{"id":1995,"date":"2023-07-28T01:19:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T01:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/?p=1995"},"modified":"2025-06-11T17:49:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:49:22","slug":"not-trackie-2023-actf-predictions-column","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/?p=1995","title":{"rendered":"Not Trackie 2023 ACTF Predictions Column"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Schedule: <a href=\"https:\/\/athletics.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-Lagnley-Nationals-Final-Schedule.as-of-July-25th-1.pdf\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/athletics.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-Lagnley-Nationals-Final-Schedule.as-of-July-25th-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Results: <a href=\"https:\/\/live.athletics.ca\/meets\/26525\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/live.athletics.ca\/meets\/26525\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stream (ya gotta get a runnerspace plus account): <a href=\"https:\/\/www.athleticscanada.tv\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.athleticscanada.tv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Intro<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t ask and you shall receive anyway. WE&#8217;RE BACK and late, as always, with some Canadian National Track and Field Championships predictions. What\u2019s the point of the intro? Usually it\u2019s to comment on how silly this is while subtly (or not so subtly) bringing attention to important political issues. Today we\u2019re gonna do that at light speed, so adjust your special relativity monitors and read below before going 10m platform mode and taking a high dive into whatever the heck we decide to write for the event commentary. That means YOU live stream commentators. This could be useful for ya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bell sucks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.readthemaple.com\/nationalize-the-telcos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nationalize the telecoms<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVID can cause <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/post-covid-condition\/spring-2023-report.html\" target=\"_blank\">long-term consequences<\/a> to health for anyone. You should wear a mask to try to avoid getting it multiple times and to avoid passing viruses to other people. If you do end up contracting COVID, here\u2019s a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/4d78d819b14442ecbabe6e49a\/files\/8753fb91-2c95-40ea-7590-c34511d1000a\/Covid_19_Exercise_Guidelines_2022_Figure_2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">flow chart<\/a> for return to exercise protocols to try and avoid long-COVID. Shoutout Exercise and Sports Science Australia for making it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>(we\u2019re gonna post this with the Thursday events and then update it)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Thursday Events<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mens&#8217; Discus:<\/strong> yeah, we totally dropped the ball on this one because it already happened. Probably comparable to the level of embarrassment golfers experience when they shank their ball into the water and have to go to the drop zone. Whatever. <strong>Youssef Koudssi<\/strong>, who won last year and has improved his PB by a Burger King type WHOPPING 5m this year, came in as the favourite and launched a UFO into the atmosphere. That\u2019s right, all those alleged UFO sightings are just discuses\u2026 disci? Koudssi has Qu\u00e9bec ties and competes at the University of Arizona. <strong>Jeremiah Nubbe<\/strong> placed second in this one and competes at the University of Texas. Both these guys are dual citizens who recently obtained status to compete for Canada, so that&#8217;s interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><b>Womens&#8217; Javelin: <\/b>Well folks this will be there first time in a DECADE that Liz Gleadle will not win the Javelin title. The last time she didn\u2019t compete was in 2013. That\u2019s crazy. Who will take the dub then? <strong>Keira McCarrell<\/strong>, who was second last year, and <strong>Ashley Pryke<\/strong> come in as the favourites. <strong>Bailey Dell<\/strong> and <strong>Pascale Dumont<\/strong> placed third and fourth last year and could find themselves in the mix too.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:post-content --><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>3000m SC:<\/strong> We know the real reason why people watch the steeplechase<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":1996,\"width\":269,\"height\":352,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1996\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"269\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic1.png 541w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic1-229x300.png 229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 269px) 100vw, 269px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Not actually though, because the steeplechase is always rockin\u2019 and rollin\u2019 to the point where all competitors might as well dress up like KISS and <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/vpdw3NSkaLY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/vpdw3NSkaLY\">go all night<\/a> (and party ev-er-y-day). That WON\u2019T be the case for <strong>John Gay<\/strong> though. THAT guy will have been prepping for this event by spending hours throwing himself around a bouncy castle equipped with megaspeakers blaring Nickleback\u2019s greatest hits. He hasn\u2019t raced a ton lately, but he\u2019s not the type to just <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YbP1K-bQB6g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sit around and hang out this afternoon<\/a>, the vibes are never <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/j4y-RzVGrHg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Far Away<\/a>. He\u2019s won the last two titles and was third in 2019 behind Matty McStud Hughes and Ryan Smeeton, but LOOK OUT (FAIRE ATTENTION) for <strong>Jean-Simone D\u00e9gagnes<\/strong>. JSD est en train de tuer sur la piste \u2013hopefully I didn\u2019t do that translation poorly. He comes in with a \u201cRecord personnel de 8:17.40\u201d which he ran this season in Hungary. A-t-il assez faim pour remporter? That was an attempt at a \u201cHungary = hungry\u201d joke. <strong>Jordan Macintosh<\/strong>, <strong>Cole Dinsdale<\/strong>, and <strong>Kevin Robertson<\/strong> will battle it out for third. Robertson recently won the U23 NACAC title. Macintosh is named after apples that are perpetually soft, BUT HE\u2019S NOT. Mayyyybe he slides into second.