News - Archive 2012-2013

 

Athletes of the Week

 

Rachel Brown, Track and Field 03/11/2013 

T&F rookie came in this season with no experience in the sport.  Shedding off time each week Rachel has been a great help to the team. This weekend Rachel ran the final leg of the 4x4 relay at the CIS championships.  The team went in to the meet ranked 9th.  Rachel's performance was a huge personal best time but more importantly she hunted down her competitors and passed the #7 ranked team with 50m to go placing 8th overall and gaining a single point for the women's team at their CIS debut.

 

Chantel Pilon, Track and Field 02/25/2013 

Chantel started the meet off with a new personal best in the pentathlon scoring 3243 points to place 7th on the province and ranks her 15th in the CIS.  She started with a huge pb in the 60m Hurdles and was able to keep her top 8 finish thanks to her strong 800m run to finish the events.  Chantel's placing earned the team it's first 2 points of the weekend.  Chantel was also an integral member of the 4x200m and 4x400 team.  She had the fastest split for both relays.  The 4x4 finished 8th scoring the team 1 point and will be representing UW at the CIS Championships as the 9th ranked team.

 

Jill Knight, Track and Field 02/19/2013 

Rookie Jill Knight continues to move up on the Waterloo top 10 list in her throws events with two respectful eighth place finishes at the Gryphon Track Open this past weekend.  Knight threw a new varsity record in the weight throw of 13.60m, almost a full metre past the previous record she set earlier this year. Knight also posted a personal best in the shot put event throwing a distance of 11.08m which ranks her seventh all-time in Waterloo history in just her first season as a Warrior.

 

Naomi Lance, Track and Field 02/11/2013 

Naomi posted an incredible time of 58.0 seconds in her leg of the race to lead the Warriors to a gold medal in the women’s 4x400m race at the Winter National Capital Invitational in Ottawa. Lance’s time ranks her third on Waterloo’s all-time best 400m split and with an overall team time of 3:55:58 seconds in the race, the Warriors have clinched a berth to Nationals as the ninth ranked team. Lance also placed seventh in her individual event, the 60m hurdles.

 

Kofi Kwarko-Fosu, Track and Field 02/4/2013 

Kofi put together another stellar meet, this time at the York Open in Toronto. Continuing to work his way up the charts, Kwarko-Fosu ran another season best in the 60m dash, running his way to a first place finish among OUA competitors with a time 6.90 seconds, only 0.01 off his personal best which ranks him sixth in the country. The fourth year kinesiology student also ran the fastest split in Waterloo’s sixth place finish in the 4x200m race against CIS powerhouse teams.

 

Rachel Brown, Track and Field 01/21/2013 

First year runner Rachel Brown captured three medals (2 silver, 1 bronze) to lead her team to an overall second place finish at the Don Wright team challenge in London.  Brown ran a personal best in the 300m race with a time of 43.50 to claim the silver medal.  Brown collected her second silver, running a strong leg in the 4x200m race as the No. 10 nationally ranked Warriors finished second.  The fine arts student capped off her tremendous meet with another personal best in her leg of the 4x400m, leading her team to a bronze medal finish.

 

Shlomo Dunyo, Track and Field 01/07/2013

Shlomo had a tremendous start to the new year, winning the 60m dash at the Guelph Open with a time of 6.88 seconds, the third fastest time in uWaterloo history.  Dunyo’s time also ranks him third in the country and second in the province.  On top of his stellar performance in the 60m race, Dunyo had the fastest split time in the 4x400m race, leading his team to a second place finish.

 

Kristen Flanagan, Track and Field 01/07/2013 

Kristen showed great promise for 2013 in her first meet of the season at the Tenka Classic hosted by Guelph.  Among Canada’s fastest runners, Flanagan finished a very respectable fourth place in the women’s 1500 metre race with a time of 4:57:25, ranking her 12th in the country and ninth in the province.

 

Mo Yassin, Track and Field 12/03/2012 

Mo opened up the 2012-13 season in style with two gold medals and one bronze at the Western Season Opener while achieving several personal best times.  Yassin ran three of his best 60 metre races topping his personal best twice en route to a bronze medal finish.  The second year runner then ran a stellar 200m dash to win the gold with a time of 23:10, placing him ninth all time in Waterloo’s top 10 list while edging out some quality Western runners.  To cap off his tremendous season debut, Yassin ran the fastest split time in the men’s 4x400m leading his team to gold.

 

Chantel Pilon, Track and Field 12/03/2012 

Chantel had a successful season debut at the opening event hosted by the Western Mustangs.  Pilon set a new personal best in the women’s shot put with a throw of 11.44 metres, 1cm shy of a bronze medal giving her a fourth place finish behind a former CIS champion.  The fourth year track athlete also ran a tremendous opening leg of the women’s 4x400m race which saw the Warriors capture bronze in.  Capping off her strong opening meet, Pilon placed 10th in the 60m hurdles and seventh in the long jump.

 

UWTF 2013 Award Winners

Congratulations to this years UW Track & Field Award Winners!

Most Valuable Player
Chantel Pilon
Kofi Kwarko-Fosu

Most Improved
Paulina Kurevija
Tommy Gingras

Rookie of the Year
Jenny Carrique
Nathaniel Meadows

 

CIS Championships Recap
March 11, 2013

An elite group of Warriors boarded the plane to Edmonton last week to compete at the CIS Championships held at the University of Alberta.  The three day meet hosted the best student athletes in Canada which included a handful of Olympians who competed in the London Games this past summer.

First up for the Warriors was Justin Conlon (Ayr) who qualified for the championships ranked tenth in the pentathlon.  Being his first time competing at the National level Conlon proved to his colleagues he deserved to be there and would end his season with a fight. 

