The hope is to savour the moment.

Article content

The hope is to savour the moment.

Article content

Article content

That is what Windsor Lancers head track and field coach Colin Inglis wants for his team when it hosts the U Sports track and field championships from Thursday through Saturday at the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse.

“They’ve competed hard and met all the goals and expectations this season,” Inglis said. “Enjoy the moment, compete at home and go out on a high.”

Article content

This will be the 13th time the Lancers have hosted the track and field nationals, but the first time since 2018 and the athletes don’t want merely sett for just showing up.

“Everyone’s peaking at the right time and we get another chance (this weekend) where anything can happen,” Lancers’ fifth-year senior Mandy Brunet said.

The 24-year-old Brunet was the lone female member of the Lancers to medal at last year’s U Sports championship with a silver-medal performance in the triple jump.

She’s the top seed in the event this year and the Lancers have six female athletes seeded to finish on the podium at this year’s meet.

“I think we’ll be battling for a lot of chances to be on the podium this weekend,” Inglis said. “We could have six or seven on the women’s side and eight or nine on the men’s side.”

Last year, the men secured three medals at the meet and two were in relays as they went on to finish sixth overall. This year, the Lancers closed the gap on Western and Guelph to again win bronze at the OUA championship and moved up in the national rankings to sit fourth nationally coming into this meet.

Article content

Meanwhile, the women’s team finished ninth overall at the national meet a year ago, but gained a nearly 50 points at the conference championship this year and head into the meet seeded fifth in the country.

“Podium at the OUA was the goal,” Inglis said. “Would we have liked it to be a different colour? Sure, but we really closed the gaps on Western and Guelph and made progress.”

And, with a little luck and a few surprises, the Lancers have the potential to possibly sneak onto the podium this weekend.

“As coaches, we’re trying to keep them on an even keel and focus on the norm,” Inglis said. “Be supportive and proud of how they’ve responded to what we’ve asked of them, but continue to move the program forward in U Sports.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

twitter.com/winstarparker

Article content