Recap: Day 2 of the 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships

Five more U SPORTS meet records were broken on day two of track nationals at the James Daly Fieldhouse in another busy day of action. 

Keon Rude of Guelph set a new standard in the men’s 60m hurdles, while Sienna MacDonald broke her own U SPORTS meet record in the long jump. 

Additionally, Jackson Mackay of Western obliterated the heptathlon points record, Ryder Rattee of Alberta raised the bar in the 300m and Liv Sands, also of Western, added to an incredible university run in the shotput. 

Mackay, who entered nationals having already passed the U SPORTS meet record in the heptathlon with 5,753 points, cruised to a 326-point victory for gold. He earned 5,607 points over seven events, including 972 in a substantial win in the 60m hurdles, an event he also earned four points for during the individual event earlier in the day. 

Mackay had the top result in four events, and tied for first in the pole vault, capping an incredible season that saw him earn U SPORTS Male Rookie of the Year honours, as well as OUA Rookie of the Year recognition in football, where he shone as a defensive back.  

Mustangs teammate Liv Sands broke the U SPORTS meet record twice during the shotput competition, throwing past the prior best of 17.56 on her third, and sixth throws. The top toss came on her final throw, at 17.67m, breaking Brittany Crews’ national standard of 17.56, set in 2019. 

Meanwhile in the long jump, MacDonald capped off a decorated university career by establishing a new U SPORTS best on two separate attempts, shattering her own meet record of 6.25m from the year before. 

She leaped 6.34m on her second attempt, and 6.36 on attempt five to earn gold. Hannah Hagerty of Saskatchewan earned silver with a top jump of 6.12 on attempt five and Maoly St-Germain of Sherbrooke won bronze at 6.10. Just prior to that, MacDonald also hit the world indoor standard in the 60m hurdles in a time of 8.02 seconds in the prelims. 

“It’s a good way to end my U SPORTS career,” smiled MacDonald, who also won gold in the long jump, 60m hurdles and pentathlon the last time Manitoba hosted nationals two years ago.

“I think my mindset going into a lot of events is to have fun. I’m a little bit different to most of my competitors in that way. I keep it serious when I need to, but I like to be un-serious. I was standing on the long jump runway before I started, and I was just dancing and singing. I enjoy the process, and I know if I take myself too seriously, that’s when things go wrong. I’m here to have fun, to do what I can and live in the moment.”

On the track, Alberta’s Ryder Rattee established a new national standard, hitting the finish line in 32.75 seconds, besting former Golden Bear Austin Cole’s U SPORTS record of 32.89 seconds from 2019. 

Meanwhile in the 60m hurdles, Rude crossed the line in 7.75 seconds for gold. It was his second medal of the weekend, after a bronze in the 60 on night one. His time bested that of former Griffin Craig Thorne, who had the prior record of 7.77 seconds in 2023. 

David Adeleye from Western surged to silver in the event in 7.84, with Samuel Pinceau of York rounding out an OUA top three in 7.90.

Rude’s standout performance highlighted a stellar day two for the Griffins, who lead in the women’s standings, 12 clear of second-place Western, with 66 compared to 54. On the men’s side, Western is up by one point on Guelph, at 45-44, with seven scored events to go tomorrow.  

In the men’s weight throw, Laval’s Abdellah Hassar secured his second national gold in the last three seasons (both won at the University of Manitoba), surging into first on his sixth and final toss of 19.10m.

It was a season’s best throw, passing Jason Okpere of Toronto, who led prior to the final round with a throw of 18.86 on attempt four. Sander Sampson of Alberta took home bronze with a throw of 17.88m on attempt five. 

The men’s 1000m final saw OUA champion Noah Costa of Windsor take home first in 2:23.45. Seeded eighth coming into the nationals, he broke away from the pack around 500m in to take gold. Emile Toupin of Laval claimed silver in 2:24.22 with Lukas Rudaitis of Dalhousie earning bronze in 2:24.42.

“Even though I was seeded eighth, I felt like my ranking should have been a little higher. I hadn’t lost a 1K the whole year, so I was coming in pretty confident and with a lot of momentum,” said a candid Costa. 

“Coming in and preparing, I was just thinking about all the younger guys at the school and doing it for them to inspire the guys, and hold control of the race and not let anybody take it from me.”

“We always do kick finishes at the end. I’ve always felt super confident in my kick. I feel like no one can out-kick me in my race,” he added. I knew if I was there with 150 to go, I could win it.”

In the women’s 1000m, Alberta’s Olivia Cooper – seeded fourth entering the competition – secured gold in a thrilling finish at the line. Cooper led for most of the race, with Toronto’s Julia Agostinelli surging ahead during the bell lap. 

In a photo finish, Cooper overtook her to secure first in 2:44.90m, with Agostinelli just behind in 2:45.01. Isabella Goveia rounded out the medalists with a bronze in 2:46.26. 

One of the must-see events coming into Friday was the women’s 60m hurdles, featuring two of the world’s best in Saskatchewan’s Nicole Ostertag and Calgary’s Sienna MacDonald. The pair didn’t disappoint, crossing the line in 8.05 and 8.06 seconds in the final. 

Ostertag – who set a Canada West championship record in a gold medal time of 8.07, was even faster than that in the U SPORTS final, barely edging out MacDonald – the U SPORTS record holder in the event (7.99). Kimoya Edwards from Lethbridge took home bronze in 8.33 seconds.

Other highlights from day two included first-place finishes from Toronto’s Aiden Grout in the high jump, earning his third national gold with a top leap of (2.18m), as well as Western’s Arman Shahzadeh in long jump (7.56m) and Sophie Coutts in the 3000m. (9:55.66). 

Shahzadeh thrilled the crowd by moving into first on his final jump, just ahead of McGill’s Robert Gerstner, who finished in silver with a top jump of 7.46m.

Meanwhile, Queens’ Jude Wheeler-Dee won gold in the 3000m (8:16.66) and Guelph’s Dianna Proctor finished first in the 300m (37.52). In the 4x800 relay, Windsor’s women were golden (8:47.62), as was UNB on the men’s side (7:29.41). 

The action concludes tomorrow, beginning at 12:30 pm with the women’s triple jump.