The goal for Justin was to place in the top eight to earn points for his team.  Through his first three events Justin performed just below his best keeping him in the top ten among his competitors.  His fourth event was the High Jump and as usual Conlon kept his teammates and competitors on edge clearing the bar on his third attempt at most heights not giving up until he hit a new seasons best of 1.91m placing him fourth among the other pentathletes.  With this performance Conlon moved up to eighth position. 

The final event and most grueling for all was the 1000m.  A varsity record was in reach but Conlon would have to shed seconds off of his previous time to get there, and more importantly he had to keep his eight position to score points.  In a very competitive race Justin went out with the pack and competed with the best.  Justin looked like a new athlete keeping stride with the top competitors and kicking at the end to come in with a new personal best of 2:50.87 - a full seven seconds improvement which helped him earn a new personal best overall with 3506 points and a new Varsity Record!   Justin showed maturity keeping his cool and buckling down to capture 8th place earning one point for the team.

Next up were sprinters Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) and Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton).  Both ranked in the top eight the Warriors were looking to have both athletes move on to the final.  Coming back from an injury keeping him out of his best shape for most of the season, Dunyo was looking very ready to qualify for the final.  The top two athletes in each heat automatically qualified for the final meaning the chances looked good for both athletes.  First up was Kofi who easily qualified for the final running 6.92 and placing second in his heat. 

The next fastest times were below average meaning Dunyo looked like he would be joining his teammate for the final.  Fighting his nerves in the blocks Dunyo shook and rolled out of his blocks before the gun resulting in a false start ending his chance at competing in the final.  An hour later Kofi took his spot among Canada's best.  The stadium went silent as the athletes held their breath, the gun shot off and the men shot out.  Getting out quick Kofi was in good position for a medal but his competitors put the pressure on passing at the end putting Kofi fifth overall tying his best time of 6.87 and scoring four points for the team.

On the final day of the competition the lady Warriors took the stage for the final event of the day - the 4x400m relay.  The young team of girls were focused and aiming for a top eight finish to continue with the points streak for the Warriors.  Leading the team was team captain Chantel Pilon (Trenton).  Getting out well against some of the team's top runners, Pilon ran a strong leg handing the baton off in a very close 3rd position.  Grabbing the baton Naomi Lance (Kitchener)took off making up ground on the girls ahead of her.  Lance laid everything out on the track, passing one competitor immediately and fighting for the lead soon after. 

Running a solid time Naomi handed off in second place to Jenny Carrique (Kitchener).  Moving quickly Carrique held the second position fighting off the strong Guelph team behind her.  Looking to make up some ground was rookie Rachel Brown (Cambridge).  Brown ran a gutsy race holding off the CIS medalist in the 600m and 4x800m from Guelph for 300 meters.  Not giving up Brown kept digging and passed the dominating team from Ottawa with 50 meters to go placing second in the heat and 8th overall - improving their ranking by one position and scoring one point for the team.  The girls ran their second best time of the season and Brown ran a personal best time for her leg of the relay.

Overall the men's team placed 20th with five points and the women placed 21st with one point out of more than 30 schools that participate in track and field in the CIS.  Next season looks promising with many athletes returning. 

 

 

Warriors show fight at OUA Championship; qualify 7 for Nationals

February 25, 2013

While the rest of the student body was either buried under mountains of books in the library, or skiing on snowy mountains over reading week, the Waterloo Warriors track and field team was hard at work at the OUA Championships in Windsor this past week.  Competing against the province's best athletes, including a handful of Olympians, the Warriors were able to hold their own finishing 7th overall on the men's side and 10th overall on the women's side out of the 14 schools in the competition.  The men showed a three point improvement and equaled their overall placement from last year, while the women earned their highest point total since 2009.

Starting off strong for the Warriors were the well seasoned pentathletes Justin Conlon (Ayr),Oliver Grant (Kitchener) and Chantel Pilon (Trenton).  With high expectations going into the meet all three athletes were aiming to secure their spot at the CIS Championships.  In the first event of the series the Warriors all ran fantastic times in the 60m Hurdles – Oliver Grant(Kitchener) (8.74), Justin Conlon (Ayr) (9.04), Chantel Pilon (Trenton) (9.84) – Conlon and Pilon set new personal bests.  Although they didn't carry on their best performances in the next three events they were able to put forth marks close enough to keep their good standings among their competitors.  Finishing their day with the grueling 1000m for the men Grant ran his second best time in 2:46.23 while Conlon finished in 2:57.70, a four second improvement. 

After the five events, Conlon finished the competition in 5th place scoring four points for the team while Grant finished right behind him scoring an additional three points for his 6th place finish.  Pilon finished the 800m with her second best time of 2:24.23 which helped her gain a new personal best in her overall score of 3243 points finishing 7th and scoring two points for the team.  Conlon will be representing the Warriors at the CIS Championships in two weeks while Grant and Pilon are on the bubble for qualifying. 

Other notable performances were Mo Yassin's 10th place finish in the 300m and Rachel Brown(Cambridge)'s perseonal best (42.80) by nearly a second in the 300m.  Devon Briggs(Uxbridge) has a new personal best in the 1000m in a time of 2:34.14 ranking 9th on the UW Top 10 List.  Finishing off the first day of events the men's 4x800m relay team finished 7thgaining two points for the team.

Feeling fresh, the second day of events began with the Warrior's male sprint crew who performed admirably throughout the rounds of the men's 60m.  All three Waterloo competitors,Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto), Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo), and Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton)advanced through to the semi-finals. 

In the semi's Kwarko-Fosu and Yassin were able to maintain their composure, running times of 6.88 seconds (a new personal best) and 7.06 seconds advancing them through to the extremely deep seven-man final.  Battling an injury Dunyo was unable to move on but will be back for the CIS Championships. 

