The ultimate U Sports conference predictions

It’s conference championship week in Canada. On Friday and Saturday of this coming weekend, track and field runners across the country will lace up and toe the line in hopes of competing two weeks later at the U Sports Championships in Edmonton.

RELATED: Impressive indoor results from across the country

The 2020 U Sports track and field conference championships are taking place in four venues (one for each U Sport conference) across the country on the weekend of February 21-22. Here are the Canadian Running predictions for the OUA, AUS, RSEQ and Can West championships.

AUS

The most dominant AUS middle distance runners this season have certainly been Jane Hergett of St. FX and Hudson Grimshaw-Surette of Dalhousie. Both will likely be the top performers at next weekend’s championship. Hergett currently sits sixth nationally in the 1,000m, 11th in the 600m and ninth in the 1,500m. Grimshaw-Surette is currently ranked second in the men’s 1,000m.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8AiI_5n7E6/

Women’s 600m

First – Janet Hergett, St. FX
Second – Catherine Kennedy, St. FX
Third – Robyn Davis, UNB

Men’s 600m

First – Ben Perrett, UNB
Second – Quinn Alexander, St. FX
Third – Tyler Adams, UNB

Women’s 1,000m

First – Jane Hergett, St. FX
Second – Aidan MacDonald, St. FX
Third – Bhreagh Burke, St. Mary’s

Men’s 1,000m

First – Hudson Grimshaw-Surette, Dalhousie
Second – Andrew Peverill, St. Mary’s
Third – Adian Goslett, Dalhousie

Women’s 1,500m

First – Bhreagh Burke, St. Mary’s
Second – Hannah Cormier, UNB
Third – Paige Chisholm, St. FX

Men’s 1,500m

First – Andrew Peverill, St. Mary’s
Second – Hudson Grimshaw-Surette, Dalhousie
Third – Michael Colford, UNB

Women’s 3,000m

First – Hannah Cormier, UNB
Second – Catherine Thompson, Dalhousie
Third – Emily Hamilton, Dalhousie

Men’s 3,000m

First – Isaac Cull, UNB
Second – Callum Drever, Dalhousie
Third – Will Cox, Dalhousie

RSEQ

The RSEQ got shaken up over the weekend with killer runs from some of Laval’s athletes. Université de Montreal had been dominating the league before the fast times dropped by Jean-Simon Desgagnes and Jessy Lacourse in Boston. Laval got a slower start to their season but they showed over the weekend that they’ll be ready when it counts.

Jean-Simon Desgagnés enregistre un chrono de 7:53.21 (PB) sur 3000m à Boston ce qui représente un nouveau record du Québec (@Athl_FQA), du @RSEQ1 et du @rougeetor. Thomas Fafard complète l’épreuve en 7:56.99 (PB) et occupe maintenant le 4e rang au classement all-time du Québec. pic.twitter.com/56zJsQR1gD

— Felix A Lapointe (@CoachLapointe) February 16, 2020

Women’s 600m

First – Jade Bouchard-Nguyen, UdeM
Second – Genevieve Paquin, UdeM
Third –  Audrey Jackson, UdeM

Men’s 600m

First – Sebastian Saville, Laval
Second – David Gendreau-Fillion, Laval
Third – Zakary Mama-Yari, UdeM

Women’s 1,000m

First – Jade Bouchard-Nguyen, UdeM
Second – Emma Dagenais, Laval
Third – Audrey Jackson, UdeM

Men’s 1,000m

First – David Gendreau-Fillion, Laval
Second – Kevin Robertson, UdeM
Third – Raphaël Giguère, Laval

Women’s 1,500m

First – Jessy Lacourse, Laval
Second – Catherine Beauchemin, Laval
Third – Laurianne Lépine, UdeM

Men’s 1,500m

First – Kevin Robertson, UdeM
Second – Jean-Simon Desgagnes, Laval
Third – Xavier Bertrand, Laval

Women’s 3,000m

First – Jessy Lacourse, Laval
Second – Catherine Beauchemin, Laval
Third – Marie-Lyssa Lafontaine, UdeM

Men’s 3,000m

First – Jean-Simon Desgagnes, Laval
Second – Thomas Windisch, Sherbrooke
Third – Jonathan Tedeschi, Laval

OUA

In the OUA, Guelph has been overwhelmingly dominant but the Toronto women’s team is coming together. While it’s unlikely that they’ve got the power to upset Guelph, they’ll be able to at least keep things interesting.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8aGJbmnnVV/

RELATED: Lucia Stafford breaks Gabriela DeBues-Stafford’s U23 national record

Women’s 600m

First – Jenna Smith, Guelph
Second – Sadie-Jane Hickson, Guelph
Third – Madison Clarke, Ottawa

Men’s 600m

First – Jack Berkshire, Toronto
Second – Levar Russell, York
Third – Joshua Lorentz, Waterloo

Women’s 1,000m

First – Lucia Stafford, Toronto
Second – Avery Garrett-Patterson, Toronto
Third – Sydney Pattison, Laurier

Men’s 1,000m

First – Alec Purnell, Guelph
Second – Rohan Nowbotsing, Toronto
Third – Ryan Korol, McMaster

Women’s 1,500m

First – Lucia Stafford, Toronto
Second – Kate Current, Western
Third – Kara Blair, Queen’s

Men’s 1,500m

First – Alec Purnell, Guelph
Second – Alex Drover, McMaster
Third – Marcel Scheele, Western

Women’s 3,000m

First – Kate Current, Western
Second – Hannah Woodhouse, Guelph
Third – Lizzy Laurie, Laurier

Men’s 3,000m

First – Alex Drover, McMaster
Second – Mitchell Ubene, Guelph
Third – Mitchell Delange, Queen’s

Can West

Can West will be the Calgary show on the men’s distance side (the 2018 and 2019 U Sports Cross-Country champions). For the women, it’ll be a battle between Calgary and Saskatchewan. The two teams are only separated by four points in the national rankings.

Women’s 600m

First – Olivia Cooper, Alberta
Second – Madeleine Browne, Calgary
Third – Courtney Hufsmith, Saskatchewan

Men’s 600m

First – Vaughn Taylor, Victoria
Second – Brent Stephen, Calgary
Third – Sajjan Sarai, Victoria

Women’s 1,000m

First – Courtney Hufsmith, Saskatchewan
Second – Olivia Cooper, Alberta
Third – Chloe Hewitt, Victoria

Men’s 1,000m

First – Eric Lutz, Calgary
Second – Simon Berube, Manitoba
Third – Robert Chauvet, Alberta

Women’s 1,500m

First – Kaitlin Swartz, Alberta
Second – Emily Simpson, Calgary
Third – Kaityln Harrison, Calgary

Men’s 1,500m

First – Eric Lutz, Calgary
Second – Ron MacLean, Regina
Third – Timothy Longley, Victoria

Women’s 3,000m

First – Kaila Neigum, Regina
Second – Caitlin Mann, Victoria
Third – Allison Grajczyk-Jelinski, Saskatchewan

Men’s 3,000m

First – Matthew Travaglini, Calgary
Second – Brandon Vail, Victoria
Third – Russell Pennock, Calgary