RSEQ Championship — Track & Field

For the third time this season, McGill hosted the wealth of track teams from across Quebec in the RSEQ provincial championships.

Battling hard throughout the weekend, the Martlets claimed their first conference title in the last six years—thanks in large part to an incredible meet by Alana Battison. En route to becoming female athlete of the meet, Battison claimed two golds, three silvers and a bronze to amount for 28 points over the course of the weekend.

Helping out Battison in the first place push were gold medallists Caroline Tanguay in the high jump, and the 4x200m relay contingent of Sarah Glen, Clare Williams, Ellen Parker, and Helena Reinfels.

On the men’s side, a different story unfolded. Finishing third overall, the team failed to garner the results that the Martlets did. However, the team still mustered three golds over the weekend.

Vincent Parent-Pichette was golden twice, first individually in the 1000m and then again as the anchor of the 4x800m relay. Joining him in the relay bid were Benjamin Raymond, Nathan Goldstein, and Michael Abramson. Riley van Ryswyk then closed the weekend with a gold in the pole vault, clearing 4.31m.

Done now with provincial competition for the year, McGill Track and Field turns its attention to the national scene for the final event of the season for the CIS Championships, where 20 athletes have earned the right to compete. Athletes are nominated based on their results throughout the year, needing to meet standards set for each event to qualify. Any gold medallist from the RSEQ championships automatically qualified.

Most of McGill’s medal hopefuls land on the women’s side, with Battison leading the charge in the pentathlon.

The CIS national championship runs March 7-9 in Edmonton, Alberta. 

CIS Championship — Swimming

The butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle cmake up swimming’s individual medley (IM). It’s easy enough to remember, yet incredibly difficult to perform. Therefore, Steven Bielby’s feat of a CIS gold medal sweep in the 200m and 400m IMs are that much more impressive.

Over the weekend, Bielby joined 18 other McGillians in Calgary for the CIS National Swimming Championships. Over the course of the meet, McGill claimed four medals—Bielby’s two golds, along with a bronze and silver from upstart Katie Caldwell, again in the 400m IM and 200m IM. Overall, both the Redman and Martlet swimmers finished eighth as a team. Caldwell was chosen for the second all-Canadian team, and Bielby reached first team all-star status.

Other strong results over the weekend came in the relay, where the men’s 4x200m relay team beat a McGill record, clocking in at 7:24.89, good for sixth place. The quartet, anchored by Pierre-Alexandre Renaud also includes Bielby, Marc-Andre Benoit, and Erik Cheng. The 4x200m women’s relay team—comprised of Caldwell, Taryne Landry, Rebecca Cheverton, and Jennifer Darling—broke a McGill record as well, as Caldwell swam the lead-off leg in 2:00.90.

With Bielby having now completed his final race as a Redman, a look back on his career reveals a history of excellence. By far McGill’s most decorated swimmer, Bielby amassed 13 CIS medals, including eight golds, one silver, and four bronzes, as well as four all-Canadian selections over his five years with the team. Internationally, he has represented Canada twice at the World University Games, and plans to compete for his country for a third time this summer.

With the season over, the Martlets and Redmen take a break, before looking forward to another exciting 2013-2014 campaign.