WINNIPEG, Man. – For the ninth time in program history, and the seventh time in the past eight seasons, the Guelph Gryphons women's track and field team are national champions.
The 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships took place over three days (March 5-7) at the James Daly Fieldhouse in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the Gryphon women finished 1st in the final team standings, while the University of Guelph men's track and field team finished 3rd.
Over the course of the three days of the national championship meet, the Gryphons men's and women's student-athletes combined to reach in the podium on 12 occasions (5 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze).
DAY 1 RECAP (Thursday, March 5):
On Thursday (March 5), the Gryphons got off to a strong start in the overall team standings, jumping out to a 17-point lead on the women's side (34 points) and a four-point lead on the men's (14 points), thanks to two gold medal finishes, and four top three results. Women's sprinter
Gabrielle Cole, a fourth-year culture and technology studies major at the University of Guelph, stole the spotlight with her performance in the Women's 60m, where she posted a blazing time of 7.20 to claim U SPORTS gold. The time was a personal best and broke her own school record. The 7.20 time also matched the qualifying standard for the upcoming World Athletics Indoor Championships. Cole was just one-hundredth of a second short of the U23 and U SPORTS record of 7.19, set by Canadian Olympian
Khamica Bingham back in 2015. This marked
Gabrielle Cole's first U SPORTS gold medal in the Women's 60m, after having claimed silver at nationals a year ago. Gryphons pole vaulter,
Jennifer Elizarov, capped off her decorated U of G career with a fourth straight U SPORTS gold medal in the Women's Pole Vault, with the biomedical engineering major clearing 4.30m to claim the national gold.
Rebecca Parker and
Paige Zinger finished 2nd and 3rd in the Women's Pentathlon, and
Travis Campbell and
Keon Rude did the same in the Men's 60m final, to cap a memorable opening day for the Gryphons.
DAY 2 RECAP (Friday, March 6):
Day 2 action on Friday (March 6) was headlined by Gryphons men's sprinter,
Keon Rude, who set a new U SPORTS meet record in the Men's 60m Hurdles. Rude, a geography major at the University of Guelph who hails from Calgary, Alberta, crossed the line in 7.75 seconds to claim U SPORTS gold. It was his second medal of the weekend, after a bronze in the Men's 60m on night one. His time bested that of former Gryphon (and 2024 Olympian), Craig Thorne, who had the prior record of 7.77 seconds in 2023. On the women's side, the Gryphons went 1-2 in the Women's 300m. Gryphons sophomore sensation,
Dianna Proctor, took home the U SPORTS gold medal in the Women's 300m, with the music major from Edmonton, Alberta followed by Gryphon teammate, Gabby Cole, in 2nd. Rude, Proctor and Cole's standout performances highlighted a stellar Day 2 for the Gryphons, who ended Friday with the lead in the women's standings, 12 clear of 2nd-place Western (66 compared to 54). While on the men's side, Western held a slim one-point on Guelph (45-44) heading into Saturday's final day of action.
DAY 3 RECAP (Saturday, March 7):
The third and final day of action at the 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships in Winnipeg saw the Gryphons reach the podium three more times, including a gold medal finish in the Women's 4x400m Relay. The Gryphons also claimed silver in the Women's 4x200m Relay, while
Erika Lealess reached the podium with a bronze in the Women's 600m. The Gryphons quartet of
Dianna Proctor, Gabby Cole,
Amira Lawrence and
Nicole McKenzie, finished 2nd in the Women's 4x200m Relay, despite posting a time of 1:35.37 – which broke the previous U SPORTS record. The Gryphons were edged by the Saskatchewan Huskies Women's 4x200m Relay team who set the new standard at 1:35. 24. But when the dust settled on the three days of action on the women's side, it was the Gryphons who ran away from the competition, finishing the championship meet with 105 points (26 points clear of the next closest school, the Saskatchewan Huskies, who had 79 points). The Gryphons men's team were in a tightly-contested leaderboard, with the final team standings on the men's side seeing just 8 points separate 1st from 3rd, with the Western Mustangs (64 points) ultimately edging both the Alberta Golden Bears (60.5 points) and Guelph Gryphons (56 points) for national bragging rights. The Gryphon men came agonizingly close to securing a national title, but after seemingly claiming gold in the Men's 4x200m Relay, were later informed of a disqualification, giving the Western Mustangs a second straight U SPORTS title. See below for more information on the 2026 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships.
