Burlington, Ont. – The wait has been excruciating. Elite track and field athletes are conditioned to peak for a championship season and after missing out on their dreams in 2021, the province's best competitors are hungry for titles. Fourteen schools will gather at the Toronto Track & Field Centre as York University hosts the 2022 OUA Championships on Friday, March 18 through Saturday, March 19.

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Two years have passed since OUA individual and team champions were last crowned, but some things haven't changed. The Guelph Gryphons women and men enter the season's definitive meet comfortably atop the U SPORTS team rankings. Guelph's recent history of success is incomparable. The Gryphon women have won the last five OUA Championships (eight in total), including the last two national titles. Guelph's men have been equally dominant, taking the past four provincial banners (six in total), while matching their teammates as national champions in 2019 and 2020.

"Our Gryphon student-athletes and our staff are just grateful and excited to be able to have the opportunity to compete at this level once again," says two-time OUA and U SPORTS Coach of the Year Jason Kerr. "With last season cancelled, we have had a significant amount of turnover when it comes to the personnel within our teams, but we are excited for the new flag bearers for our Gryphon track and field program to step up. All of our student-athletes have worked extremely hard in preparation for this weekend, and it will be great to be able to watch them rise to the challenge on the OUA's biggest stage."
 
A deep Gryphons roster looks to add to the trophy cabinet, led by two veteran champions in sprinter Zoe Sherar and thrower Mark Bujnowski. Sherar, a fourth-year tourism and hospitality student and Toronto, Ont. native, was the OUA Female track MVP in 2020. She specializes in the 300m and posted an electrifying time of 37.44 seconds in the event earlier this month at the Windsor Can-Am Classic. The result was the second-fastest time ever recorded by a female Canadian collegiate runner. In 2020, Sherar tallied three gold medals (300m, 4x200m, and 4x400m) to help lead Guelph to its fifth consecutive OUA banner.
 
Bujnowski had similar success in his last championship season, which included winning both the OUA and U SPORTS men's field MVP awards in 2020. The fourth-year agricultural science major from Mount Brydges, Ont. is the current U SPORTS record holder in the shot put event and has a personal-best weight throw of 18.61m, better than the U SPORTS Championship meet record of 18.48m. Bujnowski earned individual OUA gold in the shot put in each of the past three years, including a golden sweep of both throwing events in 2020.
 
Guelph possesses strength in several areas, from a dominant women's sprinting group to pole vaulting, where the Gryphons boast five of the top 12 U SPORTS athletes, No. 1-ranked Mia Rodney among them. The men tallied an incredible 210 points in 2020 and will look to add another title with a young and talented roster that is especially dangerous in endurance events.
 
The Western Mustangs have their own track and field pedigree with 10 OUA men's titles and two women's banners to their credit. The program, which proudly secured silver in both team competitions at the OUA Championships in 2020, is poised to compete for more. The Western
women enter this meet ranked third in the national ranks, while the men sit No. 2 overall in the country, behind only their rivals down Highway 401.
 
"There are two years of anticipation for this season's OUAs, so I think we're all beyond excited," says Western captain and pole vaulter Katy Magoffin. "Everyone's worked through so much adversity these past two years so just to be at this point is unreal. Personally, I can't wait to jump in the OUA atmosphere one last time and join my teammates in cheering each other on."

Fifth-year standout distance runner Kate Current will be one of the Mustangs to watch. The engineering student from Cobourg, Ont. enters her final OUA Championships meet as the top seed in both the women's 1500m (also atop the U SPORTS rankings) and 3000m (second in U SPORTS) events. Current, who started out at Western by running shorter distances, will look to end her decorated OUA career draped in more medals. She earned gold in those two events in 2020, to go along with being named the OUA track MVP. Current has the potential for an incredibly special finale with a number of personal bests and Western records already secured so far this season.

Heptathlete Jared Hendricks-Polack is another Mustang that will pose a problem for his competition. The fourth-year fine arts student from Brampton, Ont. has been a fixture on the podium in recent years, taking silver in the grueling event in 2019 and 2020, including a U SPORTS bronze two years ago. Hendricks-Polack is former team MVP and enters this meet in excellent form, ranking first among all OUA male heptathletes and No. 2 overall in U SPORTS.

Western comes to Toronto this weekend ready to compete. Despite adversity, the Mustangs have set more U SPORTS standards (19) and school records (seven) than ever in the 28-year tenure of head coach Vickie Croley.

