News - Archive 2013-2014

 

UWTF Sets two records at CIS Championships

March 10, 2014

This past weekend, six dedicated Warrior Women traveled to Edmonton, Alberta to compete in the 2014 CIS Track and Field Championships. The group has worked incredibly hard throughout the indoor competitive season to secure their spots, and they were excited to showcase their talents competing on the national stage. The women were all chasing point scoring top-eight performances and University of Waterloo varsity team records in each of their events.
 
The competition started Thursday evening with Captain Chantel Pilon (Trenton) in the women's pentathlon. Pilon, in her 5th and final year of eligibility with the Warriors, was definitely looking to end her varsity career with a bang. Coming into the competition ranked 6th in the country, she was a definite contender to earn points for the squad. Starting her day off with a solid 9.53s in the 60m hurdles and continuing with a personal best tying 1.56m effort in the high jump event, Pilon had great momentum after two events. She was then able to record solid performances in both the shot put (11.16m) and long jump (4.95m) to keep her in the hunt for a top eight finish.

Going into the final event, the 800m, her strongest of the five events, Pilon was sitting in 12th position. In her final 800m race as a Warrior, Chantel's experience and confidence shined through as she crossed the finish line in a blistering 2:18.00 placing 2nd in the race. Her performance marked a new personal best for her by almost a second, and brought in her highest single event total ever, a whopping 851 points. Pilon's performance launched her from 12th all the way to 5th place in the overall scores. Chantel finished her varsity pentathlon career by breaking the varsity record for her third meet in a row with a score of 3494 points, a feat that will be hard to match for years to come.
 
Also on Thursday night, the women's 4x200m relay, run by Tegan Sauer (Kitchener), Monica Januszek (Kitchener), Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) and Naomi Lance (Kitchener)were looking to advance to the final by being one of the top 8 teams out of the heats. The relay team came into the competition ranked 8th in the country after a stellar season's best performance at the OUA championships. Despite a valiant effort, the girls were unable to match their qualifying time and had to settle for 10th in the competition with a time of 1:43.21s.  
 
The Warrior women came back Saturday evening ready to close their CIS championship in style running in the women's 4 by 400m relay. Pilon, Lance, Januszek and Rachel Brown (Cambridge) would carry the baton for the Warriors. Pilon, having had time to recover from her pentathlon, started things off for the women running a smart leg handing the stick to Lance in 3rd spot in their heat with a quick 58.2s. Lance, took off like a rocket and ran an outstanding leg reeling in the 2 athletes ahead of her, breaking the 57s barrier recording a 56.9s split. This time ties her for 2nd in Warrior history. Januszek kept things moving, racing around the track in a personal best 57.7s.

Closing out the relay for the Warriors was Rachel Brown (Cambridge), battling CIS individual medalists all the way to the finish line she improved again and had another pb (3 meets in a row) of a stellar 57.6 seconds (4th all-time for the Warriors). The tetrad finished 3rd in their heat and 6th overall in the competition out of the field of 12 teams. Moreover, the women recorded a lightning-fast 3:50.90 time overall, breaking the 12-year-old varsity team record in the event. 
 
The six Warrior women finished the CIS national competition with a total of 7 points and an 18th place overall finish.  With five of the six women returning next season there's much to look forward to from this hard working group of ladies for years to come.

 

 

Athletes of the Week

 

Chantel Pilon, Track and Field 02/24/2014

Competing in her last OUA Championships Chantel won the gold medal winning the OUA Championship pentathlon. She set three personal bests in the pentathlon & broke her own varsity record she set last week. Chantel set new personal bests in the 60mH (9.45), Long Jump (5.10) and overall points in the Pentathlon (3486). Topping off her weekend Chantel ran the lead leg in the womens 4x400m placing fifth in an exciting race just missing a spot on the podium by less than a second. The 4x400 team is ranked 7th in the CIS. Chantel will be representing UW at the CIS Championships in both events Mar 6-8.

 

 

Mo Yassin, Track and Field 02/24/2014

Mo earned the most points for the team on the men's side at the OUA Championships. Coming back from injury Mo had a solid weekend running 2 seasons bests. After great runs in the heats and finals Mo finished a strong 7th in the final tying his best time of 6.99s. Later Saturday Mo ran the fastest split in the 4x200 earning the team a seasons best and a 6th place finish. Finishing the weekend with the 4x400 Mo ran a season best split helping the team to a 7th place finish.

 

 

UWTF Comes out on Top at OUA Championships

Februrary 24, 2014 


This past weekend while most of the campus was relaxing over reading week, the Waterloo Warriors track and field team was hard at work competing in the 2014 OUA Championships held at York University.  The Warriors were competing against Ontario's top university athletes for provincial titles and one last chance to qualify for the prestigious CIS Championships being held March 6 - 8 in Edmonton.

Leading things off for the Warriors was team captain Chantel Pilon (Trenton) in the women's pentathlon.  Having just broken the varsity record last week, she was a strong contender for a medal going into this year's championship.  Pilon started her events off with a 0.07 second personal best in the 60mH in a time of 9.45 seconds, and continued to deliver impressive performances throughout the afternoon including a 17cm personal best in the long jump (5.10m), and first place performances in both the shot put (10.85m) and 800m events (2:19.71 seconds). 

