SASKATOON – Competing with a full squad for the first time this season, the Calgary Dinos track & field team shined at the annual Sanderson Classic inside the Saskatoon Field House Friday and Saturday.
In all, Calgary racked up 15 top-three finishes over the two days of action, headlined by a trio of Dinos punching their tickets to the U SPORTS Championships.
Tatum Wade led things off with a big showdown in the 600m, dropping nearly five seconds off her season-opening time to cross the line in 1:30.81 – a U SPORTS auto standard to guarantee her return to nationals. Wade also did well in the 1000m, finishing in 2:51.54. Both times rank her fourth overall in nation, thus far.
Noel Vanderzee was next up. The reigning national champion in men's high jump wasted no time in clinching his return to the big stage, opening the season with a winning leap of 2.10m – breezing past the U SPORTS auto standard of 2.05m. The Dinos dominated the event on the day, with rookie
Colby Sych clearing every bar on his first attempt before ending his day at 1.97m for second, while
Dominic Anamali tied for fourth at 1.93m.
The final U SPORTS standard of the weekend came in arguably the most thrilling event of the weekend. Calgary's women's 4x200m relay squad of
Georgia Oland,
Dawn Richardson Wilson,
Hannah Hurtubise and
Kristen Fox combined for a winning time of 1:41.40 – a mere one one-hundredth of a second ahead of host Saskatchewan's top foursome for the win.
The big weekend continued for Oland and Richardson Wilson. The duo finished 1-2 overall in two individual events, with Oland (39.13) getting the edge in the women's 300m while Richardson Wilson (7.51) topped the field in the 60m.
Tristan Friesen continued the winning ways for the Dinos in the men's shot put. The third-year thrower had a big toss of 15.59m on his second approach to take the win, opening the season with a big personal best set previously at last year's national championships.
Also turning in top-three finishes on the weekend were
Ethan Parnetta (men's 300m; 35.69),
Ethan Meyer (men's 1500m; 3:58.50),
Reagan Bliss (women's high jump; 1.63m),
River Sanoy (men's long jump; 6.82m),
Raluca Badau (women's pole vault; 3.40m) and the men's 4x200m relay squad that placed second in 1:30.98.
Up next, the Dinos will head north next weekend for the annual Golden Bear Open in Edmonton, starting Friday.
-UC-
