University of Toronto

Sarah Boyle and Kate Ruediger of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues track and field team both reached the podium at the 2009 Canadian track and field championships and world selection trials, June 25-28, at Varsity Centre.

The 2008-09 OUA and CIS women’s high jump champion, Boyle (Scarborough, Ont.) cleared 1.75m on her second attempt to earn the bronze medal in a rain-soaked affair on the final day of competition. Jillian Drouin of Sarnia Athletics and defending champion Nicole Forrester of Mississauga placed first and second, respectively, clearing 1.80m.

Oakville, Ont. native Ruediger also claimed a bronze medal in the 400m with a time of 55.14. Esther Akinsulie of the Ottawa Lions placed first in 52.58, edging out Carline Muir of Legacy Athletics who was second with a time of 52.67. Ruediger also finished sixth in the B final of the women’s 200m.

In the men’s pole vault, 2008-09 OUA gold medalist and CIS silver medalist Jason Wurster and Toronto native Doug Creighton finished tied for fifth place, vaulting a height of 4.60m.

Michael Del Monte (Guelph, Ont.) just missed the final of the men’s 800m, placing ninth in a time of 1:51.93.

University of Toronto Track Club members Mark Dillon and Tyler Koskenoja also reached the podium this weekend. Athree-time CIS champion during his five years as a Varsity Blue, Dillon earned the silver medal in the men’s high jump with a height of 2.15m. Koskenoja placed third in the men’s decathlon with an overall score of 6827. Defending champion Massimo Bertocchi was leading the men’s decathlon but withdrew from the competition due to injury.

Three-time Olympian Paul Williams, U of T’s first CIS athlete of the year Justine Ellison Sharp and decorated football coach Ron Murphy are just three of the 12 Varsity Blues greats, including eight individuals, two builders and two teams, who will be inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday, June 24th.

Williams won two CIAU cross country titles in 1978 and 1980 and competed internationally at the FISU, Goodwilll, Commonwealth and Olympic Games. He is a four-time national champion in the 5000m and in 1984, became the first Canadian to ever run the 10000m in under 28 minutes (27:55).

One of U of T’s all-time greatest female basketball players, Ellison Sharp became the second Varsity Blue to win the Nan Copp trophy as the CIAU’s women’s basketball player of the year. She was named the 1996 Women’s T-Holders female athlete of the year and went on to become the first U of T athlete to win the CIAU’s Howard, Mackie female athlete of the year award (now known as the BLG award).

Murphy spent 17 seasons (1966-82) as Varsity Blues football head coach and is the all-time leader in career coaching victories (93-50-6). Under his guidance, the Blues won league titles in 1967 and 1974, and posted only one losing season. Murphy was named the CIAU coach of the year in 1974, as the Blues were Vanier Cup finalists and set a U of T record for victories which stood until 1993. He served as an assistant coach in 1965 and again from 1986-1993, helping the team win Vanier Cup championships in 1965 and 1993. At the inaugural OUAA Football Legends dinner in 1993, Murphy received the league’s prestigious John S. McManus award in recognition of his coaching contributions to university sport.

Athletes joining Williams and Ellison at the 2009 Hall of Fame induction ceremony at historic Hart House on the U of T’s downtown campus are Olympic sailor Paul Henderson, international fencers Peter Urban and Yoko Ode, female hockey pioneer Helen Murphy, legendary quarterback Eugene Buccigrossi and decorated wrestler Teresa (Piotrowski) Fox.

Murphy and OUA winningest volleyball coach Orest Stanko will be inducted in the builder category, while the 1920-21 women’s basketball and 1954 men’s track and field teams will also be honoured.

The Sports Hall of Fame honours U of T’s greatest athletes and builders. It was established by the T-Holders’ Association in 1987 as part of an ongoing effort to preserve and display the records relating to the outstanding historical tradition of athletic, academic and community leadership fostered by the University of Toronto.

University of Toronto Varsity Blues Jason Wurster and Mark Dillon are two of 29 student-athletes who will represent Canada in athletics at the 25th Summer Universiade, July 1-12, in Belgrade, Serbia. 2009

Wurster (Stevensville, Ont.) led the way for the Blues men’s track and field team in 2008-09 with an OUA gold medal and CIS silver medal in pole vault. He was also named an OUA first team all-star and CIS second team all-Canadian. Most recently, the fourth-year geography major set the second best height in Canadian history (5.50m) at a track and field meet in Rehlingen, Germany, which not only earned him a trip to Belgrade but also met the B standard for the world championships as well.

