Canadians to watch at American university indoor championships
The NCAA division one indoor track and field championships, a two-day event, begins Friday in Alabama and features several Canadian collegiate athletes.
The American university top tier national championships, officially known as the NCAA division one indoor track and field championships, begin today in Birmingham, Ala. It will feature some of Canada’s top collegiate athletes.
The event is being hosted by Samford University at the Birmingham CrossPlex Centre, a world class facility with a 200m banked track. A full start list of Canadian runners can be found at the bottom of this page.
Fourteen Canadians are entered in either sprint or distance events including several in the men’s and women’s distance medley relay.
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Friday’s track action begins at 6:30 p.m. EST with the semi-finals of the men’s mile. Ottawa’s Adam Palamar, who represents Syracuse University, is the lone Canadian in the event. He’s the Canadian outdoor 1,500m junior record holder.
Full schedule (.pdf)
Live results
A photo posted by Annie LeBlanc (@anniethewhite) on
North Dakota State University’s Erin Teschuk, a senior from Winnipeg, is the only Canadian competing in two individual events, the mile and the 3,000m. She’s the top returning runner in the mile from last year’s championships and is well-ranked in the 3,000m.
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Syracuse University’s Justyn Knight, one of Canada’s most promising distance talents, has set university records in three events this season and is coming off a victory at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships, the prelude to NCAAs.
He is focusing on the 3,000m rather than the mile or 5,000m, both events he’s run well in so far in 2016.
Robert Heppenstall, two weeks removed from a Canadian junior indoor record in the 800m, will run his marquee, four-lap event for Wake Forest University. He’s only a freshman (first-year athlete).
On the women’s side, Annie Leblanc is slated to run two events including the 800m and the distance medley relay (DMR) with the University of Oregon.
Canadians in running events
Women
Shaina Harrison, Syracuse – 60m
Micha Powell, Maryland – 400m
Annie Leblanc, Oregon – 800m, distance medley relay (DMR)
Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State – Mile, 3,000m
Taylor Sharpe, Florida – 4x400m relay
Sage Watson, Arizona – 4x400m relay
Jaimie Phelan, Michigan – Distance medley relay
Madeline Price, Duke – Distance medley relay
Men
Brendon Rodney, Long Island University – 200m
Robert Heppenstall, Wake Forest – 800m
Adam Palamar, Syracuse – Mile
Justyn Knight, Syracuse – 3,000m
Brandon McBride, Mississippi State – 4x400m relay
Robert Denault, Villanova – Distance medley relay
*Distance medley relay is a 4,000m race split up into four legs: 1,200m, 400m, 800m, mile.
Canadian Running will be tweeting notable results from the event on Friday and Saturday. Make sure to follow us on Twitter.
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