Gryphon medalists at the 2026 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships
DAY 1
🥇 Gabby Cole - 60m
🥇 Jen Elizarov - PV
🥈
Travis Campbell - 60m
🥈
Rebecca Parker - Pent
🥉
Paige Zinger - Pent
🥉
Keon Rude - 60m
DAY 2
🥇
Keon Rude - 60m Hurdles
🥇
Dianna Proctor – Women's 300m
🥈 Gabby Cole – Women's 300m
DAY 3
🥇 Gabby Cole,
Amira Lawrence,
Erika Lealess,
Dianna Proctor – Women's 4x400m Relay
🥈
Dianna Proctor, Gabby Cole,
Amira Lawrence,
Nicole McKenzie – Women's 4x200m Relay
🥉
Erika Lealess – Women's 600m
Final Team Standings
WOMEN'S
1 – Guelph Gryphons (105 pts)
2 – Saskatchewan Huskies (79 pts)
3 – Windsor Lancers (70 pts)
4 – Western Mustangs (66 pts)
T5 – Alberta Pandas (33 pts)
T5 – Calgary Dinos (33 pts)
7 – Montreal Carabins (32 pts)
8 – Toronto Varsity Blues (29 pts)
T9 – Laval Rouge et Or (24 pts)
T9 – Lethbridge Pronghorns (24 pts)
11 – StFX X-Women (22 pts)
T12 – Manitoba Bisons (20 pts)
T12 – Sherbrooke Vert et Or (20 pts)
T14 – Dalhousie Tigers (17 pts)
T14 – Regina Cougars (17 pts)
16 – UNB Reds (13 pts)
17 – York Lions (12 pts)
18 – Brock Badgers (9 pts)
19 – Victoria Vikes (8 pts)
T20 – Ottawa Gee-Gees (6 pts)
T20 – McGill Martlets (6 pts)
22 – Moncton Aigles Bleu (5 pts)
23 – Ecole de technologie superieur Piranhas (4 pts)
24 – Queen's Gaels (2 pts)
25 – Trinity Western Spartans (1 pt)
MEN'S
1 – Western Mustangs (64 pts)
2 – Alberta Golden Bears (60.5 pts)
3 – Guelph Gryphons (56 pts)
4 – Manitoba Bisons (55 pts)
5 – York Lions (53 pts)
6 – Windsor Lancers (48 pts)
7 – Calgary Dinos (40 pts)
8 – Toronto Varsity Blues (38 pts)
9 – Laval Rouge et Or (34 pts)
10 – McGill Redbirds (33 pts)
11 – Ottawa Gee-Gees (23 pts)
T12 – Queen's Gaels (20 pts)
T12 – UNB Reds (20 pts)
14 – Sherbrooke Vert et Or (17 pts)
15 – McMaster Marauders (15 pts)
16 – Dalhousie Tigers (14 pts)
17 – Trinity Western Spartans (13 pts)
T18 – Montreal Carabins (12 pts)
T18 – Saskatchewan Huskies (12 pts)
20 – Brock Badgers (10 pts)
21 – Regina Cougars (8 pts)
22 – Lethbridge Pronghorns (6 pts)
23 – Victoria Vikes (5 pts)
24 – Concordia Stingers (1 pt)
GUELPH GRYPHONS TRACK & FIELD – CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Gryphons Women's Track and Field
National Titles: 9 (2025-26, 2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2019-20, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2013-14, 2007-08)
Gryphons Men's Track and Field
National Titles: 10 (2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2019-20, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17, 2012-13, 2009-10, 2007-08)
MOST NATIONAL TITLES ALL-TIME – BREAKDOWN BY SCHOOL (updated following 2025-26 season)
Men's
Guelph (10)
Windsor (9)
Manitoba (7)
Sherbrooke (5)
Toronto (4)
York (3)
Saskatchewan (3)
Western (3)
Alberta (1)
Women's
Windsor (11)
Guelph (9)
Saskatchewan (7)
Toronto (6)
Western (5)
Calgary (4)
York (3)
Alberta (1)