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Women\u2019s steeplechase we\u2019re looking at a <strong>Ceili McCabe<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>Regan Yee<\/strong> rematch from last year and ALSO from the Harry Jerome Classic two weeks ago. A CE-RE REMATCH. Except Ceili is pronounced \u201cKay-lee\u201d so that doesn\u2019t work. Ah well, good attempt. Both of those races were won by McCabe by about one second. At Harry Jerome she was able to initiate her enduring soccer skills to kick by on the finishing straightaway. It might take some sort of elaborate heist for Yee to take her down. Can <strong>Grace Featherstonhaugh<\/strong> or <strong>Alycia Butterworth <\/strong>challenge? Grace feathered herself into third last year, but Butterworth beat her by a second at Harry Jerome. McCabe\u2019s Australian training partner, <strong>Amy Cashin<\/strong>, is signed up to compete here as well which could inject some fair dinkum bedlam into this one mate. She was quite a way back at the Harry Jerome meet though.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>5000m:<\/strong> Alright. On the women\u2019s side of this thing <strong>Briana Scott<\/strong> is entering the race like she\u2019s been rolling around in a Velcro suit on a Velcro floor because she\u2019s on an absolute tear. A 27 second improvement in her 5000m PB since 2021 has put her on the map as a 33 year-old mom. That\u2019s hype. She beat cross country champion and Olympian <strong>Julie-Ann Staehli<\/strong> at the Harry Jerome Classic. She ALSO beat last year\u2019s ACTF 5000m champion <strong>Gracelyn Larkin<\/strong> there. Who else is in the mix? <strong>Leslie Sexton<\/strong> has been pretty nasty this year after dropping down from the marathon to go on a speed adventure, move over <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wTiZDh37Amk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wTiZDh37Amk\">Keanu Reeves<\/a>. Erin Teschuk is in there.<strong> Rebecca Basset <\/strong>is in there, <strong>Ayers<\/strong> and <strong>the Luckis<\/strong> are in there. I have to apologize to <strong>Jessy Lacourse<\/strong> for saying she was \u201cnasty\u201d in the <a href=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/?p=1902\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/?p=1902\">U SPORTS predictions<\/a> last March. That doesn\u2019t translate well to french. Sources have told me some better slang for saying she&#8217;s really good is &#8220;crissement bonne.&#8221; Hopefully that works. Regardless, she&#8217;s in there too.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>In the men\u2019s race we have favourite <strong>Ben Flanagan<\/strong> coming into this having run a 13:20 5k in California on Saturday. Will he have enough juice in the legs? He better be pounding the Sunny D\u2019s, because there will be a whole bunch of guys lining up behind him trying to spoil the party. One of those guys is last year\u2019s silver medalist <strong>Thomas Fafard<\/strong>. This guy is coming straight outta Qu\u00e9bec, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Quebec\/comments\/e1imjw\/explication_exag%C3%A9r%C3%A9ment_d%C3%A9taill%C3%A9e_de\/\">tok\u00e9bakicitte<\/a>. In mindset he is anyway \u2013he has spent a decent amount of time altitude training as well. Last year he tried to go with CPT, looked absolutely spent, but then found a second wind before unleashing a sonic boom into second place. Wild. Behind him last year was <strong>Mitchell Ubene,<\/strong> who really brings a fresh, reckless mindset out there. When this guy isn\u2019t hammering cakes or watching <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/RSuLFvalhnQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/RSuLFvalhnQ\">Larry Enticer<\/a> smash his face off of snow packs for inspiration, he\u2019s running half marathons in send-o-vision googles and growing dusty facial hair because why wouldn&#8217;t you? He comes in with the fifth fastest seed time, but that\u2019s because Waterloo 5k champion <strong>Jeremy Coughler<\/strong> and former NCAA standout <strong>Andrew Alexander<\/strong> both clocked some fast times on the Boston Bounce<sup>TM<\/sup> this winter. Coughler won the 10,000m championships a month or so ago but let\u2019s be honest here, the Waterloo 5k is what stands out on the resum\u00e9. Alexander was third at the Athletics Ontario Championships two weeks ago behind Ubene and <strong>Nick Bannon<\/strong>, who has been going casino mode and slotting himself into the right spots lately. <strong>Philippe Morneau-Cartier<\/strong> was fourth in that race after making the trek over from Qu\u00e9bec to throw his weight around. He didn\u2019t have enough Gaz in the MoreCar tank (see below) to hit up the medals in the end. <strong>Mike Tate<\/strong> and <strong>Connor Black<\/strong> are putting some bandits representation in the mix here. Should be a good one.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:columns --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\"><!-- wp:column -->\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"664\" class=\"wp-image-1998\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic3-1024x664.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic3-1024x664.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic3-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic3-768x498.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic3.png 1094w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:column --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:columns --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:column --><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\"><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2008,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"651\" class=\"wp-image-2008\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic2-2-1024x651.