Pilon's performance provided an overall score of 3483 points, enough to break her own varsity record by 21 points and earn her the gold medal in the event!  This marks Waterloo's first OUA track and field goal medal since Daniella Carrington in the 60m back in 2003. Pilon was named to the first team OUA All-Star for the pentathlon and qualified for the CIS Championships in the event.  Enough could not be said about Chantel.  She has improved from a meager score of 2220, last place finish in the 2011 OUA Championships to the Champion in 2014.  The support Chantel and the coaching staff have gotten from other coaches and athletes from across the OUA has been exceptional.  Everyone has been inspired by Chantel's drive and improvement.

On the men's side of the pentathlon, team captain Justin Conlon (Ayr) put forward a 7th place overall performance with 3420 points aided by a first place finish and a meet record in the shot put event (13.21m) and a 0.05s personal best in the 60mH (8.97s), while first year Paulo Miguel (Montreal) showed promise for things to come with three personal best performances and a 14th placing overall with 3087 points.  Miguel's results included improvements of 0.07s in the 60mH (8.74s), 10cm in the shot put (9.64m), and 1.65s in the 1000m (2:55.68).

In addition to Pilon and Conlon, Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo) was the other individual point scorer for the Warriors.  Yassin put on an exciting show in the men's 60m dash.  Running 7.03s in the preliminary round and 7.00s in the semi-finals, Yassin tied his lifetime personal best of 6.99s for a 7th place overall finish in the finals.  On the women's side, first year Tegan Sauer (Kitchener) provided an impressive performance placing 10th overall running 7.81s in the preliminary round, and 7.83s in the semi-finals falling just 2 spots short of qualifying for the finals.

Other notable individual results throughout the weekend include Rachel Brown (Cambridge) in the women's 600m long sprint.  Brown blazed around the track placing 10th overall in her event with a time of 1:37.23 and a huge 1.11s personal best improvement.  The time ranks her as the fourth fastest female 600m runner in UW history.  In the women's 300m, Naomi Lance (Kitchener), Jenny Carrique (Kitchener), and Monica Januszek (Kitchener) all showed the strength of the Warrior women's team placing 11th (41.17s), 14th (41.60s), and 17th (41.76s) respectively.  These ladies are currently ranked 8th, 9th, and 10th on the UW all time performers list in the women's 300m. Coming off of an injury, Sian Smart (Kingston) placed 9th in the women's long jump with a 5.23m effort, missing out on the 8-woman final by only 2cm.  Representing the distance team Charly Allen ran an exciting race in the 1500m to finish with a seasons best time of 3:58.53 placing 16th and 12th in the 3000m.  Adam Neale (Dundas) also ran a season's best time of 1:23.76 in the men's 600m placing 16th overall.

The meet closed with the men's and women's 4x200m and 4x400m relay events.  Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo), Adam Neale (Dundas), Micah Hesman (LaSalle) and Tommy Gingras ran both relays for the men. The men finished in 6th in the 4x200m and 7th in the 4x400m with the fastest splits coming from Yassin (22.5s lead-off leg in the 4x200m), and Hesman (a big personal best of 50.6s in the 4x400m).  The women, represented by Tegan Sauer (Kitchener), Monica Januszek (Kitchener),Jenny Carrique (Kitchener), and Naomi Lance (Kitchener) in the 4x200m, and Chantel Pilon (Trenton), Lance, Januszek, and Rachel Brown (Cambridge) in the 4x400m continued their strong season with two 5th place performances.

The 4x200m team started things off running 1:42.26s, taking over a second off of their previous season's best time. The team was ranked 11th in the CIS going into the OUA championships and knew they would need to run faster in order to secure a top-12 spot and qualify for the CIS championship meet. The ladies rose to the occasion with Sauer and Lance running personal bests (25.5s, 25.3s) and Carrique tying her best of 25.4s respectively.

In the women's 4x400m the Warriors battled hard against their competitors but were unable to secure a medal. Lance had the fastest split for the Warriors, clocking in at 57.5s. Also noteworthy was Rachel Brown (Cambridge)'s spectacular anchor leg. Brown desperately chased her competitors from Guelph and Western closing for the team in a big 0.5s personal best 57.9s split. Both women's teams are currently ranked 8th in the CIS and will represent Waterloo at the championship meet in March.

Overall, both the men's and women's Warrior teams placed a respectable 7th out of 13 teams at the OUA Championships with total points of 9 and 18 respectively.  For six athletes this was their final OUA Championships as a Warrior.  These athletes have helped shape our team and will be missed.  Thank you to graduating athletes Chantel Pilon (Trenton), Paulina Kurevija (Kitchener), Charly Allen, Justin Conlon (Ayr), Adam Neale (Dundas) and Sasha Ameri (Mississauga).

Next up for the Warriors will be the CIS Championships in Edmonton.  The Warriors will be represented by Chantel Pilon (Trenton) in the women's pentathlon, along with the women's 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams.  Best of luck to our Warriors, we know you'll make us all proud.

 

 

Former Warrior Heather Moyse wins gold

February 19, 2014
By Christine Bezruki
Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

Heather Moyse and her longtime sled partner Kaillie Humphries made Olympic history in Sochi this week. The pair became the first women to win gold medals in consecutive Olympics for the two-man bobsled event. The pair triumphed over their close competitors on the U.S. team in the final heats on Wednesday.

Heather Moyse is a former Waterloo Warrior as part of the soccer, rugby and track and field teams and was named the Waterloo female athlete of the year in 2000.

For Moyse, just being able to return for a second shot at gold is a victory in itself.

A brave comeback

When Moyse arrived at Canada's national bobsleigh training facility for testing in August, expectations were low.

Less than a year before, the Waterloo kinesiology graduate had undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in her right hip. The surgery left her unable to train for weeks, and jeopardized her ability to return to the sport at an elite level.

