NORTH YORK, Ont. - The two-day OUA track & field championships wrapped up Saturday with the Laurier Golden Hawks delivering one of the strongest championship performances in program history at the meet hosted by the York Lions at the Toronto Track & Field Centre.
Laurier qualified 23 athletes - the largest contingent the program has sent to the OUA championships - and recorded 16 personal-best performances across the competition.
The men's 4x200-metre relay produced Laurier's top result of the meet, finishing fourth in a highly competitive field while setting another school record.
Declan DiFrangia delivered a strong opening leg despite battling a sore leg, handing off to Etua Kaddu to maintain momentum. Nathan Hehn and Miles Gulas closed out the race, combining for a time under 1:29 to lower the program mark when it mattered most.
Hehn added an individual fifth-place finish in the 600 metres in just his second race at the distance this season, establishing a new school record.
Alyssa Zinn also set a program record in the women's 600 metres, placing sixth.
In total, Laurier placed six athletes among the top 24 in the province in the 600.
The women's 4x400-metre relay delivered another memorable performance, breaking the school record once again while competing out of the second section.
The quartet led through 200 metres and won their section decisively by nearly 10 seconds.
Ciahan Malone posted the team's fastest split at 58.2 seconds, followed by Chloe Poulter (59.2), with Anisah Sabree and Zinn each clocking 58.6-second legs.
Laurier also earned seventh-place finishes in both the women's 4x200 and 4x800 relays. The 4x200 team of Neve Rye, Abby Byers, Poulter and Malone overcame adversity when Poulter collided with another athlete who drifted into her lane, regrouping to finish strongly.
In the 4x800, Sabree, Piper Lafayette, Zinn and Nicole Schindler combined for the fastest time ever recorded by a Laurier women's team at the distance - six seconds quicker than the previous program best - averaging 2:20 per leg. Coaches highlighted the closing efforts of Zinn and Schindler in particular.
The men's 4x400 relay placed eighth in a deep field. Miles Gulas opened the race, followed by Nolan Kuhlberg and Finn Moore, who posted his fastest split of the season at 49.6 seconds. Hehn anchored in 48.2 seconds, closing the gap to make for a tight finish.
Sise Aroloye rounded out Laurier's top-eight performances, finishing eighth in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 6.76 metres.
The men's 4x800 relay crossed the line eighth but was later disqualified following an exchange-zone infraction. The team featured Chad Thorpe, Tyler Klazek, Ian Young and Kuhlberg.
