SASKATOON – Dawn Richardson Wilson broke a school and conference record to headline a strong final day of action by the University of Calgary Dinos track & field team Saturday afternoon from the 2023 Canada West Championships, hosted by the Saskatchewan Huskies inside the Saskatoon Field House.

The Dinos finished the two-day championship meet by bringing home bronze on the women's side with a final score of 91 points. The host Huskies claimed their fifth-straight title with 171 points, and Alberta finish as runners-up with 142.

On the men's side, Calgary finished in sixth place with 55 points across the 17 events. Manitoba brought home this year's title with 148.5 points, followed by Alberta (128.5) and Saskatchewan (102.5).

Richardson Wilson stole the headlines with a head-turning performance in the women's 60m. The rookie opened prelims by tying the Dinos school record in 7.51 seconds before shattering both Amonn Nelson's previous school record and the Canada West record with a blazing time of 7.34 seconds in finals to bring home the gold medal. 

Calgary had a pair of scorers in the women's triple jump. Stephanie Okhiria had a breakthrough performance with a big season-best leap of 11.70m to bring home silver Saturday. Teammate Madison Kane-Rissling also scored on the afternoon, taking eighth at 11.26m.

Alexis Johnson brought home her second medal of the weekend with a runner-up finish in the women's weight throw. Johnson had a toss of 16.08m on her fifth attempt to coast to the silver medal.

On the men's side, Hussein Alwazan finished fourth for the Dinos in shot put at 14.29m, while Tristan Friesen also brought home points with a seventh-place finish at 13.17m.

Calgary's mid-distance squad once again had a strong performance. Kai Spierenburg (1:20.72) and Victor Gouttin (1:20.73) had a photo-finish for fourth and fifth place in the men's 600m, and Manbir Briar just missed a scoring spot, crossing the line in 1:23.59 for ninth.

Marine Wassmer did well on the women's side, finishing second in her heat and seventh overall in 1:35.85 for another scoring spot for the Dinos.

Calgary added one more medal in the relay events. The men's 4x400m squad of Devon Zuchotzki, Gouttin, Harman Kailey and Spierenburg combined for a silver with a time of 3:19.60 to punch their ticket to nationals. Earlier, Zuchotzki and Kailey were joined by Abodunwa and River Sanoy to claim fourth in the 4x200 relay in 1:30.04.

The women's 4x4 squad of Georgia Oland, Wassmer, Emma Parnetta and Kristen Fox finished fourth overall in 3:58.67. That came after Richardson Wilson, Parnetta, Natasha Gatzke and Fox crossed the line second overall in the 4x200m relay, but were disqualified after the conclusion of the race for an infraction.

Calgary will now have two weeks to gear back up for a return trip to Saskatoon for the 2023 U SPORTS National Championships, scheduled for March 9-11.


2023 CANADA WEST MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Women's Championship: University of Saskatchewan Huskies
Men's Championship: University of Manitoba Bisons 
Track Athlete of the Year – Women: Kendra Farmer – University of Saskatchewan 
Track Athlete of the Year – Men: Tristan Allen – University of Manitoba 
Field Athlete of the Year – Women: Madison Lawrence – University of Manitoba 
Field Athlete of the Year – Men: Daxx Turner – University of Manitoba 
Outstanding Performance of the Meet – Women: Jinaye Shomachuk – University of Lethbridge 
Outstanding Performance of the Meet – Men: Usheoritse Itsekiri – University of Regina 
Rookie of the Year – Women: Lauryn Morris – University of Lethbridge 
Rookie of the Year – Men: Tegra Jan-King – University of Alberta 
Coach of the Year – Women: Jason Reindl – University of Saskatchewan 
Coach of the Year – Men: Claude Berube – University of Manitoba 
Assistant Coach of the Year – Women: Sabrina Nettey – Trinity Western University 
Assistant Coach of the Year – Men: Mingpu Wu – University of Manitoba 
Student-Athlete Community Service Award – Women: Kendra Farmer – University of Saskatchewan 
Student-Athlete Community Service Award – Men: Jake Neufeld – University of Saskatchewan 

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

Men
1. Manitoba Bisons – 148.5 points
2. Alberta Golden Bears – 128.5
3. Saskatchewan Huskies – 102.5
4. Regina Cougars – 83 
5. Trinity Western Spartans – 76.5
6. Calgary Dinos - 55
7. Lethbridge Pronghorns - 33
8. Victoria Vikes - 29 