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic2-2-1024x651.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic2-2-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic2-2-768x488.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic2-2.png 1171w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:column --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:heading {\"level\":4} --><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday Events<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Heptathlon: <\/strong>Better study up on your geometry because this event is shaping up to be a close one. <strong>Nicole Ostertag<\/strong> was the silver medalist in the pentathlon at the 2020 U Sports Indoor track and field championships. In 2022 she did not compete at U SPORTS indoors, but placed second at the NACAC championships that May before DNFing at ACTF and suffering a rough injury at the Canada Summer Games. Now she\u2019s back. Idk what the kids say these days. Back on their bullshit? In Not Trackie terms that translates to \u201cback firing enough laser beams to simulate a star wars fight sequence.\u201d Someone else who\u2019s gone terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger mode and come back is <strong>Georgia Ellenwood<\/strong>. The 2018 NCAA heptathlon champion suffered a tough injury after competing at the Olympics in 2021. <strong>Madisson Lawrence<\/strong> and <strong>Hannah Blair <\/strong>are also in this one. They came first and third at the U SPORTS championships in March, where we said Lawrence &#8220;leaped higher than the 11 lords in the Partridge in a Pear Tree song.&#8221; So yeah, she\u2019s pretty good. She finished second last year. Blair was fourth.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Decathlon: <\/strong>For the mens\u2019 decathlon we\u2019ll see how good some of these up-and-comers can do here. <strong>Philip Frank<\/strong> is the top-ranked Canadian in the field. He\u2019s from Texas, holds dual citizenship, and also holds dual first names. <strong>Cole Wilson<\/strong> is an NAIA guy from Burgessville, Ontario. If you don\u2019t know where that is, it\u2019s south of Woodstock. If you don\u2019t know where THAT is, it\u2019s in between London and Hamilton. You just know this guy started his training by racing tractors down county roads. Nice. <strong>Ryan Evans<\/strong> will look to bounce back after he went squirrel food mode at OUA\u2019s during indoors and put up some marks that were absolutely nuts but then followed it up with tough one at U SPORTS. This contest gets started Friday and finishes Saturday.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 Hammer Throw: Camryn Rogers<\/strong> and <strong>Jillian Weir<\/strong> are the class of the field here. They can blast hammers over fences like a baseball game on the moon it\u2019s as if gravity ceases to exist when they enter the throwing circle. Rogers is the favourite \u2013she\u2019s already won a World Championship silver medal. Weir is currently just off the auto-qualifying standard (73.12m vs. 73.60m). We\u2019ll see how close she can get to it, but her mark will likely be good enough to qualify for Worlds through the rankings.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>100m: <\/strong>It\u2019s the usual squad back for the 100m with <strong>Jerome Blake<\/strong>, <strong>Andre De Grasse<\/strong>, and <strong>Aaron Brown<\/strong> squaring off. Brown edged out Blake last year while De Grasse did not start. It will be interesting to see how they stack up against University of Saskatchewan athlete <strong>Dushos Itsekiri<\/strong>, who competes for Nigeria internationally. He\u2019s been slicing and dicing out there this year just getting all the toppings ready to put on the pizza, and actually has the fastest season\u2019s best of the four of them at 10.02 seconds. De Grasse always seems to peak when the Olympics come around, so if he can\u2019t toss enough dough to take the win this time around there\u2019s always next year. Will it be Brown who delivers? Will Blake be the one eating the pie? I think I would rather win a pizza to eat than a gold medal but idk maybe I&#8217;m built different. Should be a good race.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2035,\"width\":675,\"height\":405,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2035\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic4-1024x615.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic4-1024x615.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic4-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic4-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic4.png 1273w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>In the womens\u2019 contest, <strong>Khamica Bingham<\/strong> comes in as the favourite having run 11.19 this season. <strong>Sade McCreath<\/strong> though has dropped her personal best by 0.11 seconds to 11.27. Maybe she will go auction mode and make a bid for the win? <strong>Jacqueline Madogo<\/strong> is another athlete rising up the rankings and <strong>Leya Buchanan<\/strong> will look to draw on her experience to crack the podium. She placed second in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. She also won the 200m in 2019. The speed reserves are absolutely there.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:heading {\"level\":4} --><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saturday Events<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>20km Racewalk: <\/strong>We partially wrote this one for Evan Dunfee. 20km racewalk at 7 am eh. That\u2019s rough. That\u2019s 50 laps around the track \u2013except for this event they will do 2 laps of the track plus 19 one kilometre loops. Respect the dedication to this sport man jeeze. Many of these athletes don&#8217;t do too many 20km efforts, but <strong>Olivia Lundman <\/strong>comes in with the top 10,000m time of 47:24.73. That\u2019s walking at a speed of 4 minutes and 44.5 seconds per kilometre folks. If I could do that, I would be able to simultaneously hold every paper route in the neighbourhood. A lot of people deliver the newspaper these days while driving in their car. And it\u2019s not even a good newspaper, it\u2019s just a bunch of flyers. Whatever. Olivia happens to hold the U20 national 10,000m record. She\u2019s not eligible for U20 records anymore, but the U23 20k record is 1:38:09. That\u2019s absolutely insane. Lundman has clocked 1:48:56 in her only 20k race so far. <strong>Katelynn Ramage<\/strong> and <strong>Rosalie Drapeau<\/strong> seem like they\u2019re in pretty similar shape to battle it out for second.