But with a 5.50 second-start that day, Moyse proved to herself and her coaches that not only was she back— but she was faster and stronger than before.

"I thought she'd come back easily because she's so experienced but I didn't anticipate her coming back so strong. None of us did," national bobsled coach Tom De La Hunty said in a recent interview.

"It was a huge challenge, which made it all the more motivating. Sochi for me is a massive overcoming of an obstacle kind of thing."

Grueling rehab schedule got her back on track

She credits fierce determination and a grueling rehabilitation schedule with her strong return.

"I had to start from scratch and build everything from the building blocks, which is probably why I'm doing better," she said.

In the fall, Moyse posted a video of herself pushing her sister's minivan around a parking lot in Denver when she couldn't make it to a gym. Thefive minute video chronicles her long road back to the sport.

"To be a really good brakeman requires an ideal combination of strength and speed," Moyse said. "I wouldn't call myself the fastest girl in Canada, but put me behind the sled and it's different."

All of us here at Waterloo extend our congratulations to Moyse and Humphries for their accomplishments.

 

 

Athletes of the Week

 

Chantel Pilon, Track and Field 02/17/2014

Competing at the SPIRE Division 1 NCAA Invite in Geneva, Ohio Chantel set five personal bests in the pentathlon & came away with a new UW Varsity Record and was just shy of a second varsity record. Representing UW & Canada Chantel set new personal bests in the 60mH (9.52), High Jump (1.56m), Shot Put (11.52m), 800m (2:18.62) and overall points in the Pentathlon (3462). Her score of 3462 earns her the title as the new Varsity Record Holder and places her 2nd in the OUA and 5th in the CIS. Topping off her weekend Chantel had a fantastic lead leg in the womens 4x400m tying her personal best split and earning the team a 5 second seasons best, only half a second shy of the Varsity Record set back in 2002. Their time ranks them 3rd in the OUA and 7th in the CIS with only 2 seconds separating the teams from 3rd-7th in the CIS.

 

 

Pilon achieves all-time Waterloo record in pentathlon

February 18, 2014

 This past weekend the Waterloo Warriors track and field had an outstanding weekend as the team split up to attend three different meets in hopes of securing their spots in the upcoming OUA and CIS championship events.  While some Warriors stayed close to home to compete in Guelph or Toronto, other's set out to Geneva, Ohio to compete against some fierce competition in the SPIRE NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Team Invitational.
 
Starting off the weekend was the men's pentathlon competition at the Guelph Last Chance meet Friday afternoon. Rookie Paulo Miguel (Montreal) competed alongside CaptainJustin Conlon (Ayr) who was looking to hit solid marks and qualify for the CIS championships in Edmonton this March. Miguel and Conlon came out the gates flying, both recording personal bests in the 60m high hurdles (8.81 and 9.02 respectively). The pair kept up their momentum, landing big jumps in the long jump. Conlon leapt to a 6.39m effort on his 3rd attempt (only 6cm off his best), while Miguel landed a season's best of 6.17m. The highlight of the day came in the 3rd event: the shot put. Conlon demolished the field, throwing a new personal best of 13.91m, four meters further than the rest of his competition. Overall, both pentathletes put down great performances placing first and fourth in the competition with a score of 3412 for Conlon and 2981 for Miguel. Conlon's score now ranks him 7th in the CIS.
 
Much of the Warrior sprint squad travelled to the University of Toronto to compete in the Hal Brown Last Chance meet.  Rookie Tegan Sauer (Kitchener) ran a very respectable time of 7.85s in the preliminary round of the women's 60m dash to qualify for the final. Getting out quick, Sauer bettered her time in the final, running 7.81s, tying her personal best, and placing third overall in the event. Sauer's time currently ranks her 13th amongst her fellow competitors in a very deep field within the OUA. 

On the men's side, Rookie Micah Hesman (LaSalle) ran near a personal best with a time of 7.30s (0.01 off his pb), finishing 7th in the competition.  Next up on the track was the women's 4x200m relay. This was an important race for the women's relay team, as they were looking to better their current 11th place ranking within in the CIS.  Despite their first place winning time of 1:43.46, the team fell short of their season's best performance by less than one tenth of a second, so these Warrior women will look to better their time next weekend at the OUA Championships to secure themselves a spot at the CIS Championships.
 
Many of the weekend's highlights came from a handful of Warriors who travelled to Geneva, Ohio to compete in the SPIRE NCAA Division I Team Invitational. They rose to the occasion and produced several lifetime personal bests as they competed against some of the best NCAA track and field athletes in the United States.
 
The competition started on Friday with the women's pentathlon. Looking to break the University of Waterloo women's pentathlon record, Captain Chantel Pilon (Trenton) knew that she had to perform at her very best. Starting off the competition with the 60m hurdles, Pilon shot out of the blocks and attacked each hurdle, running a personal best time of 9.52s. Moving onto the second of the five events, Pilon kept her momentum going in the high jump clearing the bar at 1.56m, a new personal best within the pentathlon. Next up, in the shot put competition, Pilon surpassed almost all her competitors, throwing a new personal best of 11.52m, finishing second overall in the event. In the long jump, Pilon produced three strong jumps. Unfortunately, all three were behind the take-off board limiting her best jump to a distance of 4.77m. 