Women
1. Saskatchewan Huskies – 171 
2. Alberta Pandas – 142 
3. Calgary Dinos – 91 
4. Manitoba Bisons – 75 
5. Regina Cougars – 66 
6. Victoria Vikes – 39 
7. Lethbridge Pronghorns – 34 
8. Trinity Western Spartans – 23 
9. UBCO Heat – 3 

DAY 2 RESULTS

Women's Weight Throw
1. Jinaye Shomachuk (18.90m) - Lethbridge Pronghorns
2. Alexis Johnson (16.08m) - Calgary Dinos
3. Jennifer Weber (15.66m) - Saskatchewan Huskies

Men's Triple Jump
1. Daxx Turner (15.06m) – Manitoba Bisons
2. Michael Alajiki (14.56m) – Trinity Western Spartans
3. Lauchlan Irish (14.49m) – Lethbridge Pronghorns

Women's High Jump
1. Madison Lawrence (1.72m) – Manitoba Bisons
2. Chelsea Ells (1.69m) – Saskatchewan Huskies
3. Kianna Cadman (1.69 m) – Saskatchewan Huskies

Men's Shot Put
1. Joshua Suelzle (15.01m) – Manitoba Bisons
2. James Wiatr (14.57m) – Alberta Golden Bears
3. Myles Quick (14.49m) – Saskatchewan Huskies

Men's High Jump
1. Tegra Jan-King (2.07m) – Alberta Golden Bears
2. Daxx Turner (2.00m) – Manitoba Bisons
3. Keon Nurse (1.97m) – Alberta Golden Bears

Women's Triple Jump
1. Autumn Cole (12.23m) – Alberta Pandas
2. Stephanie Okhiria (11.70m) – Calgary Dinos
3. Erika Stockhorst (11.58m) – Regina Cougars

Men's Heptathlon
1. Brandon Gremaud (4997 points) – Trinity Western Spartans 
2. Max Speiser (4880 points) – Manitoba Bisons 
3. Masson Altrogge (4862 points) – Saskatchewan Huskies

Women's 60m
1. Dawn Richardson Wilson (7.34) – Calgary Dinos
2. Daniele Dyck (7.52) – Saskatchewan Huskies
3. Catharina Kluyts (7.57) – Alberta Pandas

Men's 60m
1. Usheoritse Itsekiri (6.65) – Regina Cougars
2. Storm Zablocki (6.76) – Regina Cougars
3. Jordan Soufi (6.77) – Manitoba Bisons

Women's 600m
1. Kendra Farmer (1:30.32) – Saskatchewan Huskies
2. Avery Pearson (1.30.68) – Saskatchewan Huskies
3. Grace Cook (1:33.32) – Alberta Pandas

Men's 600m
1. Tristan Allen (1:18.89) – Manitoba Bisons
2. Dawson Mann (1:19.48) – Manitoba Bisons
3. Adam Mytopher (1:19.93) – Regina Cougars

Women's 4x200m Relay
1. Saskatchewan Huskies (1:38.72)
2. Calgary Dinos (1:39.70)
3. Alberta Pandas (1:41.45)

Men's 4x200m Relay
1. Regina Cougars (1:28.76)
2. Alberta Golden Bears (1:29.13)
3. Manitoba Bisons (1:29.52)

Women's 1500m
1. Jennifer Erickson (4:28.89) – Victoria Vikes
2. Jenna McFadyen (4:28.91) – Saskatchewan Huskies
3. Delaney Chan (4:32.54) – Victoria Vikes

Men's 1500m
1. Nicholas Cook (3:52.85) – Alberta Golden Bears
2. Ron MacLean (3:53.22) – Alberta Golden Bears
3. Jonathan Podbielski (3:53.47) – Regina Cougars

Women's 4x400m Relay
1. Saskatchewan Huskies (3:46.85) 
2. Alberta Pandas (3:49.55)
3. Manitoba Bisons (3:58.95)

Men's 4x400m Relay
1. Manitoba Bisons (3:19.33) 
2. Calgary Dinos (3:19.60)
3. Alberta Golden Bears (3:21.23)

Men's Pole Vault 
1. Spencer Allen (4.83m) – Alberta Golden Bears
2. Jaime Eduardo Martin (4.58m) – Trinity Western Spartans
3. Benjamin Zubaly (4.48m) – Trinity Western Spartans

-UC-