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Day 2: Canada West championship
by Matt Gutsch, U of Alberta Sports Information
Photo courtesy Uwe Welz / U of Alberta Athletics: On Saturday in Edmonton, the Regina Cougars won their first-ever Canada West men's track and field banner
EDMONTON - For one team, it was business as usual, while for another team it was their first trip to the top of the podium, as the University of Saskatchewan women captured their second consecutive Canada West track and field championship, while the Regina Cougar men earned their first conference track banner after the final day of competition at the Canada West championship in Edmonton.
On the men's side Saskatchewan's Taylor Petrucha broke the second Canada West record of the year by the Huskies. Petrucha jumped to a height of 5.21m in the pole vault, breaking the 1999 record of 5.10m set by former Huskie Ryan Hvidston.
Canada West Track & Field Record Book
On Friday, Chris Crossley of Saskatchewan broke the men's pentathlon record, giving the Huskies two Canada West records and a conference championship.
The Saskatchewan women, ranked No.3 in the country, were the story of the weekend though, as their deep and powerful team led through both days of competition, eventually finishing with 119.50 points, more than 20 points ahead of the closest team. The win is the 20th conference championship in program history.
Final Point Standings
Women
1. Saskatchewan 119.50
2. Alberta Pandas 97
3. Calgary 59
4. Manitoba 55
5. Regina 38.50
6. Victoria 37
7. Lethbridge 1
Men
1. Regina 101.50
2. Saskatchewan 89
2. Calgary 76
4. Manitoba 61
5. Alberta 37.50
6. Victoria 35
7. Lethbridge 9
In second place with 97 points was the host University of Alberta Pandas, followed by Calgary (59 points), Manitoba, Regina, Victoria and Lethbridge.
Regina, which also led all weekend, closed out the men's championship with 101.50 points, while Saskatchewan finished in second with 89 points. The Cougars are ranked No.7 in the CIS. Calgary, once again, finished in third place and was followed by Manitoba, Alberta, Victoria and Lethbridge.
After Amonn Nelson of Calgary cruised to victory in the women's 60m dash, the Saskatchewan women picked up their first batch of points in the 600m run. Kailey Smith, Julene Friesen and Sharai Siemens finished 1-2-3 in the middle distance run, giving the Huskies 16 points.
Victoria's Julia Tschanz and Claire Jean, who won the 3000m on Friday, grabbed gold and silver in the women's 1500m, and then the wild rose province schools, Calgary and Alberta, finished in the top 2 podium spots in the 4x200m relay. For the host Pandas that finish means that they'll be sending three women's relay teams to the CIS championship, something that hasn't happened in over a decade.
The Dinos then won the women's 4x400m relay, with the Huskies finishing in second, Manitoba in third and Alberta in fourth.
Two-time CIS medalist and Alberta record holder Lindsey Bergevin then claimed her third Canada West gold in the women's high jump, leaping to the top of podium with a jump of 1.75m. The Pandas actually placed three athletes in the top four of the high jump, only Manitoba's Teresa Logozar finished ahead in second place.
Regina dominated the triple jump, placing four athletes in the top four, with Alberta rookie Courtney Wilkes grabbing second.
Saskatchewan owned the women's weight throw, finishing top two with Taryn Suttie, who won shot put on Friday, taking the gold.
On the men's side, Calgary Sam Effah, two-time CIS Athlete of the Year, took gold in the the 60m dash, giving him two top performances in the races where he is defending champion and/or the record holder.
Calgary's Mike Saizem won the 600m run, while Alberta's Jaden Ostapowich coming in at second, and echoing their female counterparts, the Victoria Vikes finished 1-2-3 in the 1500m run, with Golden Bear Jamie Weikum finishing in fourth.
But, even with the speedy Effah on their side, the Dinos could not capture the 4x200m relay race, as the Regina foursome of Mason Foote, Eric Clark, Leslie Andersen and Enyinnah Okere stopped the clock first with a time of 1:29.07.
The Dino 4x400m relay crew struck back for gold however, with Manitoba and Saskatchewan rounding out the podium.
In the men's high jump, the Cougars scored first and fourth place, sandwhiching around two jumpers from Manitoba.
The Saskatchewan men grabbed a serious batch of points in the pole vault, garnering the top four finishes, highlighted by Petrucha's record-setting vault.
Manitoba's Josh Gundrum won the triple jump, but was followed by a trio of Cougars, giving Regina 12 more points, and eventually the win.
The CIS championships go March 11-13 at the University of Windsor.
Canada West also announced its major individual award winners Saturday night in Edmonton at the championship banquet, immediately following the competition.
The Calgary Dinos and Saskatchewan Huskies owned the Outstanding performer awards, with Amonn Nelson and Sam Effah winning female and male track awards, and Chris Crossley and Tayrn Suttie taking the field event awards.
Nelson and Effah also picked up the outstanding performance of the weekend hardware as well, with both Nelson and Effah claiming it for their 300m run.
Alberta's Courtney Wilkes was honoured as the female rookie of the year, while Saskatchewan Lane Britnell was the male rookie of the year.
The host school also picked up the female Outstanding Student-Athlete Community award, as fifth-year Amanda Schneck was chosen, while Darren Mazzei from Victoria was picked on the men's side.
Saskatchewan women's head coach Joanne McTaggert was chosen as female coach of the year, while Regina's Bruce McCannel won the men's coach of the year.
2010 Canada West Track & Field Awards
Team Trophies
Women (Eleanor Haslam Trophy): Saskatchewan
Men (R.E. DuWors Trophy): University of Regina
Outstanding Student-Athlete Community Award
Women: Amanda Schneck, Alberta
Men: Darren Mazzei, Victoria
Outstanding Performances
Female: Amonn Nelson 300m, Calgary
Male: Sam Effah 300m, Calgary
Outstanding Performers
Female - Track: Amonn Nelson, Calgary
Male - Track: Sam Effah, Calgary
Female - Field: Taryn Suttie, Saskatchewan
Male - Field: Chris Crossley, Saskatchewan
Rookie of the Year
Women: Courtney Wilkes, Alberta
Men: Lane Britnell, Saskatchewan
Coach of the Year
Women: Joanne McTaggart, Saskatchewan
Men: Bruce McCannel, Regina