After losing several potential points in this event, she knew she would have to run a strong 800m race to make up the deficit and break the varsity record.  As the gun went off to start the final race, Pilon looking very relaxed, settled into 5th place after the first 200m. Knowing how much was on the line, Pilon started making moves and tactically passed two of her competitors over the next 400m to move up into third.  With only 200m left in the race, Pilon surged into second, and started closing the gap on first placed runner.  Pilon finished 2nd in the race, running a huge personal best time of 2:18.2s. She scored 3467 points in the pentathlon and is now the current record holder for the University of Waterloo women's pentathlon. Her score of 3467 points in the event currently places Pilon 2nd in the OUA and 5th in the CIS.
 
The next day of competition proved to be just as exciting as the first for the Warriors. Going into the meet, the women's 4x400m relay team was ranked 11th in the CIS with a time of 3:57.32s. The women knew that they had to improve on this time to secure themselves a spot in the CIS Championships. Despite competing in five events the day before, Pilon was more than ready to run alongside the rest of her team. The gun went off and Pilon shot out of the blocks. Running a very fast first 200m, Pilon moved into second position down the backstretch. Pilon maintained her speed down the final stretch, tying her best split time (58.4s), and handed the baton off to her teammate Naomi Lance(Kitchener) in second place.

Lance quickly caught up to the first place runner. Lance saw an opportunity to pass along the straightaway and did just that. She gapped the Ohio State runner, splitting the fastest time for the Warrior women (57.1s, #3 UW all-time), passing the baton off to rookie Monica Januszek (Kitchener) in first place. Januszek increased the lead, and looked very strong throughout her leg of the race. Januszek split 57.8s (#4 UW all-time), an astounding one and a half seconds faster than her best time this year. Rachel Brown(Cambridge) ran the last leg of the race for the relay team, increasing the lead yet again.

She ran very strong until the finish, also running a personal best split time of 58.6s. To the relay team's surprise, they had just ran 3:51.71s (3:52.36 after an oversized track conversion). This was a five second season's best, and only half of a second off of the 4x400m University of Waterloo record. This time likely secures the team a spot at the CIS Championships, moving the team up four spots in the country. They now sit 3rd in OUA and 7th in CIS with only two seconds separate the ladies from third.
 
Veteran distance runner Charles Allan (Kingston) also competed at SPIRE running in the men's 3000m. Allan has been very busy the past few weeks chasing a big performance in order to move up in the CIS and OUA rankings. Last weekend at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational Allan recorded a big personal best in the event crossing the line in 8:29.17. Allan came back again this weekend with another big time, crossing the line in 8:28.36 (converted to 8:30.91 based on the oversized track). Allan is now ranked 14th in a very strong OUA field, and will be looking to potentially score points for the team next weekend at the OUA championships.
 
The Warriors are looking very strong going into the OUA Championships this upcoming weekend at York University. The men are currently ranked 7th and the women 9th in the province.   
 

 

Women's 4x400m team breaks record at York Classic

February 4, 2014

This past Saturday the Waterloo Warriors Track and Field Squad took a snowy drive to York University to compete in the 43rd Annual York University Classic. With the OUA Championships only three weeks away, many Warriors were looking to improve upon their current national rankings.

Following the OUA Championships, the top 12 ranked individuals (or relay teams) in each event will represent their school at the CIS Championships. The Warriors rose to the occasion rallying together as a team, hitting some solid marks, and even capped the day off with a meet record in the Women's 4x400m relay.

As per usual, the Warrior sprinters started the day off right. Rookie sprinter Tegan Sauer (Kitchener) and teammate Sian Smart (Kingston) ran superb races in the Women's 60m dash. After running solid times in the heats (7.90s and 8.01s respectively) the Warrior women came back and blasted out awesome performances in the final. Sauer tied her personal best of 7.81s (7th in UW history) while Smart (after a great pep talk from coach Kwarko-Fosu) had a huge breakthrough; smashing the 8 second barrier for the first time running 7.94s (9th in UW history). On the men's side, Rookie Samuel Martinello had a great day, running a personal best in both the 60m (7.32s) and 300m (36.44s).
 
Charles Allan (Kingston), the Warrior metric-miler, had an awesome day at the track in the men's 1500m. Allan ran a smart race, tucking in behind the leaders for the majority of the run. With 300m to go, Allan made a big move, racing to the front of the pack. Allan fought hard for the remainder of the race, and despite being passed on the final lap, finished in a very respectable 3rd place with a time of 4:00.74.

The Warrior field event crew was led by Sian Smart (Kingston). Smart a had solid jumping performance, jumping 5.35m in the women's long jump, good enough for a 6th place finish.
 
The meet ended in exciting fashion with the 4x200m and 4x400m relays. Up first were the 4x200m men who, despite not having their top sprinter Mohammed Yassin, put together a great time and finished in 4th place. Micah Hesman (LaSalle), Samuel Martinello, Alex Manuel (Stouffville), and Tommy Gingras crossed the line in 1:33.42. Martinello posted the fastest split for the Warriors, (a personal best of 22.8s) adding to his 60m and 300m performances from earlier in the day. Next up for the Warriors was the Women's 4x200m relay. This was a key race for the women (Tegan Sauer (Kitchener), Monica Januszek (Kitchener), Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) and Naomi Lance (Kitchener)) as they looked to qualify for the CIS championships.

Despite a few less-than-perfect handoffs, the women crossed the line in a season's best 1:43.39, good enough for 2nd place. Jenny Carrique (Kitchener) and Naomi Lance(Kitchener) put up the fastest splits, running personal best times of 25.4s and 25.5s respectively (6th and 7th in UW history).