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>For the mens\u2019<strong> race, Tyler Wilson<\/strong> placed third last year with a time of 1:36:59. With no Dunfee or Thorne competing this year, his closest competition will come from the American who is entered, AJ Gruttadauro. We\u2019ll see if Tyler can keep up with him. Also watch out for master&#8217;s legend <strong>Jianping Xu<\/strong> because I see him on the local trail a good amount lol. The Canadian U23 record is 1:19:57 set by Ben Thorne in 2015 and like holy heck that\u2019s sub 4 minutes per kilometer while moving your hips like you\u2019re on the dance floor and Shakira&#8217;s entire discography is playing. I think my hips would lock up if I did the same dance move for 80 minutes. Would need to see like 18 chiropractors after.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 Discus:<\/strong> Not many competitors in this one but I guess people should get introduced to <strong>Julia Tunks<\/strong>, who has thrown 59.11m and is just 17. That\u2019s good for a North American U18 and National U20 record. She won the Ontario High School championship by 16m. Okay then. Her dad, Jason Tunks, is a three time Olympian, so I guess she gets some tips from him. <strong>Rachel Andres<\/strong> is good enough to challenge her. She\u2019s 36 and still launching discs like they\u2019re frisbees. Impressive. This could be a pretty interesting competition to be honest.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 Triple Jump<\/strong>: This one will be a rematch between the gold and silver medalists from U SPORTS in March, <strong>Kenneth West<\/strong> and <strong>Femi Akinduro<\/strong>. Kenneth is just one week removed from competing at the U23 NACAC championships in Costa Rica, where he placed fourth, so we\u2019ll see if Akinduro can capitalize on any kind of tiredness. It\u2019s not that hard to get jazzed up for a competition two weeks in a row though. Just borrow John Gay\u2019s bouncy castle and speaker and replace the CD with Miles Davis\u2019 Jack Johnson album. Problem solved.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 Pole Vault:<\/strong> In the Pole Vault it will be <strong>Alysha Newman<\/strong> vs. <strong>Annicka Newell<\/strong>. Both athletes were on the 2016 Olympic team and finished first and seventh at the 2018 Commonwealth games, respectively. Since then, both have struggled with various injuries and no-heights at competitions, but both are currently rocking roller blades because they are in-line to qualify for worlds this year. Let\u2019s see if they can turn the runway into a sauna and push each other to some steamy heights.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2060,\"width\":473,\"height\":268,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2060\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic5-1024x581.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"473\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic5-1024x581.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic5-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic5-768x435.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic5.png 1432w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 High Jump:<\/strong> <strong>Django Lovett<\/strong> comes in ranked 23<sup>rd<\/sup> in the world but he has not competed since May, so we aren\u2019t sure if he&#8217;s gonna be flopping onto mats this weekend. Aside from him, <strong>Eric Chatten<\/strong>, <strong>Aiden Grout<\/strong>, and <strong>Noel Vanderzee<\/strong> all come in with PB\u2019s of at least 2.20. Of those three, it\u2019s Chatten who has the most experience \u2013he\u2019s been clearing bars over 2.18m since 2017, whereas Grout and Vanderzee both jumped big personal bests of 2.20 for the first time this year. Bar clearing usually happens around 3 a.m., but a high jump competition at that time probably wouldn\u2019t get too many fans, so it&#8217;s scheduled for 5:50 p.m. (Pacific). We\u2019ll see which of these guys can channel Semisonic\u2019s Closing Time the best.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2061,\"width\":575,\"height\":280,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2061\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic6-1024x499.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"575\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic6-1024x499.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic6-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic6-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic6.png 1301w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 Triple Jump:<\/strong> Yeah, it\u2019s gonna be the <strong>Caroline Ehrhardt<\/strong> show. She jumped 14.03m in May at the Bob Vigars Classic in London to break the 13-year-old Canadian triple jump record, and if she replicates that performance it might qualify her for the world championships. Currently, she needs to jump 13.83m to put herself into the top 36, as far as our understanding of the rules goes anyway. 13.93m to be safe. Others challenging for the podium will be <strong>Busola Akinduro<\/strong>, who was second to Ehrhardt at the Athletics Ontario Championships, <strong>Tamara Grahovac<\/strong>, and U SPORTS champion <strong>Mandy Brunet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 Hammer Throw:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fC_q9KPczAg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fC_q9KPczAg\">It\u2019s been<\/a> <strong>Ethan Katzberg<\/strong> having a terrific projectile-launching season so far but he only placed second last year to <strong>Adam Keenan<\/strong>, who is having a decent season of his own. It\u2019s looking like they will both qualify for the World championships as they come in ranked 5<sup>th<\/sup> and 19<sup>th<\/sup> in the world, respectively. <strong>Rowan Hamilton<\/strong> comes in ranked 23<sup>rd<\/sup>. I think Hammer Throw is Canada\u2019s best event folks. Don\u2019t forget Rogers and Weir over on the womens\u2019 side. Could you imagine if any of these athletes had a dog? They wouldn\u2019t ever need to take it for a walk. Just heave one ball out there for the dog to fetch and it\u2019s gotten a good 5km trek in for the day.