The University of Toronto Varsity Blues track and field team opened the 2024 OUA Track and Field Championships on Friday (Feb. 23) earning three medals inside Windsor University's Dennis Fairall Field House.

Both the Toronto men and women rank fourth in their respective overall standings with an identical 29 points scored. The U of T women trail behind Windsor (36), Western (98), and Guelph (101). Meanwhile, the men will be aiming to leapfrog Windsor (37), with Western (63) and Guelph (80) holding the top two positions.

Competition continues tomorrow (Feb. 24) beginning at 9 a.m. with the women's weight throw, while the action on the track will open at 11:35 a.m. with the 60m semifinal races. All the action can be caught live on oua.tv.

WOMEN'S RESULTS:

Capturing her fourth OUA medal in her fourth OUA championship appearance, Varsity Blues pole vaulter Alexzandra Throndson earned silver on Day 1 of the provincial showcase. Throndson was one of only three women to clear the 4.00m mark on the day, adding to her collection of OUA hardware from previous seasons, which includes two golds and a bronze.

Just missing out on the podium positions, the Blues 4x800m relay team of Brooklyn McCormick, Katherine Vuckovic, Julia Boutin, and Christina Esposito finished fourth with a time of 5:06.10, placing them less than one second back of the bronze.

In the women's 60m hurdles, Blues veteran sprinter Paulina Procyk earned a fifth place result with a time of 8.63, improving on her preliminary time of 8.71.

The Blues duo of Jasmine Lew and Jada Roach placed fifth and sixth in the women's long jump. Both posting their best jumps on their third of six attempts, Lew registered a leap of 5.64m, while Roach went 5.61m

Then in the distance events, Esposito delivered the Blues a seventh place finish in the 1000m with a time of 2:53.11, and in the 3000m, Sarah Luedke also picked up a seventh place result posting a time of 9:57.88.

MEN'S RESULTS:

In the men's 300m, fourth-year sprinter Emmett Bravakis raced to a gold medal finish with a time of 34.44. The win marked the third consecutive year Bravakis claimed the OUA 300m title and fifth career OUA medal.

Fellow sprinter David Adeleye also captured a medal for the Blues, placing second in the men's 60m hurdle with a finals time of 7.88. The silver marked the culmination of continued improvement at the OUA championships for Adeleye, stepping onto the podium following a fourth place finish in 2023 and sixth in 2022.

Shifting to the field, in his first year competing with the Blues, multi-sport athlete Luka Stoikos converted a personal best toss of 13.88 in the men's weight throw for a fifth place finish. A member of the Varsity Blues football team, Stoikos has also competed in sprints and the shot put this season.

In the men's long jump, Ryan Denman's first of six jumps proved to be his best, placing sixth overall with a mark of 6.99m.

Finally, in the distance events, Christopher Stamadianos finished ninth overall in the men's 1000m with a time of 2:30.91. In a very competitive event, Stamadianos' best ever result at the OUA championships came in a field of 24 runners. Meanwhile, fellow distance runner Brandon Raftis placed tenth in the men's 3000m with a run of 8:43.64.