The day was finished off by a great performance by the women's 4x400m relay team. Chantel Pilon (Trenton) started the team off and quickly took the lead over the field. Pilon handed off the baton after a season's best split of 59.4s to Naomi Lance (Kitchener). Lance (who had just run the 4x200m relay) ran the team's fastest split of 58.0s and extended the team's lead. Monica Januszek (Kitchener) and Rachel Brown (Cambridge) closed the relay out for the Warriors keeping them in the lead, both running 59.9s. To the cheers of her teammates, Brown crossed the line in 3:57.32, a season's best and a new meet record! The womens 4x200m team and 4x400m team are ranked 11th and 7th respectively in the CIS.
 
Up next for the Warriors is their final training block leading into the OUA Championships. The team has no competition until the 14th of February, and will take this time to focus and make their final preparations before their final competitions and championship races as many attempt to qualify for the CIS championships in March.

 

 

Athletes of the Week

 

Naomi Lance, Track and Field 01/27/2014

Third year track athlete Naomi Lance (Kitchener, Ont.) had an exceptional meet at the McGill Team Challenge, the largest indoor track and field meet in the country.  Starting the weekend with the 4x200m, she helped her team to a seasonal best time that ranks them 11th in the nation and the best UWaterloo 4x200m time in over 10 years. On Saturday Lance shaved off 0.69 seconds from her 300m time running 41.12 to place 16th in a field of 80 women (13th best in OUA).  To cap off the weekend, Lance ran a lifetime best in the 4x400m to help lead her team to a 7th ranked time of 4:01:30 (3rd fastest in UWaterloo history).

 

 

Several Waterloo records broken at McGill Team Challenge

January 27, 2014

This past weekend the Waterloo Warriors set out to Montreal, Quebec to take part in the 19th annual McGill Team Challenge track and field meet.  The two-day competition held each year at the Richard Tomlinson Fieldhouse is the largest indoor track and field meet in Canada.  This year, the meet drew approximately 900 competitors from 30 universities all hoping to reach qualifying standards for the CIS national championships to be held later this year in Edmonton from March 6-8.  Adding additional excitement to the already high profile event, eight Olympians, including 2012 silver medalist in the 400m Luguelin Santos and Canadian Sarah Wells (semi-finalist in the 400m hurdles), also competed at the meet.  Despite the pressure, the Warriors were able to continue their impressive season, yielding 18 new lifetime personal bests and 13 season's bests across the team. 

Starting things off for the Warriors, third year Mo Yassin joined the prestigious sub-7 second club in the men's 60m event.  Mo started the night off running a time of 7.08s in the heats to earn himself a spot in the B final, an accomplishment in its own right.  He then improved on his performance running the race of a lifetime crossing the finish line in 6.99s to place 9th overall out of the 81 competitors.  Mo's time currently ranks him 6th in the OUA and 13th in the CIS. 
Not to be outdone on the women's side, 2nd year Sian Smart (Kingston) also had an impressive 60m performance running 8.05s placing her 20th out of 65 female competitors.  She then went on to demolish her previous mark in the long jump by an enormous 26cm distance.  This new personal best of 5.45m, a full 38cm further than she had jumped as of last season, earned her a 9th place finish overall at the meet and lands her the 4th best women's long jump mark in Waterloo history. 
Also in the jumps, Chris Lo(Cambridge ) placed 5th overall in the men's triple jump with a distance of 13.08m.  Chris is currently ranked 23rd in the CIS for men's triple jump. 

The Warrior's pentathletes continued to shine this weekend as well.  Starting their first event at 8:30am on the Saturday and not finishing until 6pm that evening, team captainsChantel Pilon (Trenton) and Justin Conlon (Ayr) as always showed the team what dedication and perseverance are all about.  Both athletes were competing in their second pentathlon in a week, and both athletes scored the highest placing for the Warrior's in each of their events.  Conlon, winning the shot put event amongst the pentathlon competitors, came just short of the podium placed 4th overall in the pent.  While Pilon, running a personal best in the 60mH event, managed to bring home the hardware with an overall 2nd place silver medal performance in the women's pentathlon.  Conlon and Pilon are currently ranked 8th and 10th respectively in the CIS. 

In addition to her grueling day-long pentathlon, Pilon also ran a personal best anchor leg time (25.9s) in the 4x200m relay, helping the women's squad (Tegan Sauer (Kitchener),Jenny Carrique(Kitchener), Naomi Lance (Kitchener),Chantel Pilon (Trenton)) to achieve the best time in Waterloo history in over 10 years (1:43.88s). Third year sprinters Naomi Lance (Kitchener) and Rachel Brown (Cambridge) also had exceptional weekends at the McGill Team Challenge.  Lance started her competition off with a strong performance in the 4x200m relay, then went on to smash her previous 300m personal best time by 0.69s running 41.12s (a total improvement of 1.39s since last year!) in the event to place 16th overall in the field of 80 women.  This time currently places her eighth on Waterloo's all-time performer's list and 13th in the OUA this year.  Brown ran a well-executed 600m race finishing 15th out of 49 competitors with a time of 1:38.34s, placing her 4th on the Waterloo top 10 listing.  Lance and Brown concluded their weekend with stellar performances in the women's 4x400m relay. Lance ran a lifetime personal best and fastest individual split time of 57.8s, while Brown ran a season's best 59.6s helping earn the team (Sauer, Lance, Carrique, Brown) a season's best time of 4:01.30s.  This currently ranks them 7th in the country, and places Lance with the 3rd fastest 4x400m split time in Waterloo history. 

