VANCOUVER – On their home track, before a large contingent of Thunderbird fans at the UBC Open, several members of the UBC track and Field team booked their tickets to the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championship to be held May 25-27 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Runners, jumpers and throwers have the duration of the season to meet either the NAIA 'A' or 'B' standards for qualification. A student-athlete with an 'A' standard will qualify automatically, whereas the head coach will have to choose three women and three men who have made 'B' standard.
Two Thunderbird veterans got the good times rolling on Saturday as both
Sandra Kilmartin and
Lukas Jarron nailed 'A' standards in the 800m and easily won their races. Both had already qualified for the 1500m in a previous meet.
Later on, T-Bird training partners
Brianna Cairns and
Nicole Lacis finished 1-2 in the 1500m by a healthy margin. Both were well under the 'A' standard time and will run in Gulf Shores in late May.
"It's comforting," said Lacis. "It's a good push because if you're training with them in practice and you know they're pushing harder, you can push as hard as they can."
The mixed 5000m race saw four Thunderbird student-athletes hit the 'A' standard.
John Gay and
Jesse Hooton for the men, while
Enid Au and
Natalia Hawthorn will also represent the 'Blue and Gold' at the NAIA Championships.
"We'll be grinding it out in the Alabama heat," said Hawthorn. "This is good early season practice."
Au, who turned heads with a fourth-place finish at the 2016 NAIA Championships in her freshman year, is looking to step things up in 2017.
"I'm hoping for a podium finish," said Au. "I'm going to try and be hopeful and see where my fitness takes me this year."
The pleasant surprise of the day went to a pair of freshman javelin throwers for the 'Birds. Both
Isaac Sandri and
Roan Allen qualified for the NAIA Championship with throws of 57.41 and 57.33 respectively.
The annual home meet for the Thunderbirds was very successful day; according to head coach
Laurier Primeau.
"The team continues to elicit strong early season performances led by our veteran endurance athletes. Brianna and Nicole started things off by punching their tickets to Nationals in the 1500, while Enid, Natalia, Jesse and John finished things off by surpassing the A standard in the 5000 meters. Sandwiched in the middle of the meet we had some great rookie performances in the field, with Isaac and Roan throwing the automatic standard for NAIA's."
Primeau was also quick to praise his fellow coaches for such great early season results.
"Each of our coaches had athletes achieve lifetime bests today. I think that speaks volumes to their coaching ability and their genuine concern for the welfare of those under their charges."
The remaining UBC Open events conclude Sunday, April 2nd at the Rashpal Dillon Oval at UBC.
List of UBC student-athletes who made NAIA 'B' standard at UBC Open
Bogdan Pavel – 110m Hurdles (m)
Tanyaradzwa Motsi – 110m Hurdles (w)
Nicola Symonds – 800m (w)
Max Trummer – 1500m (m)
Olivia Campbell – Long Jump (w)
