay on Day 1, fellow sprinter Christy Ihunaegbo competed in the women's 300m and qualified for the finals by finishing in fourth-place in the preliminary heats. In the final, Ihunaegbo was unable to complete the race in full stride and pulled up with an injury down the back stretch of the race.
 
The Lions will be back in action tomorrow for the final day of the championships. Competing for the Lions will be triple jumpers Bailey Francis, Placide Ilunga and Nketiah, pole vaulter Jason Clare, the men's and women's 4x200m relay teams and the women's 4x400m relay team.


 
Full Results
 
Team Standings
 
Men
1. Guelph Gryphons – 76
2. Toronto Varsity Blues – 45
3. Manitoba Bisons – 38.5
4. York Lions – 27
5. Western Mustangs – 24        
6. Dalhousie Tigers – 23
7. Windsor Lancers – 18
8. Alberta Golden Bears – 17
9. Saskatchewan Huskies – 16
9. Laval Rouge-et-Or – 16
11. Waterloo Warriors – 15
12. Calgary Dinos – 14.5
13. Trinity Western Spartans – 12
14. Montreal Carabins – 11
15. Regina Cougars – 10
16. Lethbridge Pronghorns – 9
17. McMaster Marauders – 5
17. McGill Redmen – 5
19. Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or – 3
20. Moncton Aigles Bleu – 3
21. UNB Varsity Reds – 1
 
Women
1. Guelph Gryphons – 81         
2. Saskatchewan Huskies – 61
3. Western Mustangs – 42         
4. Laval Rouge-et-Or – 31
5. York Lions – 28        
6. Calgary Dinos – 24
7. Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or – 23         
8. Toronto Varsity Blues – 20
8. Lethbridge Pronghorns – 20
10. Manitoba Bisons - 19
11. Alberta Golden Pandas – 18        
12. Trinity Western Spartans – 10
13. Windsor Lancers – 9
13. Montreal Carabins – 9
15. Dalhousie Tigers – 8
15. PEI Panthers – 8
17. Regina Cougars – 6
17. Ottawa Gee-Gees
19. McGill Martlets – 4
20. Lakehead Thunderwolves – 1                                         
 
Day 2 Results
 
Men's Weight Throw
1. Ezana Debalkew, Toronto – 18.83m       
2. Mark Bujnowski, Guelph – 18.09m
3. Andreas Troschke, Lethbridge – 18.08m  
 
Women's Long Jump
1. Sandra Latrace, Lethbridge – 6.13m     
2. Katelyn Lehner, Saskatchewan – 5.81m
3. Jasmine Lew, Toronto – 5.81m    
 
Women's 1000m
1. Jenna Westaway, Guelph – 2:41.36 * U SPORTS record       
2. Julianne Labach, Saskatchewan – 2:42.23
3. Olivia Romaniw, Guelph – 2:43.94  
 
Men's 1000m
1. Kevin Robertson, Montreal – 2:24.63       
2. Ben Devito, Toronto – 2:25.37
3. Gregory Hetterley, Regina – 2:25.87  
 
Women's 60m Hurdles
1. Michelle Harrison, Saskatchewan – 8.27         
2. Emma Nero, Guelph – 8.36
3. Katelyn Lehner, Saskatchewan – 8.41    
 
Men's 60m Hurdles
1. Pierce Lepage, York – 7.83         
2. Matt Coolen, Dalhousie – 8.04
3. Matt MacGillivray, Guelph – 8.19 
 
Men's Long Jump
1. Pierce Lepage, York – 7.69m       
2. Joerg Ahne, Waterloo – 7.37m
3. Matthew MacNeill – 7.30m  
 
Women's Pole Vault
1. Meghan Lim, Alberta – 4.00m       
2. Emily Blackner, Manitoba – 3.95m
3. Brittany Salmon, Toronto – 3.95m    
 
Men's High Jump
1. Alhaji Mansaray, Manitoba – 2.15m         
2. Oyinkansola Akinola, Manitoba – 2.12m
3. Pierce Lepage, York – 2.09m    
 
Women's Shot Put
1. Brittany Crew, York – 17.56m *U SPORTS and facility record      
2. Sara Villani, Western – 15.45m
3. Kaitlin Brooks, York – 14.82m    
 
Women's 3000m
1. Jessy Lacourse, Laval – 9:27.70       
2. Kristina Popadich, Western – 9:29.03
3. Courtney Hufsmith, Saskatchewan – 9:29.63  
 
Men's 3000m
1. Jack Sheffar, Western – 8:12.36       
2. Jean-Simon Desgagnes, Laval – 8:15.70
3. Russell Pennock, Calgary – 8:16.43  
 
Women's 300m
1. Zoe Sherar, Guelph – 37.79         
2. Audrey Jackson, Montreal – 38.28  
3. Morgan Byng, Guelph – 38.69  
 
Men's 300m
1. Austin Cole, Alberta – 32.89 * U SPORTS and facility record           
2. Philip Osei, Guelph – 33.17
3. Daniel Harper, Guelph – 33.26    
 
Women's 4x800m
1. Guelph – 8:47.25         
2. Laval – 8:50.03
3. Ottawa – 8:52.78  
 
Men's 4x800m
1. Manitoba – 7:37.29         
2. Guelph – 7:37.45
3. Toronto – 7:38.27    
 
Day 1 Results
 
Women's Weight Throw
1. Brittany Crew, York – 18.78m
2. Ariane Dubois, Sherbrooke – 18.34m
3. Noemie Jeffrey, Laval – 17.55m 

Women's 60m
1. Sandra Latrace, Lethbridge – 7.42
2. Bailey Smith, PEI – 7.49
3. Maya Reynolds, Dalhousie – 7.50 

Men's 60m
1. Matt Coolen, Dalhousie – 6.75
2. Alexander Lau, Toronto – 6.84
3. Kudakwashe Murasiranwe, Guelph – 6.84 

Women's Pentathlon
1. Niki Oudenaarden, Calgary – 4168
2. Amelie Auge, Sherbrooke – 3790
3. Nicole Ostertag, Saskatchewan – 3756