Hassam Munir
Sports and Health Editor
The 45th annual York Open was held on campus at the Toronto Track and Field Centre on Saturday, and the Lions’ decorated track and field team did not disappoint on home ground. The Lions won eight gold medals and several silver medals, and 12 graduating student-athletes were honoured before the competition began.
It was a particularly great morning for thrower Brittany Crew, who achieved a 19.38-metre distance in the women’s weight throw, setting both a York and a York Open record. Later in the day, she followed up 17.78-metre throw in women’s shot put, setting a personal best, school record, meet record, and venue record.
Crew’s teammate Chris Preece, also a thrower, placed first in the men’s weight throw and also set a new personal best of 19.33 metres.Nick Fyffe and Samuel Adams contributed two more gold medals to the Lions’ tally by coming in at first place in the men’s triple jump and men’s pole vault events, respectively. Joining Fyffe on the podium was teammate Richard Jansen, who came in at second place.
Meanwhile, Holly Pitters landed 5.88 metres away from the line in the women’s long jump to win a gold medal and beat the runner-up by 20 centimetres.
On the race track, the team of Bismark Boateng, Dereck Djan, Daniele Orsini, and Brandon Shokour ran in the 4×200 relay, narrowly defeating the Western Mustangs to come in at first place. Boateng had some individual success as well, coming in second in the men’s 300-metre race in the impressive time of 34.50 seconds.
While many of the Lions had medals and records to celebrate, all of the Lions and the fans in attendance honoured this year’s 12 graduating student-athletes. The athletes included pentathlete Tracey Edwards, jumpers Matthew Barclay and Richard Jansen, sprinters Colin Phillips, Evander Cobbold, Sheereen Harris, Ayo Agusto, as well as Preece and Boateng.
Although they have all made an impact in their time with the Lions, Agusto, Boateng, and Harris stand out as particularly decorated student-athletes. Agusto is one of the fastest men in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport, has won multiple Ontario University Athletics and CIS gold medals, and earned first-team OUA all-star and CIS all-Canadian honours. He has also been actively involved in the York community.
Harris is the reigning national champion in the women’s 300 metre and has won back-to-back CIS gold medals in the relay while being widely honoured in the OUA and CIS. She has maintained outstanding academic achievement in her years at York and currently serves as the president of the York Sport Council as well.
Boateng is the reigning provincial and national champion in the men’s 60 metre and was an important contributor to the Lions’ CIS national title in 2014, leading to his bronze medal in the 300 metre and a pair of gold medals in the relay. He has also earned OUA and CIS honours and represented Canada at the International University Sports Federation Summer Games in South Korea in 2015.
Though there is already much to celebrate, the Lions’ track and field team can’t rest just yet. Many of the athletes have already qualified to take part in the upcoming OUA Championships in Windsor in late February and the 2016 CIS Track and Field Championships, which will be hosted by the Lions in March.
