Thirty years ago marked the first time the University of Windsor held CIAU Track and Field Championships at the St. Denis Centre. With some of the most impressive performances in CIS history taking place this season the March 12th-14th event should bring just as much entertainment and excitement to the CIS Track and Field Championships as it has the past nine occasions it was held in Windsor.

Over the next ten we will be highlighting some of the greatest moments that have taken place at the St. Denis Centre during the 1985, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010 Track and Field Championships leading up to this year's event.

The Double

By Richard Johnston

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After a 5 year hiatus, the CIS Championships were returning to Windsor. Since 2004, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and McGill had hosted the CIS Track and Field Championships and put on excellent events. A Lancer double in 2006, the "Zelinka Show" in 2007 and the Gryphon's first Track and Field team titles as dual Champions in 2008.

With the Championships returning to Windsor, something that has never happened in CIAU/CIS Track and Field history occurred.
Two of the best athletes would be completing their eligibility and a ton of new faces were making their names known.

The last time the CIS Championships were held in Windsor, Jamie Adjety-Nelson would have been a rookie Lancer. Taking the 2008 indoor season off, Jamie was developing into one of Canada's best multi-eventers. Jamie earned a silver medal at the 2008 Canadian Olympic Trials in the Decathlon, held in Windsor. In 2009, he returned to finish his Lancer career. Joined by teammates Derek Watkins and Anthony Dandie the three multi eventers would give Windsor a show on day one.

Fueled by the home town crowd, Jamie and Derek would dominate the rest of the field. Jamie would set another CIS record scoring 4075 points. Derek would finish second with 3807 points, still sitting eighth on the all-time list. Impressive performances were thrown down by each athlete. Jamie's performances of running 8.21 in the Hurdles, 7.25m in the Long Jump and 14.41m in the Shot Put would be key results to his record breaking victory. Derek Watkins would use his High Jumping ability to score 953 points in that single event reaching a height of 2.16m. While not to be overshadowed, Anthony Dandie, a strong Hurdler and Long Jumper in his own right (take a look at the 2015 rankings) would end up finishing fifth with 3515 points. The Lancers had 23 points in the Pentathlon alone.

Another meet record would go down on day one. In the women's 60m Genevieve Thibault from Laval would break the CIS record in the semi-finals running 7.33. Later on that night Genevieve would break it again in the finals running 7.31, a blistering time that would not be beat until the 2014 Championships by York's Kamicha Bingham. Guelph's Miana Griffiths would be right on Genevieve's heels, running 7.38 for the silver medal. Windsor's Noelle Montcalm would claim the bronze in 7.59.

No records were set in the men's sprints, but you did get to witness two CIS greats duke it out in the 60m and 300m. Sam Effah (Calgary/Canada) and Ben Youssef-Meite (Sherbrooke/Ivory Coast) have both represented their respective countries and won medals on the international stage. At the 2009 CIS Championships they would exchange victories and finish runner up to each other in their individual events. Sam would take gold in the 60m running 6.65, while Ben would take the 300m in 33.85. Both athletes would race for their respective schools in the 4x200m.

Sticking to the track, the Guelph Gryphons would show off their distance strength. Lindsay Carson would win both the women's 1500m (4:26) and 3000m (9:39) fairly easily but on the men's side the 3000m would be very tactical. At this point in the meet there were still a lot of events to be completed making the results of this race important to the team standings. Sherbrooke had four athletes, Guelph had three and Windsor had one. The race went out in a very pedestrian 37 seconds. With no one wanting to lead the race they would crawl around the track going through 1000m in 3:07. The race would break up at 1100m with a move by Guelph's Derek Snider. Hammering the final part of the race, the three Guelph athletes Kyle Boorsma, Allan Brett and Derek Snider would cross the finish line sweeping the podium spots. When asked about the race Dave Scott Thomas said "the grins on their faces will stick with me forever".

Speaking of sweeps I am going to move over to the men's field events. Taking place at the exact same time as the men's 3000m, Windsor made the statement of the meet. In the Long Jump competition the Windsor Lancers would take the top five places and score 33 points. Ben Warnock, Jamie Adjety-Nelson, Brayan Patten, Derek Watkins and Anthony Dandie wouldn't post the best jumps of their careers but it would be enough for the incredible sweep. Ben Warnock would win the competition with a distance of 7.19m. The feat will always remain a great achievement to the Windsor Lancers, the athletes who were part of it and Coach Brett Lumley. Accomplishing this in their final year wearing the Blue and Gold capped off tremendous collegiate career's Ben Warnock, Jamie Adjety-Nelson and Derek Watkins. The "Fab Five" took on a new meaning to the Windsor Lancer Track & Field team that day.