Finally, first years Micah Hesman (LaSalle) and Tegan Sauer (Kitchener) both had promising performances in their first appearances at the meet.  Hesman set three personal best performances his events: 300m - 36.48s, 4x200m split - 22.7s (the fastest for Waterloo), and 4x400m split - 51.9s.  Sauer had the top Waterloo performance in the women's 60m running 7.93s, and ran personal bests in both relay events: 25.9s in the 4x200m and a gutsy lead off 62.0s in the 4x400m. 

Overall the Warriors amassed 18 life time personal bests (LTPBs) and 13 seasons bests (SBs), making the seasons total 65 LTPBs and 29 Sbs! Next weekend, the Warriors will be competing on Saturday February 1st against many of the top schools in the OUA at York University as they continue to prepare for the OUA and CIS championships later this season.  Be sure to look forward to many great results ahead.

 

 

 

Track report from Fred Foot Memorial and Don Wright Challenge

January 20, 2014 

This past weekend the Warrior team split up as the pentathletes tackled the competition at the Fred Foot Memorial on Friday night in Toronto while the rest of the crew competed at the Don Wright Team Challenge Saturday at Western. Still in the early stages of the season, the Warriors continue to show remarkable improvements, boasting 47 lifetime personal bests and 16 season best performances. 
  
The Fred Foot Memorial hosted one of the few pentathlons this season and as a result, drew in many pentathletes from all over Ontario. The large field hosted 15 women and 18 men. First up on the track was the women’s 60m hurdles. Off to a great start was Captain Chantel Pilon, who ran a personal best of 9.76s to achieve 758 points in the event. On the men’s side, Rookie Paulo Miguel fought off the competition, placing 5th overall in 8.99s. Moving onto the second of five events was the high jump competition for the women and the long jump competition for the men. Captain Chantel Pilon soared to a season’s best height of 1.52m in the high jump. In the long jump, Miguel and Conlon jumped 6.07m and 6.06m respectively, jumping before the board on all three of their attempts. This shows promise as with minor adjustments to both of their run-ups, major improvements can be made in this event. Next up in the field was the shot put for both the men and the women. Conlon and Pilon both set respectable marks, putting distances that placed them each third in this event. One of the most impressive results of the night came in the fourth of the five events. In the men’s high jump, Conlon beat out the field winning the high jump with a season’s best jump of 1.88m. With only a half an hour break after the fourth event, it was time for the last event of the night, the grueling 800m for the women and 1000m run for the men. Pilon started the race conservatively, tucking into third place to draft off the lead runners for the first three laps. With 200m to go, hearing the yells from her teammates and coach, she surged into first place and gapped the field by almost 40m in the final 200m of the race. Pilon crossed the finish line in a time of 2:21.53 seconds; close to a two second personal best and added 804 points to her total score. On the men’s side, Miguel ran a strategically strong race from start to finish. His time of 2:57.33s is fifth in UW history and added 691 points to his total score. Overall, all three pentathletes easily surpassed the OUA standards for the event. Pilon recorded a personal best point total of 3317, ranking her third in UW history, only 6 points off of second and 86 points off the record. 
  
The next day the rest of the Warrior crew rose to the occasion at the Don Wright Team Challenge with 12 top three performances. First up on the track was the 60m dash. Rookie Tegan Sauer blew away the competition winning the prelims with a time of 7.94 seconds. Sauer did not disappoint in the final, taking .03 off her prelim time (7.91s) and placed first overall. On the men’s side, veteran Mohammed Yassin easily qualified for the finals with a time of 7.11s. In the final, Yassin battled it out to the finish, pulling ahead at the line, beating out a CIS medalist for a first place finish with a time of 7.04s. 
  
Not to be outdone, Veteran Charles Allan, a long distance specialist, ran a seasons best time in the 1500m with a time of 4:03.31 to place second, edging out two of McMaster’s top runners. 
  
Out on the field, rookie Micah Hesman had a breakthrough in the long jump soaring to a new distance with a personal best leap of 6.17m to place him fourth. 
  
As the day came to a close, the 4 by 200m and 4 by 400m relays were the last, and arguably most exciting events on the track that day. The women’s 4 by 200m relay started things off when rookie Tegan Sauer shot out of the blocks and sped around the track handing off to teammate Jenny Carrique in second place. Carrique raced around the track just behind the first place runner and ran a personal best split of 26.2s. Carrique handed off to Naomi Lance, the third runner for the team, who held her own right behind the first place team, running a personal best time of 25.8s. This time places her 9th in UW history. Lance handed off the baton to Rachel Brown and the battle for first place continued. At 100m to go, Brown was neck in neck with Western’s runner. Down the final stretch, Brown dug deep and sped past Western’s runner to result in a first place finish for the Warriors. 
  
The men proved that they were ready for the relays, running overall season best times in both the 4 by 200m and the 4 by 400m, placing first and second respectively in these events. Highlights from these races include Sam Martinello’s 4 by 200m split, with personal best time of 23.5s and Alex Manuel’s 23.4s 4 by 200m split. 
  
The competition intensifies next week as the Warriors head into Montreal for the McGill team challenge, the biggest indoor meet in the nation. The warriors will look to set impressive marks as they try to qualify for the CIS track and field championships in March.

 

 

Athletes of the Week

 

Paulina Kurevija, Track and Field 01/13/2014

For the second straight week high jumper Paulina Kurevija (Kitchener, Ont.) continued to shine soaring to new heights to claim the silver medal at the Can-Am track and field meet in Windsor.  Her personal best jump of 1.61m edged out some of Canada’s top jumpers en route to the second place finish.  This keeps Paulina’s position as the third best high jumper in UWaterloo history and improves her overall ranking in Canada.