In an intensely quiet stadium, Kwarko-Fosu and Yassin set their blocks for the 60m final beside their competitors which included top-ranked CIS sprinter Aaron Bowman, and Olympian Oluwasegun Makinde.  Breaking the silence as the gun shot Yassin shot out with the pack, while Kwarko-Fosu was a bit behind compared to his usual stunning start.  After his poor start Kwarko-Fosu had a great run and battled back to compete for the top spots.  After a very intense wait for the final placings and having to look at the photo finish to determine medal placings Kwarko-Fosu missed the bronze medal by 0.005 seconds earning him the respective 4th place finish while Yassin moved ahead of his ranking placing 6th.  Both men ran personal best times of 6.87 and 7.04 seconds.  Kwarko-Fosu moved up the rankings as the 6th fastest in the country and will represent alongside teammate Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton) (7th in the country) at the CIS Championships in Edmonton.

In the field, Andrew Good (Whitby) was able to replicate his very impressive 1.96m performance from last year in the high jump.  This year, the height earned him a 4th place finish and five points for the team.  He currently sits 13th in the country and will wait to see if he'll have the chance to move on to the CIS Champinships.  Paulina Kurevja scored one point for her team with a five centimeter  personal best in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.56 cm for 8th place.  She shows great promise for next season.

The remaining team points were scored by the Warrior relay teams which closed the OUA Championships.  The men's 4x200m team earned three points for their 6th place finish while the women's 4x400m team finished 8th  earning the last point of the meet.  The ladies 4x400m team sits 9th in the country and will be attending the CIS Championships in March.   It has been five years since the Warriors have had a women's team at the championships.

The CIS Championships will be held March 7th-9th in Edmonton, Alberta.  Representing Waterloo this year will be sprinters Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) and Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton)in the 60m, Justin Conlon (Ayr) in the pentathlon, and Chantel Pilon (Trenton), Naomi Lance(Kitchener), Jenny Carrique (Kitchener), and Rachel Brown (Cambridge) for the women's 4x400m relay.  Still waiting on whether or not they'll have the chance to compete one more time this season are Andrew Good (Whitby) in the high jump, Oliver Grant (Kitchener) in the pentathlon and Chantel Pilon (Trenton) also in the pentathlon.  This would be the largest showing of athletes at the CIS Championships since 2010. 

 

 

 

Grant and Conlon Rewrite Pentathlon Record Book

February 20, 2013

The Warriors travelled to Guelph this past weekend to compete for the last time before the OUA Championships.
 
Outstanding performances began on Friday as Oliver Grant (Kitchener) and Justin Conlon (Ayr)rewrote the Pentathlon all-time record book. To start off, both Grant and Conlon ran personal bests in the 60m hurdles with 8.64s and 9.12s, respectively. This places them first and third for all time performers in UW history. Grant's time is also 0.06s off the 60m hurdles varsity record. Next up was long jump. Conlon jumped a personal best of 6.42m while Grant jumped an in pent personal best of 6.16m, second and third in UW history.

The Warriors continued to impress in their third event, the shot put. Conlon recorded a huge personal best by over half a meter with a throw of 13.70m. Justin now has the first through sixth best throws in UW history in a pentathlon. Grant also threw a personal best of 11.75m, making him the second best performer in UW history. Moving onto high jump, Oliver Grant (Kitchener)had a huge personal best by 7cm jumping 1.78m. New to this event, Grant shows a lot of potential for improvement. Conlon, jumping alone, cleared 1.90m on his first attempt but was unable to clear 1.93 despite several valiant efforts.

Going into the last event, the record was sure to be broken but it was unclear who would walk away with the record. Conlon had a sizeable lead over Grant but the final event, the 1000m, is one of Grant's best events. Running alone, Grant finished in an impressive 2:49.81, the second fastest time ever in UW history. This was enough for Oliver Grant (Kitchener) to obtain the varsity record in the pentathlon with 3417 points.

Twelve seconds later, Justin Conlon (Ayr) crossed the finish line in a personal best time of 3:01.87, earning him a final score of 3469 breaking Oliver Grant (Kitchener)'s varsity record. Currently, Conlon and Grant are ranked 11th and 12th in the CIS and will compete again Thursday at the OUA Championships, hoping to move up the CIS rankings and qualify for the National Championships in Edmonton next month.
 
Not to be outdone, Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) captured gold in the men's 60m with a time of 6.95 seconds, only 0.06 off his personal best. Kwarko-Fosu is looking very strong going into the OUA Championships this coming week and if he continues to perform at this level he is definitely in medal contention.
 
Rookie Jill Knight (St. Thomas) broke her own varsity record this past weekend with a tremendous personal best throw of 13.60m in Weight Throw.  New to the event, Jill has a lot of potential to improve and we are all looking forward to her results in upcoming years.  Jill was also successful earlier in the day recording a personal best throw in shot put with 11.08m.
 
The Warriors look strong heading into the OUA Championships this weekend and we hope to send several athletes to the National Championships next month in Edmonton. 

 

 

 

Warriors bring home gold in women's 4x400m race at uOttawa

February 11, 2013

This weekend a select group of Warriors traveled to the Louis Riel Dome in Ottawa, a grueling 11 hour trek through this year's worst snow storm.  The women's 4x400m team made a special trip to the uOttawa Invitational in hopes to run a time to solidify their CIS qualification mark. 
 
Needing to shake out their legs the next morning the ladies all took part in an individual event to get things started.   Rookie Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) had the fastest time for the Warriors in the 60m heats qualifying for the final.  Chantel Pilon (Trenton) and Rachel Brown (Cambridge)also used the 60m as a warm up and ran well considering their long trek the night before. Naomi Lance (Kitchener) ran well in her 60m Hurdle heat qualifying for the final in 7th place. 

