The St. Thomas University Tommies track team had 13 athletes competing at the Athletics New Brunswick Championships in Oromocto, NB this past weekend.
With just three weeks remaining until the AUS Championships, the athletes are entering their last big training block and making final race preparations. Three other universities, top high school athletes, and other competitors were present to help give the Tommies a good idea of where they stand.
The day began with Hilary McAllen (St. Stephen, NB) and Alaina Mejia (Essex Junction, VT) finishing one-two in the women's 1000m. Alaina then joined the 'B' relay team with Jazna Ward (Miramichi, NB), Julia MacDonald (Miramichi, NB), and Kassidy Richard (Vassalboro, ME) in the 4x200m and running to a solid third place finish. The women's 'A' relay team Hannah Clarke (Amherst, NS), Grace Baker (Liscomb, NS), Kelly Brennan (Burlington, ON), and Sarah Hickman (Middle Sackville, NS) placed first overall, narrowly missing the school record by nine-tenths of a second in a 1:54.62 finish. Following the relay action, Lars Schwarz (Fredericton, NB) set a new school record with a second-place finish in the men's 3000m in 9:13.56, breaking the old record by nearly 15 seconds.
Five women ran in the 60m dash, with Ward and Richard setting new personal bests. Clarke narrowly missed the finals with a solid time, while Hickman and Baker advanced to the finals to finish third and fourth in their age category. On the men's side, Patrice Cammarano (Fredericton, NB) set another solid time while Tristan Sutherland (Miramichi, NB) set a new personal best before taking a third-place finish on the day. Connor Coelho (Richmond, BC) had a new seasonal best in the 800m and MacDonald knocked out a great 600m run. McAllen and Mejia placed second and third in their age category for the 600m to finish the morning events.
The afternoon saw season bests from every one of the 300m runners; Baker, Clarke, Brennan, and Hickman for the women, and Cammarano for the men. Schwarz won the 1500m with a season best in a strong kick to the finish. Hickman and Brennan had the final event of the day, finishing first and second for their age category in the 200m.
"I'm impressed by the hard work that our athletes have been putting in week after week and it showed today," said head coach Nicholas Larade. "We saw many new personal or season bests, as well as a new school record, and this meet is right in the middle of our heaviest training. I can't wait to see what our athletes can do once they're well rested for the AUS Championships."
The teams will head to Halifax this weekend for the Saint Mary's University Athletics AUS Indoor Championships, before having a week off from competition before AUS Championships, beginning February 23rd.