Toronto women, Windsor men aim for third straight banners at U SPORTS Track & Field Championships

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – The Toronto Varsity Blues women and Windsor Lancers men will look to successfully defend their team banners this week at the 2017 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: http://www.trackie.com/USports/TNF/Rankings/?lang=fr

The three-day event, hosted for the ninth time by the University of Alberta, gets under way Thursday at 10 a.m. Mountain Time, with the U SPORTS Track & Field season awards.

The competition kicks off shortly after at the Universiade Pavillion with the first final, the women's weight throw, set for 2:30 p.m. The national meet concludes Saturday afternoon with the 4x400m relays. A full schedule is below, with webcasting available at USPORTS.LIVE.

Last year, Toronto and Windsor both repeated as U SPORTS champions at York's Toronto Track & Field Centre, with the Varsity Blues earning 99 points and the Lancers tallying 93, both ahead of Guelph's 85 (women) and 79.5 (men).

The Varsity Blues lead the women's Top 10 heading into the national championship, but it is the OUA champion Gryphons – who swept both conference banners - that have a hold on top spot in the men's rankings.

In the remaining conference championships two weeks ago, the Trinity Western Spartans (men) and Alberta Pandas (women) claimed the Canada West titles – the Spartans earning their first in program history, and the Pandas defending their title – while Laval and Sherbrooke each took home their third straight men's and women's RSEQ championships respectively. The Dalhousie Tigers rounded out the gold medalists – the men with their 15^th in 16 seasons, and the women their 28^th consecutive first-place finish.

Following are the key athletes to watch at the U SPORTS Track and Field Championships

OUA

"I'm confident the hard work that has been done during the past seven months will pay off," said Toronto head coach Carl Georgevski. "We have an extremely dedicated and committed team that is ready to compete to the best of their abilities."

"We have had a great season so far with well over 100 personal best, and many top 10 all-time performances, along with four school records in the women's shot put, men's weight throw and both pole vault events," said Windsor acting coach Kevin DiNardo. "We are going in to the U SPORTS Championships looking for a podium finish against tough competition, and excited to see what individual performances will be pulled out as a result of being at the big show in Edmonton."

CANADA WEST

"We're certainly excited for this year's Championships from an individual and relay perspective. After winning our first ever Canada West championship on the men's side, there seems to be an extra jump in our athletes' steps," Trinity Western head coach Rob Pike. "After a challenging season – largely due to the snowy weather keeping us from training on our outdoor track – the conference result is a testament to how hard the guys have worked this year and over the past few years. With some of top athletes on both the men's and women's sides really finding their form in recent weeks, there's plenty of optimism that we'll be able to make some noise in a variety of events."

RSEQ

"Our goal for the men's team will be to finish on the podium in the team standings for the first time in school's history, after two years in a row among the top five," said Laval head coach Félix-Antoine Lapointe. "The fight is likely to be very tight, while Guelph seems to be in a class of its own and is likely to win. It is difficult to predict who will finish second and third between Windsor, Western, Toronto and Laval. To do so, our impact athletes will have to confirm their excellent provisional rankings. Everyone will have to raise their level a notch because every point will be important."

AUS

PAST MEN'S U SPORTS CHAMPIONS

PAST U SPORTS CHAMPIONS

U SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS

2017 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (Livestream available at USPORTS.LIVE)

Thursday, March 9

10 a.m.             U SPORTS season awards (male and female Track and Field Athletes of the Year, Rookies of the Year, Student-Athlete Community Service Awards)
2:30 p.m.          Weight Throw (W)
3:00 p.m.          60m Hurdles (W) Pentathlon
3:15 p.m.            60m Hurdles (M) Heptathlon
3:45 p.m.           High Jump (W) Pentathlon
4:00 p.m.           Long Jump (M) Heptathlon
5:15 p.m.             Shot Put (M) Heptathlon
6:00 p.m.           60m (W) Heats
6:10 p.m.            60m (M) Heats
6:15 p.m.            Shot Put (W) Pentathlon
6:30 p.m.           High Jump (M) Heptathlon
6:45 p.m.          Opening Ceremony/Anthem                              
7:00 p.m.            60m (W) Final
7:10 p.m.            60m (M) Final
7:30 p.m.            Long Jump (W) Pentathlon
7:30 p.m.            600m (W) Heats
7:45 p.m.            600m (M) Heats
8:00 p.m.            4x200m (W) Heats
8:20 p.m.            4x200m (M) Heats
8:45 p.m.            800m (W) Pentathlon

2:00 p.m.        Weight Throw (M) Final
3:30 p.m.       60m (M) Heptathlon
4:30 p.m.       Pole Vault (M) Heptathlon
4:30 p.m.       60m Hurdles (W) Heats
4:45 p.m.        60m Hurdles (M) Heats
5:00 p.m.        Long Jump (W) Final
5:00 p.m.        High Jump (M) Final
5:00 p.m.        1000m (W) Final
5:10 p.m.         1000m (M) Final
5:30 p.m.        60m Hurdles (W) Final
5:40 p.m.        60m Hurdles (M) Final
5:50 p.m.        300m (W) Heats
6:05 p.m.        300m (M) Heats
TBD                 100m (M) Heptathlon
6:30 p.m.       Pole Vault (W) Final
6:30 p.m.       3000m (W) Final
6:50 p.m.        3000m (M) Final
7:00 p.m.        Long Jump (M) Final
7:00 p.m.        Shot Put (W) Final
7:40 p.m.        300m (W) Final
7:50 p.m.        300m (M) Final
8:00 p.m.       4x800m Relay (W) Final
8:15 p.m.         4x800m Relay (M) Final

Saturday, March 11
12:30 p.m.      Triple Jump (W) Final
12:30 p.m.      Pole Vault (M) Final
1:15 p.m.          600m (W) Final
1:30 p.m.        600m (M) Final
2:15 p.m.         4x200m Relay (W) Final
2:25 p.m.        4x200m Relay (M) Final
2:30 p.m.        High Jump (W) Final
2:45 p.m.        Triple Jump (M) Final
2:45 p.m.        Shot Put (M) Final
2:45 p.m.        1500m (W) Final
3:00 p.m.       1500m (M) Final
4:00 p.m.       4x400m Relay (W) Final
4:15 p.m.         4x400m Relay (M) Final
5:00 p.m.         Championship Award Presentations (male and female MVPs of the meet, Coaches of the Year)