After their shake out it was time to focus on the main event of the weekend - the 4x400m relay.  Running a time of 4:00.40 at the York Classic the previous weekend the team needed to run sub four minutes to have a better chance of qualifying for the CIS Championships March 7-9 in Edmonton.  Although nothing is set in stone until after the provincial championships it's best to hit qualifying marks earlier in the season to avoid any mistakes that often happen at championship meets.  Coach Ferth was hoping for a time of around 3:58.00 to better position the ladies in the rankings. 
 
Leading off the Warriors was veteran Chantel Pilon (Trenton) who kept the team in good position through the first lap just behind the leaders of Laval University in a new personal best split time of 58.3 (#4 on UW Top 10 list).  Pilon handed off to Naomi Lance (Kitchener) who quickly made up ground on the Laval runner and gave the Warriors a big lead coming into the third leg.  Naomi's blazing split of 57.7 (#3 on UW Top 10 list) was no doubt the game changer but they still had two runners to go. 

Next up was rookie Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) who kept the momentum and lead for the Warriors with a new personal best of 58.8 (#7 on UW Top 10 list) handing off to teammate and track and field rookie Rachel Brown (Cambridge).  Well ahead of their goal Rachel kept the lead for her team and equaled her personal best time for her leg of the race.  With an amazing team effort the girls crossed the finished line first in a new season's best time of 3:55.58.  This is the 4th best 4x400m time in UW history - the fastest team since the Warriors won OUA bronze in 2002. 
 
The team is now ranked 9th in the country and 5th in the province which should secure them a spot in the fast section at the OUA Championships at the end of the month.  Again, nothing is set in stone but the Warriors should be representing Waterloo at the CIS Championships in March.  It's been 5 years since Waterloo has sent a girls' team to the Championships but the future is bright as all girls return next year.
 
Next up for the Warriors is the final tune up at the Guelph Last Chance meet February 15-16 followed by the OUA Championships February 21-22.

 

 

Warriors flying high into final meet's of season

February 4, 2013

The Warriors travelled to York University for the York classic this weekend and came away with 18 lifetime personal bests and four season bests.

Rookie Jill Knight (St. Thomas) started it off for the Warriors bettering the women's varsity weight throw record. Jill has been steadily improving all season and has been working hard on her technique. With a new pair of shiny shoes and an extra spin in her throw technique, Jill blasted a 13.56m throw; a personal best by almost a full metre. The rookie thrower will be looking to grab precious points for the women's team at the OUA championships as she is currently ranked 12th provincially in the event.
 
Rookie Sian Smart (Kingston) also showed great potential in the women's 60m. In the heats, Sian ran a huge personal best of 8.04 (an improvement of 0.08) and was the top Warrior woman in the event. In the final, Sian continued to show she has room to grow, and ran another personal best, scratching the surface of the 8 second barrier, running 8.00. The rookie has been working hard on her start all season, and it is clearly starting to pay off.
 
Veteran Sprinter Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) continued to lead the Warriors sprints group. Kofi ran a sizzling 6.90 in the men's 60m dash, which was good enough for 1st out of university sprinters (third overall with a former Olympian winning the event). His time was a new season's best, and within 0.01 of his 6.89 lifetime personal best. The time currently ranks him 7th in the CIS in the event and 4th in the OUA just behind teammate Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton) (4th in the CIS and 3rd in the OUA with 6.88). Shout outs also go out to sprinter Mohammed Yassin who ran a solid 7.07 (0.01 off his best) in the men's 60m. Mohammed is currently ranked 10th in the OUA in the event, and will be strong contender to make the men's thrilling 60m final at the OUA championships in 3 weeks' time.
 
Kristen Flanagan (Kitchener) and Devon Briggs (Uxbridge) led the distance team to podium finishes.  Flanagan finished 3rd in the 1500m while Briggs also finished 3rd in the 1000m. 
 
The meet was capped off by the Warrior women running back to back relays in the women's 4x200 and 4x400 with less than an hour break between events. Veterans Chantel Pilon(Trenton) and Naomi Lance (Kitchener) along with Rookies Rachel Brown (Cambridge) andJenny Carrique (Kitchener) ran both events and started out with the 4x200 relay. The Warriors ran a season's best of 1:45.62 which was good enough for a bronze medal. Lance (26.1), Carrique (26.5) and Brown (26.6) all ran personal best splits while Pilon (26.2) ran within a tenth of her own personal best. The time currently ranks them 13th in the CIS.  

After getting their Warrior teammates excited from the 4x200, the women came back to run an outstanding 4x400, winning the event in a season's best 4:00.40. Again, Lance (59.9), Carrique (60.0) and Brown (60.0) all ran personal best splits while Pilon's (60.3) time added to a great performance. The time ranks the Warriors 8th in the CIS and 5th in the OUA which places them in heavy contention to qualify for the CIS championships next month.  

With the season quickly closing in on the OUA championships, the next few weeks should prove a true battle for the Warriors as they fight competitors for coveted spots in the CIS championships in Edmonton March 7-9.

 

 

 

Kwarko-Fosu, Pilon capture bronze medals at McGill team challenge

January 28, 2013

Complete Results

The Waterloo Warriors traveled to the Montreal to compete in the 18th Annual McGill Team Challenge this past weekend. The Warriors performed exceptionally well, bringing home 43 personal bests and 6 seasonal bests.

The first event on the track was the 60m sprint. Veteran Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) ran an impressive race in the prelims crossing the finish line in 6.96 seconds, qualifying for the finals. In the final Kofi managed to better his time running a season's best of 6.93 seconds, placing third in a field of 88 runners and finishing behind the top two males in the CIS.