 

 

Warriors shine at 33rd annual Can-Am track meet

January 13, 2014

This past weekend the Waterloo Warriors Track and Field Team traveled to the University of Windsor to compete at the 33rd annual Can-Am Track Classic. The most competitive OUA meet of the season hosted some of the top athletes in the CIS and the Warriors definitely rose to the occasion.
 
Friday evening, rookie pentathlete Paulo Miguel competed in the men's 60m high hurdles, running a new personal best of 8.92 to qualify for the final. The rookie went on to run even faster in the finals; crossing the finish line in 8.85. This performance ranks Miguel as the 5th fastest sprint hurdler in UW history. Miguel has been working hard all season long, and is showing potential to be one of Waterloo's best ever pentathletes in years to come.
 
Day one came to a close with some solid performances from the men's and women's 4 x 200m relay teams.  Tegan Sauer, Monica Januszek, Jenny Carrique (Kitchener), andNaomi Lance (Kitchener) (all from Kitchener) ran for the Warrior women and laid down a 1:45.67. This was good enough to win their heat, and place them 5th overall. Lance and Januszek tied for the fastest splits of 26.0 (a PB for Lance, and a great first ever split for Januszek). Not to be outdone by the women, the Warrior men Mohamed Yassin(Waterloo), rookies Micah Hesman and Samuel Martinello, and Tommy Gingras ran a time of 1:33.68 which was good enough for 4th (and less than 0.2 outside of 3rd) for the Warriors.

Day two of competition saw the Warriors sprints crew storm the track with a flurry of great results. On the men's side Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo) led the way finishing 5th (4thamong University athletes) in the men's 60m dash with a time of 7.06. In addition to his 7.06 in the finals, Mohamed managed a quick 7.02 in the semi-finals. With this time Mohamed is now the 8th fastest 60m runner in UW history. The women's short sprinters qualified two athletes for the semi-final. Rookie sprinter Tegan Sauer led the Warriors running 7.92 in the preliminaries, while second year Sian Smart (Kingston) also qualified for the semi-final with a time of 8.07. Both Sauer and Smart improved on their marks running 7.85 and 8.06 respectively, in the semi-final round, but only Sauer was able to advance to the final. In a lightning-fast race filled with many of the top sprinters in the OUA, Tegan was again able to improve on what was already a personal best and finished 7th in the race (6th among University athletes) with a time of 7.81. This ranks Tegan 7th all time for the Warriors, and with her amazing improvements already (a 0.18 improvement in her 60m time) she has left UW coaches with big expectations heading into the rest of season.
 
The Waterloo Warriors sprinters also found success in the 300m coming home with 3 personal bests. Rookie Sam Martinello ran a tactically smart race and was rewarded with a new PB of 36.59. Veteran Naomi Lance (Kitchener) (Kitchener) dropped an impressive 0.71 seconds off her previous best to finish in a time 41.80 which places her 8th in UW history. Rookie Monica Januszek also ran an impressive 42.31 in her first 300m race ever.

Second year high jumper Paulina Kurevija (Kitchener) continued to lead the Warriors field events crew, taking second place in the women's high jump. Kurevija has shown great improvements to her approach this season, and was able to clear 1.61m (a new PB) without a single miss. Kurevija went on to make a valiant effort at 1.66m; only barely clipping the bar on her final attempt to the groans of her Warrior teammates. Nonetheless, Kurevija's 1.61m jump now ranks her 3rd in UW history. Sian Smart (Kingston) also had a great day in the field, launching herself to a new 12cm personal best of 5.19m in the women's long jump. Smart shocked competition as the only individual from the first flight to qualify for the 8 person final.
 
The meet finished off with arguably the most exciting race of the weekend: the 4 x 400m relay. The men's team scratched due to injuries, but the women rose to the challenge.  Captain Chantel Pilon (Trenton) led the Warriors, setting them up in great position, at the first exchange. Naomi Lance (Kitchener) was up next, grabbing the baton from Chantel in 3rd position, she blasted off, running the fastest leg for the team in 59.3. She then passed off to rookie Monica Januzek who finally gave the baton to Jenny Carrique(Kitchener). Carrique ran an incredibly gutsy leg, holding off challenges from University of Toronto and Western throughout her entire 400m effort. The women finished in an awesome time of 4:01.69 which was 3rd at the meet and second among university teams.


The Warrior crew splits up next weekend with the pentathletes looking to hit great marks at the Fred Foot Memorial Pentathlon while the rest of the team heads off for the Don Wright Team Challenge at Western. 

 

Athletes of the Week

 

Paulina Kurevija, Track and Field 01/06/2014

Paulina Kurevija (Kitchener, Ont.) of the track and field team kicked off her 2014 season in style winning the women’s high jump at the Guelph New Year Opener this past weekend.  In only her second season with the Warriors the honours science student is showing a lot of potential improving on her personal best from last season by 4cm.  Her 1.60m first place jump puts her third all-time on Waterloo’s top 10 list.

 

 

 

Warriors open up track season in style at Western Opener

December 2, 2013

The Waterloo Warriors exceeded expectations this past weekend at the Western Season Opener with 9 notable UWaterloo all-time top ten performances. The meet was the first of the season for the Warriors and it sets the tone for upcoming season.
 
