Becker claims three medals
Jump specialist wins sprint silver
Joy Becker, an accomplished triple jumper, was a triple medallist at the Canada West track and field championships on the weekend.
Becker, of the University of Regina Cougars, won gold medals in the women’s triple jump and long jump in addition to placing second in the 60-metre dash at the Fieldhouse.
She had never finished higher than second at four previous conference championships before twice striking gold at the 2017 event.
Next up is the U Sports championships, March 9-11 in Edmonton.
On Friday, Becker won the long jump and was among five U of R medallists on the opening day of competition. The Cougars’ other Day 1 medallists were Kahlen Branning (gold in the men’s 300m), Ben Rumpel (silver, men’s long jump), Alex Eiswerth (bronze, men’s 1,000m) and Molly Yungmann ( bronze, women’s pentathlon).
Branning won the 300m for the second consecutive year, posting a Cougars record with a time of 33.99 seconds.
On Day 2, Becker reached the podium in the triple jump and 60m.
The Cougars’ Tevaughn Campbell — a defensive back with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and an alumnus of the U of R Rams — won the men’s 60m for the third consecutive year, and for the fourth time in a span of five seasons. Branning earned a bronze medal in that event.
Also on Saturday, the Cougars’ Faith Ogundipe earned a bronze medal in the women’s weight throw.
Eva Madar became the first female swimmer to win a medal for the Cougars at the U Sports championships, placing third in the 200m butterfly Saturday. She posted a team-record time of two minutes 12.40 seconds in Sherbrooke, Que.
The Cougars’ Noah Choboter also won a bronze medal Saturday, reaching the podium in the men’s 100m backstroke. His time of 53.08 seconds set a senior open provincial record. On Friday, Choboter had set a provincial record of 25.06 in the 50m backstroke.
Choboter set another provincial record on Sunday, in the 200m backstroke. The time was unavailable at source.
On Friday, the Cougars’ Brian Palaschuk twice broke the provincial men’s 400m individual medley record, which is now 4:15.86.
The Cougars’ Lexy King also set a provincial record Friday, finishing the women’s 400m IM in 4:48.49.
Madar, Choboter, Palaschuk and King are also members of the Regina Optimist Dolphins Swim Club.
Regina-born Scott McGillivray, who swims for the University of Toronto, won a silver medal in the men’s 50m freestyle.
Cougars wrestlers earned four medals Saturday at the U Sports championships in Winnipeg.
Waylon Decoteau won a silver medal in the men’s 100-kilogram division. Gaelan Malloy (82kg men), Amber Wiebe (51kg women) and Inga Hammer (82kg women) all won bronze.
Daniel Amberson (54kg men), Jordan Tholl (120kg men) and Dalynn McKay (67kg women) had fourth-place finishes while representing the U of R.
Cougars wrestlers also had finishes of fifth (Joshua Zimroz, 57kg men), sixth (Brett Kryder, 76kg men), seventh (Lucas Hoffert, 68kg men) and eighth (Geraldo Fox, 72kg men).