Next on the track was the 300m dash with the top three male performances including rookie Nathaniel Meadows (36.53), Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo)'s (36.73), and Tommy Gringras (36.78). The Warrior's finished 28th, 32nd, and 35th respectively, in a field of 96 runners. On the women's side, rookie Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) ran a personal best time of 42.42 seconds placing 25th out of 72 competitors. Close behind was Naomi Lance (Kitchener) also running a personal best time of 42.51 seconds placing 27th.  Naomi also ran a great time in the 60m Hurdle finals with a time of 9.31s placing 8th overall. 

This result moves her up to the 5th fastest Warrior in UW history.  In the 600m run, captainAdam Neale (Dundas) had a stellar performance placing 19th out of 60 competitors. Adam's time 1:23.65, a pb of a half second, places him 6th in the UW Top 10 List. 

The Warrior's continued to impress in the long distance events. In the men's 3000m run, Justin Spalvieri (Alliston), Patrick MacKinnon (Mount Hope) and Daniel Fournier (Timmins) all ran huge personal bests to clock in at 8:45.26, 8:45.88 and 8:54.72 respectively. These times placed the Warrior's 17th, 18th and 23rd in a field of 53 runners. Justin and Patrick's time also place them 9th and 10th in the UW Top 10 List.  Kristen Flanagan (Kitchener) ran a personal best time of 4:46.55 placing 24th and ranking her #10 on the UW Top 10 List.

This meet proved to be a huge success for multi-eventers Oliver Grant (Kitchener), Torben Graber and Chantel Pilon (Trenton). Oliver Grant (Kitchener) and Torben Graber started the day by running personal bests of 8.79s and 9.13s in the 60m hurdles, the first of five events. The pentathlete's continued their successes throughout the three field events but really impressed in the 1000m run. Oliver ran a time of 2:44.00, beating his previous personal best time by just over six seconds. Torben also ran a solid race finishing with 2:48.96 seconds. Oliver and Torben finished with 3320 and 3229 points ranking them 8th and 12th in the CIS. Chantel Pilon(Trenton) finished strong in her first four events but really impressed in the 800m run. Chantel ran a time of 2:23.18 beating her previous personal best time by just under seven seconds. Chantel finished with a point total of 3215 ranking her 11th in the CIS.

With so many great individual performances, it was obvious that the relays would also perform well and indeed, they did not disappoint. In the women's 4X400m relay, a team consisting ofJenny Carrique (Kitchener) (61.1s), Naomi Lance (Kitchener) (59.8s), Rachel Brown(Cambridge) (60.5s), and Kristen Flanagan (Kitchener) (61.7s) ran a season's best of just over three seconds to rank them 9th in the CIS. On the men's side, Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) andMohamed Yassin (Waterloo) led the 4X200m team to a season's best time of 1:31.22. This ranks the team 9th in the CIS.

Next up, the Warriors will travel to the York Classic next weekend taking on the York Lions and a number of other regional Universities.

 

 

Outrunning himself: Opening up with Shlomo Dunyo

14:39 JAN 24, 2013 · SPORTS · BY AMY ZHOU

Imprint talks to UW track star about how sports has changed his life. 

On YouTube, there is a video of Shlomo Dunyo breaking the University of Waterloo 60-metre dash record. His strong legs work furiously in tandem with his pumping arms to propel him forward to the finish line, and he bursts across it in a blast of energy. That was in Windsor, two years ago.

A few weeks ago, on Jan. 7, Dunyo raced in the University of Guelph Tenka Classic, claiming the third-fastest time in UW history and taking third place nationwide and second place provincially—yet his coach, Shane Ferth, believes that Dunyo has not yet reached his full potential. Ferth, who also lives with Dunyo, considers the runner to be an invaluable member of the team.

“He is the team’s best 200 and 400 sprinter,” says Ferth, “and… will be essential for both teams,” including at McGill this coming weekend when he will compete in the 4x400 metre and 4x600 metre races.

Dunyo has contributed much to UWs track and field team, but the record-breaking runner has also gained much from the sport that took him in.

The liberal arts student strode into the interview room with a runner’s long-legged lope and a wide, shy, apologetic smile: he was late by a few minutes. Even accomplished track stars have occasional problems with tardiness. I congratulated him on his stellar performance at the Tenka Classic, and Dunyo smiled. Had he focused on something to push him forward? Had he visualised crossing the finish line? 

“I wasn’t really thinking that much about it,” he said. “Usually at that point, you almost feel as though you’re not in your body, and you just run as you normally would… just do what you’re supposed to do.”

Dunyo started running in high school, as many university athletes do. Back in West Africa, from where he hails, Dunyo would run a single yearly race with little practice, “never really taking it seriously.” That changed when he came to university: “I saw a poster [for track] somewhere in my first year, and I went to the meeting.

“I think the idea of people taking track and field seriously was just different, and I thought I’d try it out and see.”

From that point, he hasn’t looked back. Since joining the university team, Dunyo has been privy to many new experiences and opportunities. He described how he enjoys the interactions with first-year runners: “Every year, you meet a ton of new people… it’s one of the cool things about it.”

Dunyo also savours the travelling component of the sport: “I’ve been to all these different cities across Canada… McGill, Sherbrooke, Windsor...Without track, I wouldn’t have been able to visit any of these places.”

And it is track that has helped Dunyo develop skills crucial to being a successful student. T he runner described how being on the track team has helped him learn balance between life and school, teamwork, and “managing disappointment,” Dunyo said with a laugh. “Things don’t always go well. You train for all of it, you train for months, and injuries pop up. You don’t always win.”

Ferth spoke warmly of Dunyo’s character and well-rounded nature, so nurtured by his dedication on the track. 

