U of T excelled at the annual Sharon Anderson track and field meet on Saturday, January 7 at the Athletic Centre Field House.

The competition included hundreds of collegiate athletes from across Ontario as well as participants from various track clubs.

U of T athletes performed well on home turf, winning a number of individual and team events.

Senior high jumper Laura Maessen cleared a personal best of 1.74 m in the women’s competition to take first place. Maessen won the bronze medal at the 2011 CIS track and field championships in the same event.

“I just [focused] on running fast and having a perfect takeoff. [I] tried not to put any pressure on myself to clear the bar because as soon as you do that, it’s all downhill,” said Maessen.

Maessen’s record-setting performance qualifies her for the CIS championships in March.

Returning from a two-year hiatus due to injuries, Katie Housley claimed her first win of the year, clocking 3:07.38 in the 1000 m.

The Blues runner led the pack for most of the five-lap race, crossing the finish line less than a second ahead of her closest competitor.

“I felt like I needed to win for myself, just to feel like I was getting back into shape and getting back to where I was before I got injured,” explained Housley. “I’m happy that I won but I still have a lot of work to do.

“The 1000 m is somewhat long distance, but you still need your speed. You need to find the perfect balance between how fast [you] can go and how fast [you] can go without tiring too quickly.”

Also placed in the points were Chisomo Mchaina, who finished third in the women’s 60 m dash, and Chris Johnson, who took fourth over the same distance in the men’s event.

It was a good day for U of T’s hurdlers, with Varsity Blues athletes claiming both the men’s and women’s 60 m events.

Varsity Blues athlete Rachel Jewett swept the field in the women’s 60 m hurdles, bettering her preliminary time and prevailing in 9.35 seconds. Daniel Chan won the men’s 60 m hurdles with a time of 8.24 seconds.

In addition to the Varsity Blues athletes competing, a number of members of the University of Toronto Athletics Club took part in events at the meet. Two such participants,  Brandon Wilson and Stu Pearson, rounded out the 60 m hurdle podium with second- and third-place finishes.

Another top performance from a U of T Athletics Club athlete came from Mark Dillon, who placed first in the men’s high jump competition, clearing a height of 2.15 m. Teammate Haoran Yu ranked second, clearing 2.01 m. Varsity Blues athlete Brett Georgievski tied for third in the same event.

The Blues accomplishments at the meet were not limited to individual events. U of T’s sprint crew put in a number of commanding performances, with gold medals in both the men’s and women’s 4 × 400 m relays. The men’s relay team also won the 4 × 200 m event.

The Blues travel to the University of Windsor next weekend for the Can-Am Track Meet.