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 Shot Put:<\/strong> <strong>Sarah Mitton<\/strong> comes in ranked second in the world and has thrown the fourth furthest mark this year measuring 19.83m. To do that, you basically need enough force to lift up a house. If the Canadian government ever decides to get its act together and address the climate crisis Sarah can help drag houses in high-risk flood and forest fire areas to safety while we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and ensure less extreme weather occurs. Sounds like a plan to me, but we better hurry up because Sarah can only carry so much. <strong>Grace Tennant<\/strong> was third last year and has improved her personal best by 0.67m this season. She\u2019s the favourite for the silver.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sprint Hurdles:<\/strong> <strong>Womens\u2019 100m hurdles<\/strong> is an interesting one. <strong>Michelle Harrison<\/strong> has not quite been able to replicate her 12.74s run that she ran in the world championships semi-finals last year, but has come close with a 12.82. <strong>Mariam Abdul-Rashid<\/strong> was fifth last year, but after the 2022 Canadian championships she clocked a 12.82 and has hit 12.89 this season. She currently finds herself in position to qualify for worlds through the rankings. <strong>Keira Christie-Galloway<\/strong> and <strong>Tatiana Aholou<\/strong> are the next best two and one of them could maybe sneak into silver, but it\u2019s probably gonna be a Harrison vs. Rashid show. Our sources have told us that Harrison has been honing in her speed by focusing on the 100m. She\u2019s been strengthening her stride by doing reps with chickens strapped to her legs and then using the eggs to make energizer muffins, whatever those are. All we know is that those chickens have now experienced an adrenaline rush that they have to keep coming back for. Not sure if Mariam can match that sort of energy. She seems pretty dang smooth and repped some Frozone-looking glasses in the semis, so maybe.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>For the<strong> mens\u2019 110m hurdles, <\/strong>decathlete<strong> Damian Warner<\/strong> has the best mark entering the competition. Must be nice to be nasty enough at decathlon to win individual events. Pretty crazy. It will be <strong>Craig Thorne, Carter Birade, <\/strong>and<strong> David Adeleye <\/strong>lining up behind him for the medals, and also looking for the opportunistic takedown. Craig Thorne won U SPORTS in March after which we made this tweet.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2062,\"width\":271,\"height\":251,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2062\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic9-1024x946.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic9-1024x946.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic9-300x277.jpg 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic9-768x710.jpg 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic9.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 271px) 100vw, 271px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>We were absolutely unhinged at U SPORTS. Looking back, idk how we came up with some of that stuff. I didn\u2019t even remember that Craig Thorne sleeps on a bed of hurdles. I wonder if he has a matching hurdle pillow or if it\u2019s just a normal one. He was also second at this event last year by the way. Carter Birade was second at the Big West Track Championships in May, so he has that going for him. Why do so many American athletics conferences call themselves BIG? Settle down. It\u2019s like 12 teams out of 300. David Adeleye was fourth at U SPORTS. Maybe he will have an \u201ceye\u201d for the finish\u2026<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2068,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"227\" class=\"wp-image-2068\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic10-1024x227.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic10-1024x227.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic10-300x66.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic10-768x170.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic10-1536x340.png 1536w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic10.png 1711w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>400m:<\/strong> <strong>Mens\u2019 400m<\/strong> we had a bit of a treeless field last year I mean it was wide open. We were a bit surprised when <strong>Nathan George<\/strong> took the win, but we probably shouldn\u2019t have been because further investigation showed us that since 2013, he has only missed the final once! That was in 2019 and it was only because he didn\u2019t even compete at nationals that year. He won the whole thing in 2016 too! Always re-evaluate your thinking in light of new information folks. Nathan George is nasty. Can he take down <strong>Austin Cole<\/strong> again? <strong>Myles Misener-Daley<\/strong> and <strong>Michael Roth<\/strong> are out looking for the win too. Don\u2019t forget that Misener set the Canadian U18 record in 2018. He has the top ranked mark for Canadians this year. U SPORTS 300m silver medalist <strong>Emmet Bravakis<\/strong> is in there and he won the bronze last year. <strong>Chris Morales<\/strong> is the Ontario U20 champion but is running up an age division and made the final. There\u2019s also Manitoba Menace <strong>Tyler Cox-Yestrau<\/strong>, who was 4<sup>th<\/sup> at U SPORTS in the 300m, and <strong>Kai Spierenberg<\/strong>, who is definitely ready to throw some spears at some \u2018bergs. Maybe he needs to try the javelin. Only one thing is certain, Tyler is gonna beat him by 0.01s.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2064,\"width\":522,\"height\":276,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2064\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic7-1024x542.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"522\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic7-1024x542.