Recap: Day 3 of the 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships

The Western Mustangs won their second straight men’s title and the Guelph Gryphons earned their seventh title in the last eight years on the women’s side at the 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field National Championship at James Daly Fieldhouse. 

The Gryphons women secured first with 105 points overall, with Saskatchewan earning silver with 79 points. Windsor took home bronze with 70 points. 

The men’s team title was won by the Mustangs in dramatic fashion. An extensive protest in the 4x200 relay resulted in Guelph being disqualified from the race due to obstruction. Originally in first, their DQ shifted them to third with 56 points, propelling the Mustangs from third, with 58 points, to first with 64 after a third-place finish in the 4x200. 

Alberta took silver with 60.5 points on the men’s side, aided by an incredible weekend from Athlete of the Meet Ryder Rattee, who won gold medals in the 300m, 600m and as part of the 4x400 relay.

Sienna MacDonald took home Female Athlete of the Meet honours after a gold, silver and bronze finish. She broke her own U SPORTS record in the long jump for first, hit the world indoor standard in the 60m hurdles in a second-place finish and won bronze in the 60m dash, while also running lead leg for the fourth-place 4x200 relay team.

Guelph’s Jason Kerr was named Female Coach of the Year on the women’s side after another impressive run to gold with incredible depth. Guelph led the meet in points from day one onwards en route to victory. 

The Gryphons were dominant in the sprints, winning the 60m (Gabrielle Cole, 7.20), while going 1-2 in the 300m (Dianna Proctor, 37.52, Cole, 37.73). They also won gold in the 4x400 relay (Cole, Amira Lawrence, Erika Lealess, Proctor), and silver in the 4x200 (Proctor, Cole, Lawrence, Nicole McKenzie). 

Additionally, Jennifer Elizarov won the pole vault (4.30m), and Rebecca Parker got silver in the pentathlon (4,083 points). Lealess also secured third in the 600m (1:30.29).

“Trying to be good over three, five and ten years and not be complacent is incredibly difficult in life and in sport, and we keep trying to do it. With the staff and the athletes, that’s part of the life blood of our program,” said Kerr. 

“We talk about it all the time, and we keep pushing. In one case, we got a championship and in the other case, it was quite bittersweet on the men’s side the way it went, but again, it’s back to practice on Monday, to build towards next year.”

Caroline Ehrhardt of the Mustangs took home Male Coach of the Year honours after a national title in her first year as head coach, taking over from the legendary Vickie Croley.

A four-time U SPORTS champion and record holder in the triple jump, Ehrhardt displayed clear emotion after the meet, preaching the togetherness of the group. 

Western came into nationals ranked No. 4 in the country, but it all came together over the weekend, with four top three finishes, including their bronze medal result in the 4x200 that pushed them ahead of Guelph. 

Jackson Mackay – the Male Rookie of the Year and also the OUA Rookie of the Year in football – secured gold in the heptathlon (U SPORTS record 5,607 points), as did caner survivor Arman Shahzadeh in the long jump. Additionally, David Adeleye secured silver in the 60m hurdles (7.84 seconds), and the 4x200 relay team of Aaron Thompson, Thomas Helland, Deandre Williams and Ayden Blain took bronze in 1:27.26.

Overall, the Mustangs collected points in eight different events.

“It’s a lot of the sideline stuff. It’s not necessarily what’s going on on the track, or the runway and the circle. We do a really good job winning the sidelines. We genuinely want it for each other so bad,” said Ehrhardt.

“That comes through in the way that we’re able to support one another. They’re really able to find the team element of an otherwise very individual sport, and I think that’s what sets them apart. We genuinely want it for each other so bad. We train in close proximity. Our entire team of 100 people train at the same time every day. I don’t think that’s super normal. Constantly being around each other and having that collision of space allows us to have these relationships and dynamics that when we get here, we’re ready to support each other through everything.”

One more record was broken on Saturday, coming in the women’s 4x200 relay, where the Saskatchewan Huskies quartet of Hailee Woodhouse, Emma Egert, Selena Keyowski and Grace Igbiki set a new standard in 1:35.24 for gold. 

That time also set a new Canadian and program record, while the Gryphon’s group of four (Proctor, Cole, Lawrence, McKenzie), finished inches behind in the race of the day, also breaking the prior U SPORTS record time by finishing in 1:35.37.

Other highlights included the men’s 600m, where Male Athlete of the Meet Rattee earned his second of three golds on the weekend. The Canada West champ in the event, he made an incredible kick in the bell lap, passing No. 1 ranked Alejandro Civetta of Manitoba with around 150m to go, finishing in 1:16.75. That time broke a 35-year Golden Bears school record by a full second.

Safwan El Mansari from Ottawa earned silver, passing Civetta in the closing steps, in 1:18.12, with the standout Bison earning his first individual medal, a bronze in 1:18.49. 

“Honestly, at Canada West, I had a way different strategy. I was going to try and go into second off the first lap, and stay there and stick to my positions and cover any moves. But today, honestly I pulled up to the track and told my coach, there’s no plan. I’m just going to race it and see what happens,” he said.

“With 250 to go, I came off the corner and I was feeling good so I just started to move, in a pretty good way. It means a lot [to break the record]. It was a little unexpected, especially given the start of the season, I didn’t want to run anything more than 400. I snuck it in there a little bit as a fitness test. It means a lot. I beat it by quite a bit.”

The men’s 4x200, which ultimately decided the team title after Guelph’s DQ, was also a thriller. 

The host Manitoba Bisons – who finished in fourth in the men’s standings with 55 points, just one shy of third-place Guelph – battled with the Gryphons throughout the race, along with York in a photo finish. 

All three teams finished in sub-1:27, prior to Guelph being disqualified during the first leg for obstruction, with Manitoba’s quartet of Tyrell Davis (also the 60m champion), Noah Curtis, Roy Tambal Musa and Gavin Moore breaking their own school record in 1:26.42.

At the field, Olamide Olaloku notably broke her own Huskies record in the triple jump, earning gold with a top leap of 12.88m, besting her previous record of 12.73, set at the Canada West Championships (that was also a meet record). 

Olaloku passed Mikayla May of Windsor on attempt five, who led entering the round at 12.27. May landed a jump of 12.82 on her final jump to add to a strong showing in silver, and Lancers teammate Chloe Vidamour secured bronze, moving up to third on her final jump of 12.15m. 

In the men’s triple jump, fifth-year Bison Daxx Turner broke the Manitoba senior indoor record of 16.05m, which had been held since 1986. He shattered the record on his last attempt, going 16.17m for his second gold medal result at nationals.

Teammate Adebare Adegbosin won silver, surging into second on his final jump, a personal best of 15.68m, with Lauchlan Irish of Lethbridge earning bronze with a top jump of 15.61 on his fifth attempt. Turner and Adegbosin’s 1-2 finish marked the first time in school history that two Bisons have both finished on the podium in triple jump at nationals. 

In the women’s high jump, Lara Denbow – who along with Turner grew up in small town Neepawa, Manitoba – made it three straight gold medals, reaching 1.73m. She tied with Chloe Zaraska of Brock for first, as they both passed the height on attempt one and missed at 1.76m. Laurie Boisvert took home bronze, landing 1.73 as well, on attempt three.

Denbow made history with her win, becoming the first Bisons female to win three straight individual gold medals.