Recent Varsity Blues graduate and current member of the University of Toronto Track Club (UTTC), Dillon (Bowmanville, Ont.) won three CIS gold medals in high jump (2004, 2006, 2008), one silver (2007) and one bronze (2005) over five years of intercollegiate competition. A recent participant at the inaugural Festival of Excellence, Dillon jumped a personal best 2.25m in Kessel-Lo, Belgium in 2006 and repeated that performance at the 2008 Ontario track and field championships. Highlighting the national selection of 14 female and 15 male athletes is a foursome of 2008 Olympians including hammer thrower James Steacy (Lethbridge, Alta.), 400-metre specialist Carline Muir (Edmonton), high jumper Michael Mason (Nanoose Bay, B.C.), and long jumper Ruky Abdulai (Coquitlam, B.C.)

Another Team Canada member, sprinter Richard Adu-Bobie (Orleans, Ont.), was an alternate for the Canadian 4×100m relay at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The other Team Canada members with FISU Games experience are University of Windsor decathlete Jamie Adjetey-Nelson (Windsor, Ont.), Simon Fraser 1,500m runner Julia Howard (St. John’s, BC), Institute of Technology 800m specialist Rebecca Johnstone (Bowen Island, B.C.), Western Kentucky 200m sprinter Gavin Smellie (Etobicoke, Ont.) and UBC 400m runner Nathan Vadeboncoeur (Vancouver).

Les Gramantik and Ingrid Ruys-George will act as team leader and team official, respectively, while Richard Crevier, Brett Lumley, Carla Nicholls, Dave Scott-Thomas and James Wardle make up the coaching staff. Canada has tallied 59 athletics medals in its history at the Universiade including four golds, 29 silvers and 26 bronzes. The track and field competition is set from July 7 to 11 in Belgrade with one final, the women’s 10,000m, scheduled on day one.

www.varsityblues.ca/news/2009/6/22/MTRACK_0622095734.aspx

Momentum from the speeds ran and the heights jumped at the Festival of Excellence will continue June 25-28 when many of the country’s top athletes meet at Varsity Centre for the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Worlds Trials.The four-day championships, which haven’t come to Toronto in 40 years, will serve as the selection trials to determine who will represent Canada at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, August 15 -23.

Oakville native Josh Cassidy, the reigning Canadian champion in the T54 5000m, is pleased to see the event happen so close to home. “I’m glad that a major track and field event is back in Toronto,â€� he told Athletics Canada. â€�This event will be a great chance to show off the talent of our Canadians to the city, and hopefully make Toronto a spot for larger, international competitions in the future.â€�

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien are among the competitors in the 100m hurdles.

Given the intensity of the face-off between the two at the Festival of Excellence, this is a race not to be missed. Canadian 400m record holder Tyler Christopher, Canadian shot put record holder Dylan Armstrong and Gary Reed, who finished 4th in the 800m in Beijing, are just a few of the elite athletes slated to compete at the meet.

“We’ve set the bar high for high performance track and field at U of T with this incredible summer line-up, including the Canadian nationals,” says Blues track and field head coach Carl Georgevski. “The breadth of the events and levels of athletes using Varsity Centre this year is stellar.â€�

Tickets for the Canadian Track and Field Championships and World Trials are available through Ticket Break.

The line-ups were long and the rain persistent, but the energy at the Festival of Excellence couldn’t have been more upbeat as Usain Bolt and 50 other Olympians wowed a crowd of nearly 6,000 yesterday at Varsity Centre.

The most anticipated event was arguably the men’s 100-metre, featuring the world’s fastest man. Bolt sailed with ease in his now signature style across the finish line in ten seconds flat. His closest competitor, American Shawn Crawford, clocked in at 10.25, with teammate Ivory Williams taking third at 10.28.

While the sea of black and yellow flags suggested the Festival of Excellence was all about Bolt, track and field enthusiasts were equally keen to watch the women’s 100-metre hurdles.  Canadians had a lot to be proud of when Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien led the pack nearly side-by-side until Lopes-Schliep, currently the world’s top female hurdler, powered to the finish line .02 seconds ahead of Felicien, taking top spot in 12.86 seconds.

Canadian Nate Brannen also pulled off a strong first-place finish in the men’s mile, taking a strong lead in the final stretch to come in at 3:55.07.

U.S. decathlete and Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay, known as “the world’s greatest athlete,� took first place in his event, the men’s triathlon (pole vault, 110m hurdles and 400m), with a 40-point lead over U.S. teammate Jake Arnold.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better day,� says Blues head coach and meet organizer Carl Georgevski. “The crowd had a blast, the athletes gave us a great show and the rain only added to the spirit of celebration.� Fans along Devonshire Place may have had the most fun with live bands playing and vendors serving up delicious Jamaican fare, adding to the party spirit.