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic7-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic7-768x406.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic7.png 1321w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 522px) 100vw, 522px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>The<strong> womens\u2019<\/strong> <strong>400m<\/strong> contest is a U HAUL truck on moving day I mean it\u2019s absolutely packed and ready to rumble. So much so that Kyra Constantine and Ella Clayton missed the final. Constantine was a Tokyo Olympian and Clayton has the third best Canadian time this year. Last year\u2019s champion, <strong>Aiyanna-Brigitte Stiverne<\/strong>, made the final. So did <strong>Madeline Price<\/strong>, who was second in 2018. <strong>Lauren Gale<\/strong> has the seventh best time this year and was second last year, and U SPORTS 300m champion <strong>Zoe Sherar<\/strong> has the sixth best. <strong>Alyssa Marsh<\/strong> comes in with the top time this season (aside from Savannah Sutherland, who is not competing) and was an NCAA championship semi-finalist. There\u2019s also <strong>Grace Konrad<\/strong>, <strong>Kimberly Hyacinthe<\/strong>, and <strong>Micha Powell<\/strong>. Everyone has a seasons\u2019 best below 53, but how many will go sub 52 in the final? And will any come close to the world standard of 51?<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>800m:<\/strong> Final event of the day and first we have to shoutout <strong>Eamonn Kichuk<\/strong> for winning OFSAA in like 2010, falling off the radar completely, and now putting himself back in the track and field picture all the way to a national final. Apparently this guy\u2019s workout sessions are straight out of the EA Sports Need For Speed video game franchise. It\u2019s in the fucking game folks. Les Qu\u00e9becois have stacked a smoked meat sando in there with <strong>Laurent-Olivier Dumont<\/strong> and <strong>Zakary Mama-Yari<\/strong> as the buns and <strong>Yassine \u201cthe monster\u201d Aber<\/strong> as the absolute slice in the middle. I watched Aber clutch the 4x800m win for Les Carabins at U SPORTS with friend of the show Louis Brosseau (rhymes ftw) and I literally had to participate in 15 yoga sessions to calm down after. Mama-Yari was on that team too. Unfortunately, their pal Mohand Khelaf got left out in the semis after heat 3 went out slow. Olivier Desmeules (third last year) got left out in that heat too. The french are absolutely INSANE at the 800m right now folks. All five of those guys made the final last year. We all know it\u2019s gonna be <strong>Marco Polo Arop<\/strong> taking the dub (he has the third best time in the world so far this year), but second and third are up for grabs. <strong>Abdullahi Hassan<\/strong> has settled down a bit after setting the Canadian U18 record with an absolutely absurd run at nationals in 2019 where for a second, he made me think he was gonna beat Arop and Brandon McBride as a 17-year-old. \u201cSettling down\u201d for him still means improving his personal best by 1.43 seconds in the last four years though. He came fourth at the NCAA championships this season and is ranked 70<sup>th<\/sup> in the world. He might even be able to get himself into a quota position with a low 1:46. After that it\u2019s <strong>Stephen Evans<\/strong>, who\u2019s always just kinda there and was the U SPORTS 600m champion in 2019. \u201cWay 2 go Stevie\u201d we said after he won that, along with some other silly stuff that we aren\u2019t going to repeat. Lastly it\u2019s <strong>Leroy Russel<\/strong>, who is still relatively unknown because he competes for Arkansas, but he just placed fifth at the NACAC U23 championships in Costa Rica. This is his first senior final. Nice job.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2065,\"width\":466,\"height\":311,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2065\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic8-1024x685.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"466\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic8-1024x685.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic8-300x201.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic8-768x514.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic8.png 1111w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>In the <strong>womens\u2019 800m<\/strong> race there\u2019s no Butterworth this year, which means <strong>Maddy Kelly<\/strong> and <strong>Jazz Shukla<\/strong> will be hitting them with it out there. What\u2019s IT? Idk. Pool noodles? Maddy and Jazz are gonna smash the field with rainbow-coloured pool noodles and then sprint to the line. Others in the field looking to challenge for the podium include <strong>Sydney Smith<\/strong>, who was 4<sup>th<\/sup> in the 600m at U SPORTS in 2022, <strong>Adrea Propp<\/strong>, who has experienced enough Regina to finish 5<sup>th<\/sup> here two times, <strong>Aurora Rynda, <\/strong>who was an NCAA finalist this year, U SPORTS 1000m\u00a0champion <strong>Sadie-Jane Hickson<\/strong>, U SPORTS 600m champion <strong>Emma Dagenais<\/strong>, and Canada Summer Games 800m Champion <strong>Olivia Cooper<\/strong>. I hope they like eating pool noodles because its gonna be an absolute buffet out there.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:heading {\"level\":4} --><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sunday Events<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 Pole Vault:<\/strong> Oh baby it\u2019s the <strong>Nathan Filipek<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>Derek Theodore<\/strong> rematch from last year where they tied at 5.26m and Filipek won on a countback. Ya kidding me? Ya know what else gets a \u201cya kidding me?\u201d Landlords. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huckmag.com\/article\/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-good-landlord\">Don\u2019t need \u2018em<\/a>. ANYWAY\u2026 this <strong>Daniel Gleason<\/strong> guy is pretty good too. He won U SPORTS in 2020 and recently won the Athletics Ontario championships with a vault of 5.20m. Behind him are 2023 U SPORS competitors<strong> Brennan Seguin<\/strong>, <strong>Spencer Allen<\/strong>, and <strong>Nojah Parker <\/strong>who finished 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 2<sup>nd<\/sup>, and 4<sup>th<\/sup> in March. One of them might be able to challenge Filipek, Theodore, and Gleason from the podium, but it would take a good day for them and a not-so-good day from the top guys.