Earlier that day, Derek Watkins won the High Jump with a height of 2.18m which ranks fourth on the CIS all-time list. Jamie continued his impressive competition earning a bronze medal in reaching a height of 2.04m. Derek would earn his second gold medal in Triple Jump with a distance of 15.09m.

Dominating the men's throws would be Jim Steacy from Lethbridge. In his final year of competing in the CIS, Jim would win the Shot Put throwing 16.99m. His Weight Throw performance set a mark that is over three metres farther than the next closest individual in meet history. A huge throw of 24.08m would not only set the CIS record but give Jim his fifth CIS title.

As usual, the relays were one of the most exciting races to watch. Seeing four athletes working together to get the baton around the track as fast as possible can be very stressful and exciting for the coaches, athletes and spectators. Getting the exchange of the 4x200m just perfect, having the proper order of athletes and staying out of trouble are just some of the factors for the three races. The Lancer men would be the most consistent team, earning silver medals in all three relays showing some great depth over the three distances. In an incredible 4x800m U Vic would be the class of the field. Clearly ahead going into the final leg, the dramatic battle that would unfold behind the Vikes was exactly what you look for as a spectator at a Championship meet. Calgary's Trent Ratzlaff and Guelph's Dustin Gamble were trying everything to get around Windsor's Nate Reiter. Holding the rail the entire lap, Nate would hold the other teams off for the silver medal. In the 4x200m, coming off an interesting first exchange, York University would have smooth sailing during the rest of the race resulting in a gold medal with Windsor coming in second. Sherbrooke would have a much better 4x400m, leading from start to finish, they would win in a time of 3:16.85 ahead of Windsor. The women's relays also saw three different winners. Windsor women cruised to the gold in the 4x200m and Guelph pulled out the victory in the 4x800m.

Heading into day three the Lancer men had a 50 point lead. Earning a couple more medals only put the icing on the cake en-route to a CIS point record of 145.5. The women's team title, however, was far from being decided at the start of day three. The Lancers had a two point lead over the defending champs, the Guelph Gryphons. Some solid performances on both teams resulted in Guelph heading into the 4x400m relay with a four point lead. The Gryphons would be in the "fast" section and have the advantage of knowing what Windsor had run in the first section. Western University would end up winning the 4x400m relay in the first section with Windsor posting a decent time of 3:53.62. The scenario of having the Championships come down to the 4x400 has happened so often resulting in many epic Championship finishes. In the final results, the Lancers would finish fourth behind Western, Calgary and Sherbrooke running six seconds faster than Guelph whose final placing in the relay would be ninth. With the Gryphons not scoring, the Lancer women would win their eighth team title by a single point.

The University of Windsor were crowned dual Champions for the fourth time. This would also be the first time in CIS history where the host team would win both titles at home making it that much more special.

Men Final Team Standings:
Windsor – 145.5 (CIS point record)
Sherbrooke – 72
Guelph – 57.2

Women Final Team Standings:
Windsor – 91
Guelph – 90
Saskatchewan – 70
Western - 70

Jamie Adjety-Nelson was awarded the Male Athlete of the Meet. Winning the Pentathlon with a CIS record along with medals in Long Jump, High Jump and the 4x200m relay, Jamie also helped score points in the Shot Put and race the heats and finals of the 60m Hurdles. Ending a spectacular career as a Lancer with countless individual and relay medals along with being part of three team titles, it was only fitting for Jamie to finish it off with a bang.

The Female Athlete of the Meet also went to the Pentathlon Champion, Jen Cotton from Western Ontario. Jen won the women's Pent by only 46 points over Regina's Chelsea Valois. That was only the start of the events Jen would compete in. Jen would win the gold medal in the Long Jump with a distance of 5.72m. She would run in all three of Western's relays, placing fifth in the 4x200, first in the 4x400 and eighth in the 4x800m. Scoring two points in the 60m Hurdles and competing in the High Jump made Jen a very busy athlete during the 2009 CIS Championships.

This would be my first CIS Track and Field experience. As a spectator I loved it. Athletes like Jessica Zelinka have attested to the atmosphere and noise that was bouncing off the St. Denis Center walls being incredible, elevating every athlete to run faster, throw father and jump to the best of their ability even if it isn't their home track. Lancer Corner can get to some teams and athletes. Even talking with coaches Bob Vigars and Dave Scott Thomas, both allude to mayhem that is Lancer Corner. I was pumped to be part of it and could not wait for round two in 2010.

Thanks to Dennis Fairall for providing the results. Bob Vigars, Dave Scott Thomas for input and memories.