“Not only does he commit himself as a varsity athlete, but he also works on campus and is very involved in a number of entrepreneurial projects through the university… I believe his dedication and hard work as a Warrior have helped him become successful in these other aspects of life.”

Dunyo agreed, cracking another shy smile. “I think, without track,” Dunyo suggested, “I would still be really shy...Track has opened me up to other people and made me more social.”

Dunyo is currently working toward his liberal arts degree, with minors in French studies and economics. He is interested in writing music, has registered for swimming courses, and engages frequently in video-recording and editing through Feds.

“My interests are just all over the place,” said the runner.

It was Dunyo’s video-recording and editing abilities that led him to the start-up community.

“I always knew [VeloCity] was there,” said Dunyo thoughtfully, “but then about a year ago, I met up with a few guys who were working on a start-up and they wanted me to make a video for them. So I did that, and that’s when I really realized that there’s a whole bunch of students my age, building new things, new tools for people to use...For me, prior to that, I never really realized or knew about that part of the world, and it was just something new and different for me.” 

A future in the start-up community is a serious consideration for Dunyo.

“I think there’s a lot of interesting things going on there,” he said. “That’s what I’m exploring.”

Web development and design is an open possibility for the future, Dunyo mused. As is going in for schooling. And going professional for this rising young star?

“I’ve never really thought about it,” he said hesitantly, “but if I could, I would.”
 

 

Warriors finish second at Don Wright team challenge

January 23, 2013

This weekend the Warriors travelled to the University of Western Ontario to compete in the 2013 Don Wright Team Challenge, a meet rich in history, and more than capable of producing competitive results.  Still in the early stages of the season the Warriors continue to show remarkable improvements, boasting 25 lifetime personal bests, 3 season best performances and 1 new varsity record.

The highlight of the meet came from Jill Knight (St. Thomas) who set a new University of Waterloo varsity record with a 12.85m effort in the weight throw, earning her a 7th  place overall finish. Veteran Warriors Chantel Pilon (Trenton), Andrew Good (Whitby) and Justin Conlon (Ayr)also displayed strong performances in the field each bringing home a 2nd place finish in their respected events.  Chantel and Andrew jumped 1.56m and 1.90m, respectively, in the high jump competition, while Justin cleared a distance of 13.04m in the shot put competition.

The Warriors distance team had boisterous personal best performances and huge improvements from former competition weeks.  Rookie Dan Fournier captured a 4th place finish against some of the top 1500m runners in Ontario with a clocking of 4:09.52.  Lawrence Xie (Guelph) and Devon Briggs (Uxbridge) held their own in the 600m against a heat including the two-time defending CIS champion with finishing times of 1:23.99 and 1:25.12 respectively. Kristen Flanagan (Kitchener) crossed the line in the 1500m in a life-time personal best of 4:49.18, a time currently good for 14th in the CIS.

The Warriors sprint group continues to be lead by impressive performances from first year athletes. Rachel Brown (Cambridge) (Cambridge) rode the momentum from her break out meet in Windsor a week ago, to a 2nd place finish in the 300m in a time of 43.50. 

On the men's side the 4X200m relay team, consisting of Alex Manuel (Stouffville), Tommy Gringras, Tim Ritscher (Hamburg), and Michael Phillips (Sussex) led the team to a first place finish in the event while the men's 4x400m (Yassin, Salmon, Meadows, Xie) team took home the silver.  The women's 4x200m captured silver (Carrique, Brown, Smart, Ford) while the 4x400m team took the bronze (Pilon, Ford, Brown, Flanaga). Individually, Mohamed Yassin(Waterloo) blazed his way to a 2nd place finish in the 60m with a time of 7.06, while Adam Neale (Dundas) brought home a 2nd place finish in the 300m with a time of 37.33.

The competition intensifies next week, as the Warriors head into Montreal for the McGill team challenge, one of the biggest indoor meets in the nation. 

 

 

Warrior track results from 32nd annual Can-Am Classic

January 15, 2013

This week the Warriors travelled to the University of Windsor for the 32nd Annual Cam Am Track Classic.  The competition field was deep, with Olympians and CIS medalists in the mix, but the Warriors held their own with some impressive results.  In total, the team set 18 lifetime personal bests and 11 season best performances across the three discipline groups.

The men's 3000m event began the parade of performances for the distance team, with a solid performance by veteran Patrick MacKinnon (Mount Hope) riding a strong final lap to place 8thoverall in a time of 8:58.43.  McKinnon also ran in the 1500m the following day alongside teammate Justin Spalvieri (Alliston), who successfully fought off his competition to win his heat in a season's best time of 4:09.22.  In the men's 1000m race, 5th year Devon Briggs (Uxbridge)finished 11th overall in a promising 2:35.60 and Matt Melnik (Whitby) who finished 16th overall with a time of 2:37.51.   Matt also ran a person best relay split in the 4x800m.

The University of Waterloo sprint group was equally productive over the weekend.  A fresh crop of first year athletes are showing strong potential with impressive performances all around. Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) and Sian Smart (Kingston) both had lifetime personal best performances in the 60m running 8.15 and 8.12 (8.16 in the final) respectively, finishing 14thand 15th overall.  Rookies Jenny Carrique (Kitchener), Caray Ford (Richards Landing) andRachel Brown (Cambridge) all set personal bests in the women's 300m event, with Carrique leading the female Warriors to a 15th place finish and lifetime personal best time of 42.47.  
The time ranks Carrique 11th in the OUA.  Naomi Lance (Kitchener) also ran a season's best time of 9.49 in the 60m Hurdle finals finishing 10thoverall.  Ford, Brown and Carrique joined 4thyear veteran Chantel Pilon (Trenton) in the women's 4x400m relay and sped to a seasons' best time of 4:07.33 with all of the rookies setting new bests in their relay splits.  Pilon, Carrique, Smart and Lance also competed in the 4x200m on Friday night, earning a season's best time of 1:47.56.  Carrique, Lance and Smart achieved lifetime personal bests in their 200m relay splits.
 
