Cougars track and field team end season on a high note
Becker’s school record-breaking jump was one of the highlights of this season./ Arthur Ward
Joy Becker was just one of many Cougars who had great seasons
The University of Regina Track and Field team’s season finally ended a few weekends ago at the CIS National Championships in Windsor, Ontario, capping off a fantastic season for our Cougars. Capitalizing off what might have been their best meet of the season at the Canada West Championships two weeks prior, the Cougars left their mark as they left everything on the table to cap off the University of Regina winter sports season.
Speaking of the Canada West Championships, here’s Sports Writer John Loeppky’s piece on how the Cougars dominated that meet!
Day one of the CIS National Championships meet started out with Rams defensive back and star sprinter Tevaughn Campbell bringing home the silver medal in the 60-metre dash. That might have been their only medal of the day, but a number of other Cougars athletes put in impressive performances, including Adrea Propp placing fourth in the 600-metre dash preliminaries and both 4×200 relay teams putting forth good finishes.
Day two featured more solid performances by the Cougars, including another fourth-place finish by Propp in the 300-metre dash, but day three is where another medal came into play, when the men’s 4×200 relay team comprised of Campbell, Kahlen Branning, Ian McLellan, and Connor Bloom had a school best finish, earning another silver medal.
Overall, the Cougars men’s team finished eleventh and the women’s team finished twelfth overall out of 19 schools, capping off a fantastic year for them. Being able to hold their own with the biggest schools in Canada at the highest level is something to be proud of, and should give them momentum as they continue to practice over the summer in anticipation of the start of the 2015-16 track and field season.
In addition to these results, I was also able to talk with long jumper and relay participant Joy Becker about the season that her and the rest of her teammates had this season.
“My whole season up to CIS was fantastic. I jumped farther at the beginning of the season than I had before in previous years. So, having a good start to the season kind of set my pace and what was my expected performance of when I ‘peaked’.” Becker stated.
“I finally hit the six-metre mark in long jump which has been my goal ever since I started at the U of R. Overall, I am super excited and satisfied with my season and it was bittersweet getting to compete with all of the fifth-year athletes who I have learned so much from.”
Finally, I asked Becker about what we can look forward to next season from her and the Cougars Track and Field team, and it seems that this is only the beginning for them.
“I think next season is going to be another good one. I was battling with my back this whole season, so hopefully I can get that fixed up for next season,” Becker told me.
“I think ensuring that I am healthy and just sticking to the training I have been doing should set me up for some big jumps next year.”
So, with that, another Cougars athletic season is over, but this one ended on a very high note, and based off the quotes given by Becker, these guys and girls are more than ready to top those results next season.
