By Dale Miller
They came, they saw, and they did pretty much what they planned to do.
There were no surprises for the track and field team at an unremarkable Canada West Championships with the women and men taking second and third respectively.
“We realistically did all that we could,” said pentathlete Samantha Anderson, who got two silvers and two bronzes at the meet. “Saskatchewan got us in the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions–they have way more depth than we do.”
Head Coach Doug Lamont mirrored Anderson’s feelings and added some thoughts of his own about the men.
“We competed to the best of our abilities and Saskatchewan competed beyond our abilities,” said Lamont who projected the men to come in second or third in the meet. “That’s what threw them over the top.”
With the first six positions in each event counting toward the final score, Saskatchewan filled out positions four to six while the Dinos got really impressive results and medals. Both Jessica Zelinka and Trevor Phillips set Canada West records in the pentathlon, with Zelinka claiming an impressive two golds and three silvers.
Distance runner Shannon Slater also had a strong showing with three silvers–one to the dismay of a fallen competitor.
“The girl who was supposed to be challenging me for second had a fall which put her into sixth place,” said Slater. “I was disappointed because I didn’t want to win off of a fall.”
But hey, a silver medal is a silver medal.
The track team now runs toward the Canadian Interuniversity Sports Championships in Windsor Ontario, where the Dinos hope to get a better placing. Saskatchewan’s depth advantage should be stunted at nationals, where only the top two places count toward the overall score.
“I think that we can win nationals,” said Anderson. “It won’t be easy, but it’s possible.”
Lamont was more reserved in his predictions.
“We hope to maintain our rankings with the women second and the men tenth,” added Lamont. “If things go well, maybe we can improve.”
CIS predictions from Doug Lamont:
-“The pentathlon is where we will do well, we are sending three women and three men, all of which are in the top six in the country.”
-“Amy Barnett is going to be a factor in the 600 and three relays.”
-“Shannon Slater has a chance of sneaking a metal in the distance events.”
-“David Shanks looks good in the 600.”
-“Relays look good.”