On the men's side, 4th year veteran Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) picked up where he left off last weekend with a season's best time of 6.95, placing 2nd in the men's 60m.  Teammate Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton) performed equally well in the preliminaries with a time of 7.00, but was forced to drop out after an injury flared up. Kwarko-Fosu's performance currently ranks him 6thin the CIS, with Dunyo maintaining his 4th place ranking in the CIS.  In the men's 300m event second year Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo) continued his impressive start to the season with a lifetime personal best time of 36.35 to finish 7th overall in a strong field of runners.  Yassin is now ranked 8th in the OUA. 

Multi-sport athlete Justin Conlon (Ayr) had a solid performance in the 60m Hurdle final placing 9th overall.  Rookie Nathan Meadows (Victoria) and 2nd year Tommy Gingras continue to improve with both athletes running large personal bests in their 4x400m relay splits helping the Warriors finish 3rd in the event and ranking them 4th in the country.

In the field events, first year veteran Andrew Good (Whitby) had a strong showing in the men's high jump with a season's best jump of 1.91m, good for 5th place.  Good is now ranked 8th in the CIS. Rookie Sian Smart (Kingston) jumped a 22cm lifetime personal best of 4.86m for a 12th place finish in the women's long jump. 

Next weekend the Warriors are travelling to the University of Western Ontario for the 30th Annual Don Wright Team Challenge.  

 

 

Warriors with Impressive Start to 2013

January 7, 2013

The Waterloo Warriors showed they were still sharp after the winter break when they travelled to the University of Guelph this weekend and competed in the Tenka Classic grabbing 25 lifetime bests.
 
The men's sprints group continued their winning ways sweeping the 60m event.Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton), Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto) and Mohamed Yassin(Waterloo) took first, second and third place respectively. Dunyo, Kwarko-Fosu and Yassin are now ranked third (6.88), eighth (7.03) and 12th (7.07) in the CIS respectively. Yassin also competed in the men's 300m, taking second place in a personal best time of 36.44.

In the men's long sprint event, the 600m, team Captain Adam Neale (Dundas) (Dundas) ran a well-paced race for a seasonal best time of 1:24.67 and second place in the men's 600m. Neale is currently ranked twelfth in the CIS. Closing out the sprints for the men was rookie hurdler Edward Wang (Toronto) who ran a personal best time of 9.47 in the men's 60m hurdles, which was good enough for second place.
 
The women's sprint group was led by rookie Jenny Carrique who ran a personal best 8.19 in the women's 60m which was strong enough for fifth place, and 43.41 in the women's 300m for eighth place. Naomi Lance also put in a solid effort running 9.53 (less than a tenth off of her personal best) in the women's 60m hurdles for fourth place. Lance stumbled out of the blocks but was able to regain composure and run a great time. The hurdler is showing great promise for this season.

In the distance events, the men's team was led by Justin Spalvieri (Alliston) whose 4:12.74 in the men's 1500m was good enough for sixth place while rookieKristen Flanagan (Kitchener) lead the women with a 4:57.25, breaking the 5 minute barrier, and placing fourth overall. Flanagan is now ranked twelfth in the CIS with this weekend's performance.

The warriors were also busy on the field as five warrior athletes took part in the season's first pentathlon. Justin Conlon (Ayr) led the men's team with a score of 3287 which was good enough for second place at the meet and ranks him second in the CIS. Justin had an all-around strong day with his most notable performance being his personal best in the 60m hurdles of 9.23.
 
On the women's side, Captain Chantel Pilon (Trenton) scored a personal best of 2939 in the women's pentathlon finishing third overall. Pilon had several strong performances including her victory (and personal best) 2:29.99 in the 800m event. Pilon is currently ranked fourth in the CIS with her score this week. In the men's high jump, Andrew Good (Whitby) jumped a height of 1.90m which was good enough for the bronze medal. Last year, Andrew qualified for the CIS championships and this strong opening performance bodes well for his return this season. Good is currently ranked eleventh in the CIS.
 
The meet finished with the men's and women's 4 by 400m relays and the Warrior teams took second and third respectively. The women's team was led by rookie Rachel Brown in 62.2, running her first 400m race, while the men's team was led by Captain Adam Neal who split 52.2. Next up for the warriors is a short trip down the 401 to the St. Denis Centre at the University of Windsor for the Can Am Track Classic on January 11th and 12th.

 

 

 

Warriors Sweep Podium in 60m dash at Western Season Opener

December 3, 2012

The Waterloo Warriors lit up the track this weekend at the University of Western's Season Opener track and field meet.  This was the first meet for the Warriors before the main competitive season gets into full swing in the New Year.

Leading the way was Kofi Kwarko-Fosu (Toronto), Shlomo Dunyo (Hamilton), and Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo) sweeping the men's 60m race with times of 6.98, 7.00, and 7.07 respectively.  Shlomo also ran the fastest time of the meet in the heats with 6.95 seconds.  This sets a very high standard for the season and is hopefully a sign of big things to come from the three sprint specialists.  Dunyo is currently the Waterloo varsity record holder in the event with his time of 6.85 seconds he set in the 2010-2011 season, while Kwarko-Fosu was a CIS championship 60m finalist last season.   Waterloo had five athletes in the men's 60m final, with Edward Wang in sixth place and Tommy Gingras in seventh place rounding out the squad.

