The Varsity Blues track and field team put in a stellar performance at the CIS championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba last week.
The women’s 4×400 m relay team broke the CIS track and field championship record in a time of 3:41.47. Alicia Brown, Rachel Jewett, Fiona Callendar, and Sarah Wells beat the previous record of 3:45.83, set by U of T in 1998. The Blues also broke the 4×400 m record at the OUA championships last month, in a time of 3:49.29 to smash the record by over five seconds.
BERNARDA GOSPIC/ THE VARSITY
Alex Witmer led the men with a 2.04 m to take silver in the men’s high jump. The event winner, from the University of Saskatchewan, cleared the same height but did not miss an attempt to beat the Blues’ athlete into second. Three Blues athletes, Laura Maessen, Shaneista Haye, and Rachel Jewett, finished fourth in the women’s event.
Distance runner and U of T sports superstar Tamara Jewett won the women’s 1500 m in a time of 4:25.97. Jewett finished second at the OUA championships, behind McMaster runner Katie Anderson, but finished ahead of the same competitor to earn CIS gold.
Both the men’s and women’s teams finished seventh in 4×800 m relay action.
Rachel Jewett also won an individual medal, taking the bronze in the women’s pentathlon. She won the same event at the OUA championship, and was named field events female MVP.
The Blues finished fourth in the women’s standings, with the University of Windsor taking the championship for a fourth succesive year. The men finished 11th, with the Western Mustangs topping the standings for the first time in their history.
—Murad Hemmadi
