event in Oromocto (Shane Farnham/AQ)
It was a day of personal best’s, fast pace, long distance, and pure determination. The St. Thomas University Track and Field team met in Oromocto on Saturday for a final tune-up before the AUS championships in Moncton this weekend.
Overall they finished as the 5th place team out of 21 participating.
Juliana Duque ran among the first events in the 60-metre sprint finishing in 9.29 seconds and the 400-metre dash in 51.41. Duque then went on to Shot Put 7.93 metres.
The stage was then set for Ashley Swinton of British Columbia who ran the 600-metre in 1:59:75, as well as the 300-metre in 49.07.
Marie-Pier Levesque ran the 800-metre in 2:45.68, and Katie Cameron showed great pace finishing the 1500-metre in 5:29.99.
Julia Ramsey showed great skill and strength by throwing 8.90 metres in the weight toss, as well as 9.32 in the Shot Put.
The men’s side also showed what all STU members had been training hard for these past few months. Paul Nozicka and Andrew Vail both raced in the 1500-metre. Nozicka finshed in 4:22:22, and Vail finished in 4:38.67.
The 3000-metre was competed by Dalton Stewart, Kirk Girouard, and Captain Nathan Paton. Stewart jumped out to an impressive start and finished in 10:10:34. Girouard and Paton both stayed neck and neck before finishing just over the 11-minute mark.
Jon Gionet then came on showing us why he spends 3-hours per day at the gym. Gionet sprinted the 60-metre in 7.97 seconds. He then Shot put 12.07 metres and went 10.74 metres in the weight toss.
The men continued their impressive contribution when Brendan Bannister finished the 300-metre in 44:31 as well as the 800-metre in 2:18:27. Several members of both the men’s and women’s team placed well enough to be handed medals in the top three. With the Tommies finishing strong, the list for those competing against other Atlantic Universities is all but finalized.
Coach Scott Davis now turns his attention toward the weekend circled on everyone’s calendar since day one of training camp. “Going into this weekend, STU will have its largest and best track and field contingency ever.” Davis said with excitement. “We were missing 4 of our top athletes, Cody McKay ran the 600-metre in 1:28 which ranks him top 5 in the AUS.
The Tommies gear up to travel to Moncton and stare down the opportunity to compete at CIS national competition in Edmonton, Alberta.
