CALGARY – Despite the chilly weather outside, things are starting to heat up for the Dinos, both on the track and in the field. Since the start of the competition season in December, we have seen some very promising performances on the women's and the men's sides.
Although a number of valued senior athletes graduated as of last year, there is still a great amount of depth within the team, and many are ready and willing to step up and fill the holes which have been left behind.
The Golden Bear Open, hosted by U of A, was the first chance for the Dinos to confront their Canada West competition. As head coach
Doug Lamont said, “There were good results all around, and we have a good idea of what we need to do to be successful in the upcoming meets.”
On the men's side, the team was led by
Michael Saizew winning the 600m with a top CIS time,
Adam Wasylyshyn winning the 1000m, and
Scott Nicol winning the 3000m. Although he did not compete at the Edmonton track meet,
Sam Effah is once again atop the CIS leader board, and will play an important role for the Dinos in the individual events, as well as on the relay.
On the women's side, the team was led by
Debby Querengesser in the 3000m,
Jamie Waine in the Weight Throw, and
Amonn Nelson, who achieved a CIS leading time in the 300m. The Dinos have quite a history of fielding some of the best relay teams in the country, and this was shown once again at the U of A field house. Both men's and women's 4x200m teams came out on top, as well as the men's 4x400m.
The Dinos have a number of meets coming up in the next few weeks as they prepare themselves for Canada West, and CIS competition. Once again, it looks like it's going to be a strong year for Dinos Track and Field, and the Canada West gold is definitely on the agenda.
The team heads to Winnipeg for the Bison Classic this weekend, with a couple of other meets to follow through February. The Canada West championships go Feb. 27-28 at the Butterdome in Edmonton, with the CIS championships in Windsor, Ont. for the second straight year March 11-13.
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