The Gee-Gees team kicked off Day One of the OUA Track and Field Championships with two podium finishes and a strong performance in day one of the men's heptathlon.
Tolu Makinde got the day started for the Gee-Gees when he began his competition in the men's heptathlon. Makinde, a Management Master's student, placed second in the 60m, earning 806 points. He followed that up with a jump of 6.07m in the long jump, adding 602 points, bringing his total to 1408 after the first two events of the heptathlon. During the shot put Tolu's best throw was 10.44m, allowing him to maintain his third place standing. He ended day one with a jump of 1.70m the high jump competition adding 544 points, bringing his total to 2464 after day one, and finishing the day in second place. Makinde will complete the heptathlon with the 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000m events tomorrow.
The Gee-Gees started off strong on the women's side as well with two athletes qualifying for the finals in the women's 60m hurdles. Tania Bambi ran a seasonal best of 8.58 in the preliminaries to qualify for the final where she ran 8.63 to finish fifth overall. Keira Christie-Galloway ran an 8.45 in the prelims and then ran a personal best of 8.31 in the finals, which won her a silver medal. The time also sets a new Gee-Gees program record, breaking Devyani Biswal's mark from 2017.
Tyler Dacosta, a second-year physics and electrical engineering student, competed on the men's side of the 60m hurdles and finished in 10th place overall with a time of 8.95. Stephanie Gould, a second-year commerce and accounting student, qualified for the semifinals in the 60m with a time of 7.73, a new personal best, and 9th overall. In long-distance competition, Alex Berhe finished 6th overall in the men's 3000m despite being seeded in first in his heat.
In the field the Gee-Gees competed in the women's shot put competition earning eighth and ninth place finishes. Grace MacMillan-Sayer, a first-year criminology student, finished with a best throw of 10.89m for ninth place, while second-year social sciences student Christina Hertner qualified for additional throws and ended the competition in eighth place with a best throw of 11.91m.
The Gee-Gees day ended with the women's 4x800m relay where Sophia Skorenky, Maeliss Trapeau, Samantha Klus, and Madison Clarke represented the women's team. Skorenky started off fast and lead the race through the first 500m, until Guelph took over the lead. Skorenky handed off to Trapeau who regained the lead for the Gee-Gees until her last turn of the track. As Trapeau handed off to Klus Toronto snuck into second place leaving the Gee-Gees sitting third. With a great effort from Klus and finisher Clarke, the Gee-Gees maintained third place to finish on the podium winning a bronze medal.
In the team standings, on the women's side the Gee-Gees finished out day one in sixth place, while the men finished in ninth. The Gee-Gees will be back at the track tomorrow to finish off the OUA Championships and to add to their medal count after day one. Field events begin at 9 a.m. with track events getting underway at 11:35 a.m. and will be live streamed on oua.tv.
Gee-Gees Top Results Day One:
(* Personal Best)
(** Program Record)
Women's 60m Hurdle Preliminaries
Men's 60m Hurdle Preliminaries
Women's 1000m
20th - Alexandra Menard - 3:08.52
Men's 1000m
Women's 60m Hurdle Final
Women's 60m Preliminaries
Men's 3000m
Women's 300m
Women's 4x800m
Women's Shot Put
9th - Grace MacMillan-Sayer - 10.98m