The rest of the men's sprint group was sure to make their presence known at the meet with a series of impressive first place performances in the remaining sprint events.  Yassin added to his success in the 60m with a first place finish in the men's 200m event, winning in a time of 23.19 seconds.  Rookie Nathan Meadows took the win in the 300m in a time of 37.33 seconds.  Teammates Michael Phillips and Tommy Gingras finished close behind placing third and fourth in times of 37.59 seconds and 37.60 seconds respectively.  Adam Neale(Dundas) took the win in the 600m long sprint event in 1:25.14 seconds.

Not to be outdone, on the women's side, rookies Sian Smart and Jenny Carrique each put in strong performances in the women's 60m race.  Smart placed fifth overall in a time of 8.23 seconds with Carrique finishing one hundredth of a second behind her in 8.24 seconds to earn her sixth place in the event.  Carrique carried on her success finishing fifth in the women's 200m in a time of 27.16 seconds.

The Warriors' success continued into the middle distance races as both the men's and women's distance crews put forth top place finishes in the women's 1500m and men's 3000m.  Stephanie Hinton (Brantford) placed first on the women's side just shy of the five minute mark coming in at a time of 5:01.30 seconds, while rookie Daniel Fournier lead the 3000m from start to finish in a time of 9:06.30 seconds, with teammate Ryan Santos (Carleton Place) coming in second in 9:35.50 seconds.

Out in the field, Tim Ritscher, broke the six metre barrier in the long jump with an impressive jump of 6.11m placing him fifth overall in the event, and Scott Shea was close behind jumping 5.98m for a seventh place finish.  In the women's 4kg shot put team veteran Chantel Pilon (Trenton) threw a forcible 11.44m for a fourth place finish, with rookie Jill Knight right behind her finishing fifth with a distance of 10.89m.  Knight also came fifth in the women's weight throws with a distance of 12.59m. In his first meet, rookie Will Adams threw 11.08m in the men's shot put for a seventh place finish.

The Warriors next meet will be the Tenka Classic January 4th and 5th hosted by the University of Guelph at the Gryphon Fieldhouse. 

 

 

 

Top Academic Student-Athletes Honoured

 

On Monday, September 24 The Office of the President honoured the 2011-12 athlete-academic honour roll recipients which recognizes students who have maintained an average of 80% and higher while competing for an interuniversity sport.  The University of Waterloo enjoys one of the highest percentages of Academic All-Canadian student-athletes in the country. 

This year, 194 athletes were honoured for their accomplishment which makes up 36% of the student-athlete population at uWaterloo.  This is a significant increase from last year which saw 142 athletes (27% of population) honoured. 

The proud athletes received their awards in front of their fellow teammates, influential professors, coaches and distinguished individuals at the University of Waterloo.

"This ultimately is a reflection of the caliber and commitment of our student-athletes, but also an important point of strategic emphasis and the core of our Departmental mission," commented athletic director Bob Copeland. "Our senior departmental leadership and coaches have been reinforcing this and supporting our student-athletes in helping them to achieve this objective.'

This year four student-athletes were recognized as the top academic achievers in the classroom.

Fourth year track and field athlete Andrew Good received an astounding 98% academic average while studying actuarial science at uWaterloo.  Not far behind was Adam Neale also of the track team who finished with a 95% average while studying his PhD. in electrical engineering.  Neale who was in his second year on the track team received the top academic honour for the second straight year.

The top academic females were Leanne Stuive (cross country) and Natasha Seth (squash).  Stuive received the honour for the third straight year while taking a master's in math and earning a 94% average.  Third year squash athlete Natasha Seth rounded out top academic honours with a 93% while studying math.

 

 

2012-2013 Waterloo Track and Field Incoming Atheltes

 

Warrior track and field head coach Shane Ferth is pleased to introduce several 2012-2013 recruits to the Waterloo program.

2012-2013 Waterloo Track and Field Committed Recruits:

Women

Name: Martha Appiah
Event: Throws
Hometown: Toronto
School: Don Bosco High School
Program: Kinesiology

Martha shows a lot of potential and dedication as she learned to coach herself after her high school coach retired in 2011. Doing so on her own Martha qualified for the OFSAA Championships in Shot Put and Discus. 


Name: Jenny Carrique
Event: Sprints
Hometown: Kitchener
School: Grand River Collegiate
Program: Mathematics, CO-OP

Jenny will be an asset to our women's team in the sprint events and relys. An accomplished athlete in the sport, Jenny was an integral part of her club teams bronze medals at the Ontario Junior & National Junior Championships.

Name: Caray Ford
Event: Sprints
Hometown: Richards Landing
School: Central Algoma High School
Program: Kinesiology

Caray comes to the Warrior program still very new to the sport. We believe she will make big improvements over the season and will assist in our women’s relay teams. Caray's most memorable moment is winning the OFSAA North Regional Championships and qualifying for OFSAA, being the first senior female athlete from her school.

Name: Jill Knight
Event: Throws
Hometown: St. Thomas
School: Parkside High School
Program: Recreation & Leisure

Looking to assist our throws group, Jill is another athlete who shows a lot of potential in the sport. In her grade 11 year she broke her high school's senior women's shot put record held by her high school coach.


Men

Name: Daniel Fournier
Event: Distance
Hometown: Timmins
School: Murdock High School
Program: Kinesiology

Daniel comes to Waterloo as an experienced athlete at the OFSAA level. He competed at the OFSAA track & field championships this year in the 3000m and 2000m steeplechase. On top of that he was a part of his school's cross country team winning OFSAA gold in 2011 and silver in 2010 and 2008.
　 
Name: Alex Manuel
Event: Sprints
Hometown: Stouffville, ON
School: Bill Crothers Secondary School
Program: Double Degree BMath/BBA

Alex is an accomplished athlete who we believe will assist our men's sprints and relay teams. His highlight of his career so far is winning 3 OFSAA medals in the 4x100m relays with the same three athletes his entire high school career.