While Bolt, Clay, Lopes-Schiep and Felicien grabbed headlines around the world, Varsity Blues high jumpers Sarah Boyle and Mark Dillon were stars in their own right, competing in elite fields at the newly-minted stadium. “I feel like the extra pressure was off because we were at home,� says Boyle, who finished fifth. “It’s such a great opportunity that Carl created for us here.�

Toronto’s track and field fans don’t have to wait long for their next fix. Varsity Centre plays host to the Canadian Track and Field Championships, which also serve as the world trials, June 25-28th.

Dean Bruce Kidd, who helped realize the vision of Varsity Centre and is working towards finalizing plans for the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport across the street, was thrilled at what last night meant for sport at U of T.  “We are determined to make Toronto a home once again for excellence in the summer Olympic sports, and tonight is an example of what we can achieve.�

The undergraduate and graduate classes of 2009 celebrated a new phase of their lives on June 5th when they convened at New College’s Wetmore Hall to celebrate their time in the Faculty and acknowledge some standout students.

Graduates Jaymie Sampa and Jake Gallo emceed the afternoon events. Top students were acknowledged during the ceremony while many “what’s next?� conversations took place over refreshments with friends, family, staff and faculty.

Marko Balan had a lot to celebrate as winner of the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology Award, the Governor General’s Silver Medal, the Alumni Scholarship and the Social Sciences and Humanities Awards.

Other awards handed out during the ceremony were:

The J. Harry Ebbs Achievement Awards, presented to students who improved their averages by eight percent or more. The 2009 award winners were Dina Dryden and Eliza Anne-Marie Durward.

The Alumni Shield, presented annually to the most outstanding male and female graduating students on the basis of character, leadership, participation and scholarship. The 2009 winners were Jaymie Sampa and Marko Balan.

The Mavis E. Berridge Scholarship, given to the graduating student with the highest cumulative academic average who has been admitted to the graduate program in the Department of Exercise Sciences at the Faculty. Sarah Charles was awarded with the 2009 scholarship.

 The Barbara Drinkwater Award, which acknowledges the student who is most committed to the advancement of girls and women in physical activity here at the University of Toronto. Venus Shyu was honoured with this award for 2009.

Students who achieve a 3.5 GPA in a recognizable full course load are welcomed into the prestigious R. Tait Mackenzie society. This year’s inductees were Olympian Sarah Charles, Rosanna Dalimonte, Raymond Dang, Marc Andrew Gaudett, Julie Hoang, Alessandra Macri, Desmond Alexander Miller, Shannon Elizabeth Orszulik and Davida Reingold.
 
Graduate students Simon Darnell, Yuka Nakamura, Fergal O’Hagan and Cassandra Wells were also acknowledged for their outstanding scholarship.

When Athletic Centre users pass the display commemorating U of T Olympians, a photo of third-year BPHE student Rosie MacLennan soaring through the air is front and centre. MacLennan lived up to her star status again June 1st when she defeated eleven-time Canadian champion Karen Cockburn at the national gymnastics championships in Hamilton.  

MacLennan finished seventh at in Beijing last summer and has her sights on the 2012 Games in London.  “It feels great to win the title but Karen didn’t have the competition she was hoping for,� MacLennan told reporters after the event. “She messed up a bit in the preliminary round which gave me a bit of an edge going into the final.�

MacLennan has won two world championships in synchronized trampoline with Cockburn. The two are friendly competitors and train side-by -side at Skyriders Trampoline Place in Richmond Hill.  

MacLennan has been balancing her intensive training with her studies at the Faculty of Physical Education and Health. She’s even in school this summer, currently enrolled in a course examining the history of the Olympic Games.

“What an exceptional young woman,â€� exclaimed Dean Bruce Kidd, who is also MacLennan’s instructor the summer course on the Olympics. “Despite the pressure of preparing for a major championship, she has been extremely conscientious about lectures and assignments and thoughtful and considerate in her views. She will become a leader in whatever she chooses.â€�

For more on MacLennan see the Spring 2008 issue of Pursuit magazine.

Eight more Olympians have signed on to compete at the Festival of Excellence at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Centre on June 11th, this time in the men’s and women’s high jump events.

The men’s line-up includes eight athletes who have leapt over 2.30 metres. Among them are current world leader Andra Manson of the United States; fellow Americans Jesse Williams, a close competitor of Manson’s, and Jamie Nieto, who narrowly missed a medal at the 2004 Olympics; Canadian Mike Mason, a former world junior champion; and 2008 Olympian Dusty Jonas.

The women’s high jump event features two-time Olympian Chaunte Howard of the U.S., who has amassed many first-place national finishes in her career and is one of the top jumpers in the world this year. Three-time U.S. Olympian Amy Acuff and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Vita Styopina of the Ukraine round out the top three.

Tickets for the Festival of Excellence are available through www.ticketbreak.com. For event details, visit www.festivalofexcellence.ca.