U Sports track and field 2019 preview

Happy U Sports week, track and field fans. The national championship is getting underway this Thursday in Winnipeg, and it’s set to be a great event. 

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We’ve got Canadian record holders, defending champions and rising stars set to toe the line this weekend. On top of all that, there’s a team title up for grabs for the most dominant program in Canada. You can catch the event live on Trackie.ca. Things get underway Thursday afternoon with the 60m hurdles and 600m heats. 

Women’s 600m

The women’s 600m is pretty open ended. With last year’s defending champion Kelsey Balkwill of Windsor out of the picture, there will automatically be a new reigning champion. The title will likely be a contest between Olivia Romaniw of Guelph and Julianne Labach of Saskatchewan. Romaniw’s got the better seed time, but based on how Labach has run in other events, she’s likely got more in the tank than her 1:29.99 shows. 

1 – Julianne Labach – Saskatchewan
2 – Olivia Romaniw – Guelph
3 – Jenna Smith – Guelph

Men’s 600m

Jack Berkshire is leading the men’s 600m. The Toronto runner, who’s only in his first year of competition over the distance, was second at OUA’s to Ottawa runner Stephen Evans. The two, who are seeded one-two in the event, will face off again at the national championship. 

1 – Jack Berkshire – Toronto
2 – Stephen Evans – Ottawa
3 – Michael Petersen – Western

Women’s 1,000m 

The women’s 1K is going to be one of the most exciting races of the championship. The timed final sees defending champion Julianne Labach up against Canadian record holder Jenna Westaway. Westaway and Labach competed against each other several weeks ago in Boston, where Westaway set the Canadian record. However, Labach had already run an 800m earlier that same day and was only two seconds behind the new record holder. Friday’s race is sure to be a tight one. 

1 – Jenna Westaway – Guelph
2 – Julianne Labach – Saskatchewan
3 – Olivia Romaniw – Guelph

Men’s 1,000m

The men’s 1,000m doesn’t have a standout, but what it does have is a very tightly-packed field. Seeds one through eight are within a second and a half of each other, so this race is a tough one to call. Hudson Grimshaw-Surette has been very consistent this season, winning the AUS championships two weeks ago. There he beat the second seeded athlete in the event, Andrew Peverill of St. Mary’s. 

1 – Hudson Grimshaw-Surette – Dalhousie
2 – Andrew Peverill – St. Mary’s
3 – Ben Devito – Toronto

Women’s 1,500m

The women’s 1K will be an exciting event, but the 1,500m is arguably the event of the championship. This race is stacked with some serious talent–50 per cent of this field has represented Canada. Labach is attempting the U Sports triple, which is certainly no easy feat, Westaway is racing and our pick for the win, but she will surely be challenged by Saskatchewan’s Courtney Hufsmith. 

1 – Jenna Westaway – Guelph
2 – Courtney Hufsmith – Saskatchewan
3 – Aurélie Dubé-Lavoie – Laval

Men’s 1,500m

The men’s 15 will be a race between Kevin Roberston, Andrew Peverill and Craig Klomp. All three men have run within a second and a half of each other and had strong performances in their respective conferences. 

1 – Kevin Roberston – Montreal
2 – Andrew Peverill – St. Mary’s
3 – Craig Klomp – Toronto

Women’s 3,000m

Courtney Hufsmith of Saskatchewan is the favourite heading into the championship. The third year student has been dominant on the Canadian running scene for several years now, and is looking to claim her first U Sports 3K title. 

1 – Courtney Hufsmith – Saskatchewan
2 – Jessy Lacourse – Laval
3 – Danielle Jossinet – Guelph

Men’s 3,000m

The men’s 3K is another event to keep an eye out for. There’s a lot of talent in this field, including multi-time OUA gold medallist Jack Sheffar, Pan Am gold medallist Jean-Simon Desgagnes, AUS cross-country champion Angus Rawling and U Sports cross-country bronze medallist Russell Pennock. 

1 – Jack Sheffar – Western
2 – Jean-Simon Desgagnes – Laval
3 – Russell Pennock – Calgary