WINNIPEG, THUNDER BAY – Sports – The Lakehead University Track Team pushed their limits over the weekend at the Bison Open, hosted by the University of Manitoba. “We had some good things happen this weekend especially Saturday afternoon,” stated Coach Kip Sigworth. “I was happy with how the athletes competed in the 600m, 1500m, and 4 X 400m relay”.
Lakehead University was Awesome
“Maxfield was awesome in the women’s 600m – she has had a rough start to the season but let that go and gutted out a very tough run and was rewarded with a massive personal best,” continued Sigsworth. “We have one more meet before a week off heading into the OUA Championships. We still have lots of work to do but we are getting there”.
Heather Maxfield overcame a slow start to the season and an illness and injury plagued January to have a massive performance in the women’s 600m. Maxfield ran a gutsy race from the start, going out hard and hanging on to finish third and break her own school record by almost 4s with a time of 1:32.18. Her time currently ranks second in the OUA and 3rd in the CIS and should earn her a spot at the CIS Championships.
The fourth year event boasted over 450 athletes from eight different universities (Victoria, Lethbridge, Calgary, Alberta, Regina, Saskatchewan, Lakehead University, and Manitoba). There were also numerous club athletes competing from Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan featuring some National team members and CIS medallists from last year.
The women’s 4 X 800m relay team of Danielle Thiel, Vanessa Ivec, Katie Darcis, and Jess Baraskewich battled hard to finish second in a time of 9:39.96.
Also running well were Dylan Brown and Kevin Tree in the men’s 1500m. Both athletes broke the 4min barrier for the first time placing 6 and 7th overall. Both these athletes are currently ranked in the top 15 in the OUA.
Next weekend most of the Lakehead University team will compete in Duluth at St Scholastica’s Lake Superior Challenge while three athletes will travel to Boston to race at Boston University’s Valentine Classic.