First up on the track was the 60m dash. Rookie Tegan Sauer and veteran Naomi Lance (Kitchener) both ran personal best times of 7.90s and 8.22s, respectively, qualifying for the finals.  In the final, Sauer improved her personal best time running 7.89s placing first, and Lance ran 8.23s placing seventh overall in a field of 21 runners.  Sauer's time of 7.89s places her seventh on the UWaterloo all-time top ten performance list. On the men's side, veteran Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo) and rookie Micah Hesman ran 7.07s and 7.37s, respectively, both qualifying for the finals. In the final, Yassin again ran 7.07s placing second, and Hasman ran 7.41s placing seventh.
 
The Waterloo Warriors also impressed in the 200m.  On the women's side, Tegan Sauer, Monica Januszek, and Naomi Lance (Kitchener) posted the top three times for the Warriors.  Sauer placed first with a time of 26.65s, Januszek third with 26.78s, and Lance sixth with 27.09s.  These times place all three Warrior women on the UWaterloo all-time top ten performance list; Sauer placing fourth, Januszek placing seventh, and Lance placing 10th.  On the men's side, veteran Mohamed Yassin (Waterloo) ran a personal best time of 23.00s placing him first at the meet and fourth on the UW all-time top ten performance list.  These times set a very high standard for the season and show a sign of big things to come from both the men and women sprint specialists.
 
Also on the track was the 600m.  Veteran Rachel Brown (Cambridge) ran a very strong 600m placing fourth with a time of 1:39.74s.  This time places her sixth on the UW all-time top ten performance list.
 
Out on the field, the Warriors success continued. In the high jump, rookie David Nightingale jumped a personal best of 1.90m placing 4th in a field of 12 competitors.  This places him 9th on the UW all-time top ten performance list. In the triple jump, Chris Lo placed fifth with a leap of 13.14m, placing him 10th on the UW all-time top ten performance list.
 
The final event of the day was the 4x400m relay.  The women were first up on the track and the Warrior women ran a solid race.  Rookie Monica Januszek ran the fastest split with a time of 59.2s, helping the team to a second place finish, and placing her ninth on the UW all-time top ten performance list.
 
The Warriors next meet will be the Tenka Classic on January 3rd hosted by the University of Guelph at the Gryphon Fieldhouse.

 

 

2012-13 President's Athlete Academic Honour Roll

Twelve UWTF athletes were honours on September 30th at the President's Athlete Academic Honour Roll reception. Click here for the full story.
 

2013-2014 Recruit Class

 

Warrior track and field head coach Shane Ferth is pleased to introduce several 2013-2014 incoming athletes to the Waterloo program.

 
2013-2014 Waterloo Track and Field Upcoming Athletes:

Women

Name:                   Emma Higgins
Event:                   Sprints/Jumps
Hometown:           Kitchener
School:                  Ressurection Catholic High School
Program:               Applied Health Sciences

Emma comes to UW as an accomplished athlete.  Having dealt with injuries over the past year this will be a re-building season for Emma.  We look forward to having her back at her best as a Warrior.

Name:                   Monica Januszek
Event:                   Sprints
Hometown:           Kitchener
School:                  St. Mary’s High School
Program:               Environmental Studies

Monica will be an asset to our women's team in the sprints and relays. An accomplished athlete in the sport, Monica was an integral part of her schools OFSAA gold medal in the 4x400m relay.   Monica says her most memorable moment on the track was when she improved her 400m time by 2 seconds to win OFSAA West her grade 9 year. 
 
Name:                  Emily Nichols
Event:                   Distance
Hometown:          Bracebridge
School:                 Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes 
Program:              Kinesiology

Looking to assist our distance crew Emily shows a lot of potential in the sport. After trying many events Emily finally found her niche as a mid-distance runner qualifying for the OFSAA Championships in her final school year.

Name:                   Caileigh MacIsaac
Event:                   Sprints/Hurdles
Hometown:           Uxbridge
School:                  Uxbridge Secondary School 
Program:               Arts & Business

Learning from her mistakes Caileigh is most proud of her 2012 OFSAA performance running a personal best after a fall over the last hurdle.  Caileigh believes she is capable of more and is determined to achieve her goals.  

Name:                  Tegan Sauer
Event:                  Sprints
Hometown:         Kitchener
School:                Forest Heights Collegiate Institute
Program:             Applied Health Sciences 

An accomplished sprinter Tegan comes in with much success at the Provincial and National level.  With her experience we believe she will assist our women’s sprints and relays.  She says the highlight of her career so far is her 7th place finish at Youth Nationals in the 100m. 

Men

Name:                  Micah Hesman
Event:                  Sprints/Hurdles
Hometown:          LaSalle, ON
School:                 Sandwich Secondary School
Program:              Applied Health Sciences

Micah comes to Waterloo as an experienced athlete at the OFSAA level.  With numerous top 10 finishes it was his teams silver medal performance in the 4x400m relay of 2012 that he is most proud of.  Micah’s experience will assist our men’s relay teams.

Name:                   Sam Martinello
Event:                   Sprints/Hurdles
Hometown:           Kitchener, ON
School:                 St. Mary’s High School
Program:              Science

Sam comes in to UW as another experienced athlete at the National level.  With major improvements over his last high school season we expect more will come from him.  He says the highlight of his career so far is from his 12th place finish at this year’s Canadian Jr Championships in the 400mH.

Name:                   David Nightingale
Event:                   High Jump
Hometown:          Kitchener, ON
School:                 Woodland Christian High School
Program:              Arts

Looking to assist our jumps crew David shows a lot of potential in the sport. After a successful high school career we believe David has a lot to learn and will make improvements over the season.  His jump of 1.89m at CWOSSA 2012 is one of his most memorable moments coming in to UW.