The Waterloo Warriors delivered impressive results at the 2026 OUA Track & Field Championships, hosted by the York Lions from February 20-21. The 2026 season proved to be one of the deepest in conference history. While many Warriors demonstrated U SPORTS-caliber ability, the exceptionally competitive fields meant that podium finishes were hard-fought. Despite this, the Warriors stepped up when it counted, collecting crucial team points and improving their OUA rankings across the board.

Friday set the tone, starting with the women's hurdles. Graduating athletes Gabrielle Bailey (9.11) and Janelle Clarke (Brampton, ON/) (9.15) ran a personal best and massive season's best, placing 9th and 10th, respectively. In the 60m prelims, Silas Coxson (Kitchener, ON/) (7.08) and Christian Gairy (7.10) earned their places in the tri-finals, where Coxson finished 13th with an improved time of 7.05. Later that day, the 300m group continued the momentum. Captain Brielle Fernandez (Hong Kong, HK/) clocked 41.41 for 15th, while Julia Hughes (Toronto, ON/) earned a personal best of 42.98. On the men's side, second-year Raymond Siebert (Burk's Falls, ON/) tied his personal best of 36.74. Graduating athlete David Gbenjo (Kitchener/) ran a huge season's best of 35.15, placing 7th and becoming the first Warriors male to earn team points at the meet.

The middle-distance squads also shone, with both the men and women running season's bests in the 4x800m. The women's team—comprising C. Vernon-Pope, H. Johnson, C. Vincent, and E. Molly—finished 9th in 9:38.82. Vernon-Pope and Molly ran personal best legs, while Vincent clocked a season's best split. The men finished 10th with a time of 8:21.55, fueled by personal best legs from A. Mather, C. Duan, and C. Hickling. Field events rounded out Day 1 with stellar performances in the long jump and shot put. Janelle Clarke (Brampton, ON/) jumped a season's best of 5.14m, but the day's highlight came from rookie Melanie Roberts in the shot put. Entering her first OUA Championship ranked 15th with a previous best of 10.74m, Melanie unleashed a massive personal best of 12.28m on her first attempt in flight 1. After eagerly waiting for flight 2 to conclude, she advanced to the final eight. In an incredible series, where every throw surpassed her pre-OUA best, Melanie finished 7th. Her mark of 12.28m now stands as the second-best throw in Waterloo women's history.

The team returned on Saturday with renewed energy. In the highly anticipated 600m, the men ran with grit. Alex Mather ran the race of his life in heat one, slashing over two seconds off his personal best to finish in 1:23.17. Captain Ben Lemon (Waterloo, ON/), ranked 3rd coming into the event with a season's best of 1:20.03, faced one of the strongest 600m fields in OUA history. In a packed heat of eight men, navigating a clean race was difficult. Although aiming for a medal, Ben finished a strong 8th to secure team points. Crucially, he held off rivals to maintain his U SPORTS ranking, earning his first individual berth to the national championships. Lemon's rapid improvement in this relatively new event places him tied as the second-fastest 600m Warrior in history. He will race in Winnipeg on Thursday at 9:00pm EST.

Distance athletes Chloe Vincent (Waterloo, Ont./Bluevale Collegiate Institute) (4:40.82) and Claire Vernon-Pope (Hamilton, Ont./) (4:52.18) both earned personal bests in the 1500m. Vincent's performance placed her 15th overall and moved her to 8th on the Warrior All-Time list. In the field, graduating athlete Jai Sharma (Modinagar, IN/) had a strong showing, throwing 13.79m for a 10th-place finish. The triple jumpers also excelled; Gloria So (Markham, ON/) jumped another personal best for the third consecutive meet, hitting 11.23m for 9th place and moving to #4 all-time in Warriors history. Her teammate, Syiera Stuart (Belle River, ON/), advanced to the final and jumped 11.42m to place 8th, earning a team point. On the men's side, rookie Kevin Salaudeen (Belleville, ON/) entered ranked 3rd. Despite some difficulty finding the board, he finished 5th overall as the team's top male scorer. Salaudeen's incredible debut season continues as he heads to the U SPORTS Championships ranked 9th, competing on Saturday at 3:30pm EST.

The meet concluded with the sprint relays. The men's 4x200m squad, comprised mostly of young talent, finished 10th. The women's 4x200m and 4x400m teams—featuring Brielle Fernandez (Hong Kong, HK/), Emmanuela Odukoya (Toronto, ON/), Julia Hughes (Toronto, ON/), and Ava Duchene (Fergus, ON/)—ran season's bests in both events. They fought hard to the line, improving their ranking to 6th in the 4x200m and finishing a solid 8th in the 4x400m. Ava Duchene (Fergus, ON/) capped off her career as a Warrior in outstanding fashion, running as the fastest Warrior of the day in the 4x400m and a personal best in her 4x200m leg. The men's 4x400m team faced a nail-biting challenge to qualify for U SPORTS. In a field deep with talent across the country and province, the men battled fiercely but ultimately came up just short of their goal. The team of second-years Riley Jacobs-Gamble (Owen Sound, ON/) and Owen Goodwin (Bonshaw, PEI/), anchored by seniors David Gbenjo (Kitchener/) and Ben Lemon (Waterloo, ON/), finished 7th in 3:20.43. Gbenjo and Goodwin ran personal best splits, with Gbenjo's 49.09 ranking as the 5th fastest in Warrior history. The team finished in the U SPORTS top 16.

Ben Lemon (Waterloo, ON/) and Kevin Salaudeen (Belleville, ON/) will travel to the U SPORTS Track & Field Championships hosted by the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg March 5-7. Lemon competes in the 600m prelims Thursday evening, while Salaudeen will contest the Triple Jump on Saturday afternoon.The full schedule, live results, and details can be found below. 

Live Results & Meet Schedule
U SPORTS Track & Field Championships Website
U SPORTS Live Broadcast