"It's really a testament to the student-athletes' character and to their event group coaches that have allowed them to battle all season and be ready for this championship," Croley says.

While it's not exactly home turf, the Toronto Varsity Blues should be well-rested after a short trip to the meet in their hometown. The Varsity Blues, as they do in many sports, have a long tradition of track and field success, with a men's record 45 provincial banners and eight for the women's team. At the last OUA Championships in 2020, Toronto had an exceptional showing – the women took the bronze medal and the men just missed out on the podium after a fourth-place finish. The goal for veteran head coach Carl Georgevski's team is to build on those solid results, and with the women ranked fourth in the U SPORTS Top 10 and the men sitting comfortably at No. 3, medals are well within reach.

Middle distance runner Jazz Shukla is one of the Varsity Blues anchors expected to set the tone at these OUAs. A veteran of four conference cross country championships and two track and field appearances, the fifth-year neuroscience major from Toronto, Ont. comes to the event in peak form. Shukla is the No. 1-ranked Canadian collegiate woman in the 1000m and sits second on the national list in the 1500m. She is no stranger to hardware, having won gold at the OUA Championships in the 600m event back in 2017.

Courtesy of the OUA

The Varsity Blues also feature the top-ranked men's triple jumper in the country in Femi Akinduro. The third-year kinesiology student from Etobicoke, Ont. is the Toronto captain and unquestioned inspirational leader. Akinduro has enjoyed incredible success in his two previous years of OUA competition, sweeping the triple jump gold at the OUAs and national championships in both 2019 and 2020. He has shown the ability to perform at his highest level when it matters most, a characteristic his teammates hope to emulate this weekend. If that happens, Toronto's chances of making the podium in the team competition will dramatically increase.

The Windsor Lancers are in the upper echelon of OUA track and field programs, having won 17 women's banners and 23 by the men throughout the school's illustrious history. The last title came back in 2016 when the Lancer men took gold, so the hunger is there to battle for more medals, especially after each team narrowly missed the podium in 2020.

"We look forward to seeing our team compete this weekend," says Windsor head coach Colin Inglis. "They have continued to rise to the occasion on a week-to-week basis and we're eager to see them improve on their point total from the last championship."

Fifth-year athlete Sydney Pattison has been an outstanding performer throughout her distinguished career. The education major from Rockwood, Ont. is a veteran of the OUA Championships and hopes to go out in style after establishing the school record in the mile this season. Pattison is among a list of all-time Windsor greats, ranking third among the university's best-ever 1000m performances and second in the 3000m.

Thrower Anthony Atkinson is another Lancer focused on the podium. The Chatham, Ont. native and engineering student is in his fourth year at Windsor, with dreams of a medal. Atkinson is a team leader who enters the OUAs ranked second overall in the weight throw and fourth in the shot put.

Noah Leinweber (60m event) and Nojah Parker (personal best pole vault of 4.92m earlier this year) are also expected to perform well at the provincial meet.

The host York Lions are hoping to replicate their performance at the 2020 OUA Championships when the men placed third for a bronze medal and the women, who have two banners in the school's history, came in fourth. York has the top-ranked female shot putter in the country in fourth-year star Kaitlin Brooks. The kinesiology and health science major from Barrie, Ont. took the bronze medal in the event at both the 2019 OUA and U SPORTS meets, including a distance of 14.82m at that year's nationals. Brooks will also compete in the weight throw.

The Lions have another elite athlete in fourth-year long jumper Leah Jones. Another kinesiology and health science student, Jones is ranked fourth among all U SPORTS athletes. She earned a bronze medal at the 2019 OUAs with a jump of 5.80m.

While it's been decades since provincial banners were won, the Waterloo Warriors have had that championship feeling before. The Warriors men (four OUA titles) placed sixth in 2020, while the women (gold medal winners in 1974) finished seventh overall. Waterloo is intent on improving those results.

"We have a very young team this year on both the men's and women's sides," says co-head coach Kate Bickle-Ferth. "Our few returning athletes are top U SPORTS competitors that will lead and mentor the first-year team members through the Championships. We are excited to see what the team can put together at the OUAs and look forward to building our young squad for future years."

Third-year sprinter and team captain Immanuel Onyemah is one of those talented Waterloo veterans. The arts student from Mississauga, Ont. set the school record in the 60m back in 2020 with a time of 6.83 seconds and then surpassed that mark earlier this month running a 6.77.  A member of the 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams, the charismatic Onyemah is the top-ranked 60m sprinter in the OUA and No. 3 overall in U SPORTS.

