The York University Lions track and field team completed their season on Saturday with some thrilling action on Day 3 of the U SPORTS Track & Field Championships at the University of Manitoba.
 
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, Pierce 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 hand off 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.
 
The Guelph Gryphons won the A final in a time of 1:26.14 and after the all the times were accounted for, the Lions finished in second-place ahead the Alberta Golden Bears who came in third at 1:27.50.
 
There were some tense moments as the team was initially disqualified due to Van Bergen's contact around the first corner, but following a race review the disqualification was overturned, paving the way to an unexpected silver medal for the underdog squad. The team entered the U SPORTS championships ranked 11^th in the nation and were ranked eighth after the preliminary heats, making for a thrilling upset for the team and a surprise seventh overall medal for the Lions on the final day of competition.


 
Jumper Bailey Francis got the day started for the Lions by taking part in the women's triple jump. Competing in her second consecutive U SPORTS championships, Francis leapt to a distance of 11.21m on her third attempt to finish in 11^th place. A short time after Francis began her event, Jason Clare began competing in the men's pole vault on the other side of the track. Clare cleared his first three heights with ease but missed his three attempts at 4.85m to finish in a tie for fifth-place and earn 3.5 points in the men's team standings.  
 
The Lions had two competitors in the men's triple jump, as Placide Ilunga and rookie Emmanuel Nketiah were both competing in their first U SPORTS championships. Ilunga earned a point for the men's team by finishing in eighth-place with a jump of 13.80m, while Nketiah finished right behind his teammate in ninth-place at 13.52m


 
The women's team also had two relay teams on the track, as the women's 4x200m relay team of Simone Da Silva, Marvelous Agbonwaneten, Monique Simon-Tucker and Diana Boa raced out of the B final and wound up placing eighth overall in a time of 1:41.47. The 4x400m team of Nicolette Witherspoon, Agbonwaneten, Da Silva and Courtney Dwyer placed ninth in a time of 3:52.30 to round out the competition for the Lions athletes.
 
Lepage was named male athlete of the meet thanks to his outstanding performances in what was a spectacular debut on the U SPORTS stage for the versatile athlete. Jenna Westaway of the Guelph Gryphons was named female athlete of the meet thanks to three gold medals in the 1000m, 1500m and 4x800m relay.  
 
The Lions finished the meet in sixth-place in the men's standings with 38.5 points, while the women's team finished in the eighth-place with 29 points. In addition to the men's 4x200m relay team and Lepage's three individual medals, the remaining Lions medal winners were Brittany Crew who took home a gold medal each in the women's weight and shot put, and fellow thrower Kaitlin Brooks who won the bronze medal in the women's shot put.
 
The Guelph Gryphons the won the overall title for both the men's and women's teams with 123 points and 139 points respectively. The Toronto Varsity Blues (72) finished in second-place for the men, while the host Manitoba Bisons (60.5) claimed the bronze medal. The Saskatchewan Huskies (99) picked up the team silver medal for the women and the Western Mustangs (57) rounded out the team medals with the bronze.  
 
Full Results
 
Team Standings
 
Men
1. Guelph Gryphons – 123
2. Toronto Varsity Blues – 72
3. Manitoba Bisons – 60.5
4. Western Mustangs – 53  
5. Alberta Golden Bears – 43        
6. York Lions – 39.5
7. Laval Rouge-et-Or – 34  
8. Saskatchewan Huskies – 31  
9. Windsor Lancers – 29  
10. Waterloo Warriors – 23  
10. Dalhousie Tigers – 23  
12. Trinity Western Spartans – 20  
13. Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or – 18.50      
14. U de Montréal – 18
15. Calgary Dinos – 16.50
16. Regina Cougars – 15    
17. Ottawa Gee-Gees – 10
18. Lethbridge Pronghorns – 9   
19. McGill – 6       
20. McMaster Marauders – 5
20. St. Mary's Huskies – 5        
22. Moncton Aigles Bleu – 3    
22. UNB Varsity Reds – 3        
24. St. Francis Xavier X-Men – 2
 
Women
1. Guelph Gryphons – 139         
2. Saskatchewan Huskies – 99
3. Western Mustangs – 57         
4. Laval Rouge-et-Or – 46
5. Toronto Varsity Blues – 43         
6. Calgary Dinos – 36
7. Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or – 35       
8. York Lions – 29  
9. Manitoba Bisons – 25  
10. Lethbridge Pronghorns – 24
11. Alberta Golden Pandas – 20        
11. Windsor Lancers – 20
13. Trinity Western Spartans – 18
14. Ottawa Gee-Gees – 17  
15. McGill Martlets – 14  
16. Regina Cougars – 12  
17. Montreal Carabins – 9  
18. PEI Panthers – 8
18. Dalhousie Tigers – 8  
20. UNB Varsity Reds – 2
21. Lakehead Thunderwolves – 1                                          
 
Day 3 Results
 
Women's Triple Jump
1. Lauren Woods, McGill – 12.46m         
2. Mowalola Adeleye, Trinity Western – 12.13m
3. Laura Amoi, Toronto – 12.02m    
 
Men's Pole Vault
1. Brennan Seguin, Guelph – 5.00m         
2. Spencer Allen, Alberta – 4.95m
3. Dan Gleason, Western – 4.90m    
 
Women's 600m
1. Julianne Labach, Saskatchewan – 1:28.70       
2. Olivia Romaniw, Guelph – 1:29.04
3. Jenna Smith, Guelph – 1:29.31  
 
Men's 600m
1. Stephen Evans, Ottawa – 1:19.44       
2. Miguel Morrison, Manitoba – 1:19.64
3. Jack Berkshire, Toronto – 1:19.90
 
Men's Shot Put
1. Mark Bujnowski, Guelph – 18.17m        
2. Simon Beaulieu, Laval – 16.41m
3. Brennan Degenhardt, Saskatchewan – 16.35m
 
Women's 4x200m Relay
1. Guelph, 1:36.46* U SPORTS championships record       
2. Saskatchewan, 1:37.88
3. Manitoba, 1:38.89  
 
Men's 4x200m Relay
1. Guelph, 1:26.14       
2. York, 1:27.26
3. Alberta, 1:27.50
 
Women's High Jump
1. Maude Croteau-Vaillancourt – 1.74m       
2. Emily Branderhorst, Toronto – 1.74m
3. Joely Welburn, Regina – 1.71m  
 
Men's Triple Jump
1. Femi Akinduro, Toronto – 14.73m         
2. Angelo Bortolin, Windsor – 14.62m
3. Scott Billings, Western – 14.52m    
 
Women's 1500m
1. Jenna Westaway, Guelph – 4:18.17       
2. Courtney Hufsmith, Saskatchewan – 4:18.66
3. Aurelie Dube-Lavoie, Laval – 4:22.32  
 
Men's 1500m
1. Jack Sheffar, Western – 3:50.76       
2. Jean-Simon Desgagnes, Laval – 3:51.13
3. Kevin Robertson, Montreal – 3:51.96    
 
Women's 4x400m Relay
1. Guelph, 3:40.08* U SPORTS championships record       
2. Saskatchewan, 3:45.56
3. Calgary, 3:47.09  
 
Men's 4x400m Relay
1. Guelph, 3:11.67         
2. Alberta, 3:15.67
3. Toronto, 3:17.18  
 
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
 
Men's Heptathlon
1. Kieran Johnston, Saskatchewan – 5104 pts           
2. Peter Collier, Toronto – 4985 pts
3. Landon Gill, Saskatchewan – 4881 pts    
  
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