The University of Waterloo track and field team kicked off their season in impressive fashion at the 23rd Annual York University Holiday Open. With standout performances across both track and field events, the Warriors demonstrated depth, resilience, and early-season promise as they opened their 2025–26 campaign.
On the track, the men's team got off to a strong start in the 600m, with fourth-year captain Ben Lemon (Waterloo, ON/) finishing second among university athletes (third overall) and breaking the previous meet record in 1:21.46. In the 60m, the men delivered fast times despite a series of delays and confusion with the timing team. Second-year sprinter Silas Coxson (Kitchener, ON/) and fourth-year captain Lucas Baranoski (Waterloo, ON/) led the way, running 7.18 and 7.27, with Coxson finishing 12th overall. The men's 300m featured more standout results. Fourth-year Biomedical Sciences student David Gbenjo (Kitchener/) opened his season with a time of 35.68, earning him 4th place. Second-years Riley Jacobs-Gamble (Owen Sound, ON/) (36.64) and Raymond Siebert (Burk's Falls, ON/) (36.74-PB) joined him in the top 10. To close out the meet, the men's 4×400m relay team of Tom Maurice, David Gbenjo (Kitchener/), Riley Jacobs-Gamble (Owen Sound, ON/), and Ben Lemon (Waterloo, ON/) delivered a meet-record performance of 3:22.61, highlighted by an outstanding 48.87 opening leg from Maurice as 4th fastest in Warrior history. A French exchange student, Maruice unfortunately will be returning to France after completing the Fall term.
The women's track events began with the 60m hurdles, where both Gabrielle Bailey (9.49) and Syiera Stuart (Belle River, ON/) (10.23) opened their seasons with personal bests. In the 60m dash, team captain Brielle Fernandez (Hong Kong, HK/) ran 7.91 in the prelims to qualify for the A final, where she improved to 7.88, finishing 4th overall. Third-year sprinter Julia Hughes (Toronto, ON/) also had a strong day, running a personal best 8.26 in the prelims and lowering it to 8.22 in the B final. Fernandez returned to the track for the 300m, where she ran an outstanding personal best of 41.34, placing 3rd overall and capping off a strong start to her season.
In the field events, the Warriors were dominant. The men's long jump saw six Waterloo athletes place in the top 10, led by Nicholas Cahyono, who won the event with a personal best 6.74m leap and 8th best in Warrior history. In the high jump, second-year Olalekan Ashadele tied for third with a jump of 1.88m, contributing to another strong team showing. The momentum continued in the men's triple jump, where Kevin Salaudeen (Belleville, ON/) captured first place with an impressive 14.06m mark earning him 4th on the Warriors Top 10 List. First-year Steven Chung also made a notable debut, jumping 13.42m to establish himself as a promising newcomer.
On the women's side, multi-eventer Syiera Stuart (Belle River, ON/) followed-up her hurdles with a 3rd place finish in the high jump with a solid 1.53m clearance. In the long jump, fifth-year Biomedical Engineering student Gloria So (Markham, ON/) delivered a strong 5.34m jump to secure 6th place, 3cm of her personal best. She followed this with a 5th-place finish in the triple jump, while teammate Gabrielle Bailey earned 7th.
As the Warriors look ahead, they'll aim to carry this early momentum into their next competition: the Windsor Can-Am Classic on January 9th, where they'll continue building toward a successful season.