Waterloo also features the reigning 2020 OUA pentathlon champion in Hannah Blair. The third-year hometown star and kinesiology major is the school record holder in the event. She goes to Toronto this weekend ranked No. 1 in the OUA and third overall in the nation. Like Onyemah, she is also a fixture on the Warriors 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams.

Janelle Clark (2020 OUA long jump champion) will compete in multiple events for Waterloo, while the men have high hopes for two-sport athlete Tre Ford (60m), a strong 4x200m team, and rising first-year athlete Curtis Bovell (long jump and triple jump).

The Rams track and field program is in the process of developing and while team medals may be difficult to achieve, there are some individual talents who can compete with the best in the province.

"The team has some athletes that can challenge for the podium," says head coach Will Lanktree. "By being in this situation, it has allowed our developing athletes to see success and what it takes to be successful."

One of those performers is NCAA transfer Dallyssa Huggins, a Toronto native, who enjoyed an illustrious field career at both Maryland and Iowa. The fifth-year Ram has a championship pedigree, having won the Big Ten indoor high jump and 800m competitions while at Maryland, as well as earning a Big Ten outdoor title in the high jump and third-place finish in the indoor pentathlon at Iowa. Huggins enters the OUAs ranked No. 2 in Canada in the high jump after clearing 1.78m this season.

The Rams will also lean on rookie sprinter Felimon Henok from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The nutrition and food major has improved in every race throughout his first OUA season, achieving a personal best time in his favoured 60m event.

The Queen's Gaels are in a transition year with a nice mix of strong veterans and capable young athletes, all trying to assert themselves in the conference.

"Having been unable to train at any indoor facility has made optimal competition conditions difficult, but the athletes have persevered to produce some good performances," says Queen's head coach Mark Bomba.

Distance runner Kara Blair leads the Gaels in this year's provincial championship. Blair, a fifth-year kinesiology student from Westport, Ont., finished with a silver medal in the 3000m at the 2020 OUA Championships, before taking bronze in the event at nationals that year. Rookie Jude Wheeler-Dee is an emerging star in his hometown of Kingston, Ont. Wheeler-Dee was one of the emerging young runners in the OUA and is eager to test himself among the best at the Championships.

Marvin Zongo is an intriguing young athlete for the up-and-coming Laurentian Voyageurs. The first-year law and justice student from Burkina Faso has been breaking Laurentian jumping records all season long. Zongo has won medals at regular-season meets and enters the OUAs ranked third in the nation in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump.

Fellow rookie Kristen Mrozewski, a nursing student from Sudbury, Ont., has earned two silver medals at meets this season while competing in middle distances. She is one of two Voyageurs women to qualify for the OUAs, while Zongo is one of four Laurentian men attending the Championships. There is great optimism with these two rookies looking like foundational pieces for the future of the program.

Improvement on their 2020 OUA Championships performance is a priority for a talented Brock Badgers team. And the St. Catharines-based university has some of the athletes to do just that.

"Our coaching staff is so proud of the resiliency our athletes have shown in the face of many adversities this season," says head coach Jac Harris. "We look forward to returning to championship season and watching our athletes showcase their talents among the best in the province. Only losing a couple of athletes to graduation at the end of this year, we are excited to see what this young team can achieve in the future."

Harris will expect third-year sprinter Tyrell Smikle to lead the Brock charge. The Community Recreation major from Milton, Ont. holds the school's 60m record with a personal best time of 6.91 seconds. Smikle is a respected team captain and also a member of the Badgers 4x200m relay team that placed fifth at the 2020 OUAs.

Rookie Colton Spencer is another Brock athlete relishing the opportunity to perform at the provincial meet. The kinesiology student and Thorold, Ont. native has impressed in his debut season, ranking ninth among all U SPORTS hurdlers in the 60m event. He registered a strong personal best time of 8.31 seconds.

Veteran Michelle Corallo, a transfer from the Toronto Varsity Blues, will be busy competing in the pentathlon, where she finished seventh overall at the 2020 OUAs, as well as the 60m hurdles and 4x200m relays.

The Lakehead Thunderwolves, McMaster Marauders, Ottawa Gee-Gees, and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks will also be in attendance at the meet.

These long-awaited championships begin at noon on Friday, March 19 with the women's pentathlon. The entire two-day event will be broadcast on oua.tv, while cbcsports.ca and the CBC Gem app will stream the track events.