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 High Jump: <\/strong>We\u2019ve got <strong>Marguerite Lorenzo<\/strong> coming in as the favourite having won last year and jumping 1.84m so far this season. She was sixth at the NCAA championships in 2022. Behind her is <strong>Madisson Lawrence<\/strong>, who we\u2019ve already mentioned in the Heptathlon section. That\u2019s because she won the U SPORTS indoor pentathlon AND high jump. It took her 1.76m to win that contest, which was 4cm LESS than what she hit in the pentathlon competition. The real question is, will she put her hair into Cindy-Lou Who mode? Somehow it was effective. Pretty cool. Behind her it\u2019s <strong>Falyn Reaugh<\/strong>, another dual citizen who lives in Texas and went to Oklahoma University, and <strong>Hannah Blair<\/strong>, who was fourth in the Heptathlon that finished Friday. What is UP with multi-eventers also being nasty at high jump? Crazy lol.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 Long Jump: <\/strong>Holy heck are we done yet? Now is about the time in the column where we start to just make shit up. Sometimes that makes it more fun idk. Men\u2019s long jump we have U SPORTS champion <strong>Michael Akintunde<\/strong> who once cleared the South Saskatchewan River without a running start. When this guy isn\u2019t working on his &#8220;horz&#8221; he\u2019s playing rockband drums on expert and nailing every note. That\u2019s right, we said \u201chorz\u201d. If we can say \u201cvert\u201d for vertical jump then \u201chorz\u201d is short for horizontal jumps. This will definitely never catch on but we don\u2019t care. Behind him in the entries is <strong>Scott Joseph<\/strong>, who won U SPORTS in 2020 while competing for Regina, so both of these guys have ties to Saskatchewan, although Scott now competes for the University of Calgary Athletic Club. Usually, Scottie is the one beaming people up but this time he will have to beam HIMSELF to the top of the podium. I\u2019m not sure if Star Trek works that way. <strong>Pierce LePage<\/strong> has decided to take a decathlon break to act the role of shit disturber in the long jump. We respect it. We\u2019ll see if he can launch his massive frame past the marks that Akintunde and Joseph set. The top returner is <strong>Bryson Patterson<\/strong>. He placed third last year and comes in ranked fourth.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Womens\u2019 Long Jump:<\/strong> Only five auto-qualifiers in this event and the top two from last year, Christabel Nettey and Madisson Lawrence, are not competing. That opens the door for <strong>Aasha Marler-Goodwiler<\/strong>, who finished third last year. She will have some tough competition against <strong>Hayley Manners<\/strong>. Hayley recently finished third at the MAC conference championships while competing for Central Michigan. It\u2019s all about who can channel that board energy best folks. Become one with the board during the competition. Give it a kiss. Okay maybe don\u2019t give it a kiss, you\u2019d end up eating a good amount of sand. BUT RESPECT THE BOARD.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 Javelin:<\/strong> Should be a pretty close battle between quite a few guys. <strong>Roan Allen<\/strong>, <strong>Callan Saldutto<\/strong>, <strong>Jared O\u2019Riley<\/strong>, <strong>Andy White<\/strong>, and <strong>Joshua Mather<\/strong>. They come in ranked 1,2,3,4,5, but last year they finished 4, 2, 3, 5, 1. They\u2019re all throwing right around the same distance too. Allen has the best of the five at 75.04m, but he threw that last April. It will come down to who can go handle mode and get a hold of one. It\u2019s an absolute clusterfuck.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 Shot Put: <\/strong>Over in the shot put we have multi-time U SPORTS gold medal winner <strong>Mark the Bujinator Bujnowski<\/strong> setting up his ray gun against some stiff competition in Qu\u00e9becois <strong>Youssef Koudssi<\/strong>. And I mean stiff, man. If I tried to run into one of these guys I would just bounce right off. They wouldn\u2019t move an inch. Mark beat Youssef pretty handily last year, but this year Koudssi has bettered his PB by nearly 2m. Mark\u2019s gonna need his whole arm to win this time. A whole bunch of guys could challenge for third including <strong>Mo Asiff<\/strong> and <strong>Sam Bourque<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>400m Hurdles: <\/strong>For the first time in a while, Noelle Montcalm won\u2019t be participating. She won in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022. A new powerhouse has emerged though in <strong>Savannah Sutherland<\/strong>, a Saskatchewan athlete who took the W at NCAA\u2019s this past season and has the world standard. Another athlete going morning sun mode and entering rising star territory is <strong>Brooke Overholt<\/strong>, who currently finds herself just outside the 40-athlete world championship quota and could slide in there with a sub 56 second riperoni in the final. She was second last year. Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>For the <strong>mens\u2019 400 hurdles<\/strong> we\u2019re looking at last year\u2019s silver medalist, <strong>Justin Rose<\/strong>, going up against last year\u2019s U20 champion, <strong>Ben Tilson<\/strong>, with a side of <strong>Oliver Grant<\/strong>, <strong>Ryan Hegarty<\/strong>, <strong>Owen Babcock<\/strong>, and <strong>David Moulongo<\/strong> who were all 2022 finalists in the open and U20 divisions. Classic DJ\u2019s spin discs, but our made up sources tell us that Tilson has been learning from his Windsor friends to spin the soup cans. Comes out better that way. Justin Rose is bringing the can openers though, he\u2019s gonna be seeking to yank the lids off and dump \u2018em in the recycling. Whoever has to clean up the mess after this just better make sure not to cut themselves because opening cans can be dicey in the best of times. We got way off track here folks, let\u2019s move on to the next event.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>1500m: Womens\u2019 1500m <\/strong>it\u2019s <strong>Lucia Stafford<\/strong> leading the charge with a world standard time but last year she and Natalia Hawthorn left it real late and <strong>Glynis Sim<\/strong> NEARLY pulled off a massive upset. This year she\u2019s going to have to contend with up-and-coming phenom <strong>Simone Plourde<\/strong>. When Simone says \u201cI\u2019m faster than you,\u201d and goes on the Plourde Patrol<sup>TM<\/sup> it\u2019s hard not to lose. She\u2019s improved her pb from 4:14.93 to 4:06.47 this year and won the PAC-12 title before deciding to be like a camera and Go Pro. Who else can make a bid in this pack of 12? <strong>Kate Current<\/strong> maybe if we experience electric thunderstorm conditions. <strong>Cameron Ormond<\/strong> maybe if we experience coffee shop conditions. <strong>Regan Yee<\/strong> maybe if we experience cloudy skies that make it dark. Glynis Sym if we experience d\u00e9ja-vu. <strong>Courtney Hufsmith<\/strong> and <strong>Florence Caron<\/strong> are the other athletes who snagged big Q\u2019s, or as they say in Qu\u00e9bec, GROSSE qualification. Amazing. Caron was third at U SPORTS in March and Hufsmith has finished fourth at nationals a couple times. Look out for them too.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mens\u2019 1500m<\/strong>,<strong> Charles Philibert-Thiboutot <\/strong>is rounding back into 2016-type form here folks and that is tr\u00e8s dangereux. <strong>Jean-Simone Degagn\u00e9s<\/strong> knows how to wheel and deal though, gassing up the crowd at every opportunity and getting into mud battles with his friends for important cross training. It\u2019s looking like DESTINATION \u2192 VAINQUEUR for these guys. <strong>Kieran Lumb<\/strong> though was part of mile powerhouse University of Washington this past season and we\u2019re hearing he sleeps on the FLOOR in a sleeping bag to prep for the type of discomfort a fast 1500 can bring. That would be unparalleled swagger, but <strong>Aaron Ahl<\/strong> is in the same situation. <strong>Robby Heppenstall<\/strong> took down the field last year after lulling them into a kick with his send wizard powers before injecting a send fountain into the race over the final lap. He\u2019s back for more. <strong>Cam<\/strong> just runs like a <strong>Pro<\/strong> and <strong>Charlie<\/strong> has been there and <strong>Dannat<\/strong>, both of these guys could sneak onto the podium with a good day. Speaking of good day, friend of the show <strong>Matt Beaude<\/strong>t is in here, and so is his buddy <strong>Kevvy Roberston<\/strong>. Good dudes. <strong>Purnell<\/strong> and <strong>Fafard<\/strong> round out this field and somehow <strong>Mitch Ubene<\/strong> made the cut. What a silly guy. Important note: Lumb and Heppenstall are currently inside the world championships quota but would definitely benefit from a top 3 finish.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><strong>200m: <\/strong>Finally, the last event. Let\u2019s start with the women. <strong>Lauren Gale<\/strong> is the only athlete in the field to have run a sub-23 in the last two seasons, but <strong>Jacqueline Madogo<\/strong> has been having a good outdoors after winning the 60m indoors at USPORTS. Her and <strong>Sade McCreath<\/strong> have the flat out 100 speed. U SPORTS 300m champion<strong> Zoe Sherar<\/strong> might have something to say after placing second in the 400m. And if <strong>Grace Konrad<\/strong> takes the 400-200 double that would be crazy. The fastest returner is <strong>Catherine L\u00e9ger<\/strong>, who placed second last year.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>For the <strong>mens\u2019<\/strong> <strong>200m<\/strong> this <strong>Aaron Brown<\/strong> guy has the starts figured out man like it is physically impossible for him to have a bad start. Whatever brain frequencies this guy vibes at on the start line are silly. Is it <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gBWH3OWfT2Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gBWH3OWfT2Y\">Parliament Funkedlic<\/a>? Yeahhhh it is. <strong>Jerome Blake<\/strong> will try to stop Aaron from tearing the roof off of this sucker, or maybe he will just try to tear it off harder. Maybe he has crow bars for arms or something idk. <strong>Andre De Grasse<\/strong> is better in the 200 than the 100. He will try to shake off the disappointment of missing the 100m final by taking a jackhammer to the 200m roof. We slept on <strong>Brendan Rodney<\/strong> in the 100, but not in the 200. He\u2019s always been a better 200 guy, and took the win in 2016 ahead of Brown AND De Grasse. I think the end of this column calls for another group pic. That\u2019s all she wrote.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":2090,\"width\":621,\"height\":346,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2090\" src=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic11-1024x572.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"621\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic11-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic11-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic11-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACTF2023pic11.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><!-- \/wp:image --><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Intro Don&#8217;t ask and you shall receive anyway. WE&#8217;RE BACK and late, as always, with some Canadian National Track and Field Championships predictions. What\u2019s the point of the intro? Usually it\u2019s to comment on how silly this is while subtly (or not so subtly) bringing attention to important political issues. Today we\u2019re gonna do that<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"more-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link button\" href=\"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/?p=1995\">Continue reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canadianathletics-discourse","category-hot-takes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1995"}],"version-history":[{"count":57,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3734,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1995\/revisions\/3734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninghottakes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}