Ahead of the start of the 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field National Championships, University of Toronto Varsity Blues high jump veteran Aiden Grout has been named the U SPORTS Male Field Athlete of the Year.

Grout received the OUA honour just earlier in the week capping off a tremendous fifth-year with the Varsity Blues. The sustainability management student from Pitt Meadows, B.C., won his fourth OUA high jump gold medal just a few weeks ago, winning the event with a best leap of 2.17m. He was the only competitor in the field of 17-entrants at the provincial championships to clear the height. In addition, Grout also reached the final of the men's 60m hurdles, placing seventh overall.

A standout across all five seasons as a Varsity Blue, Grout has medaled at all four national championships he has previously competed at, including winning two U SPORTS gold medals in the high jump. Entering the 2026 edition of the national showcase this weekend, he once again holds the best high jump from across the country this season, having cleared 2.23m during the 2025-26 campaign. He achieved the height while also recording the second-highest heptathlon score of season, reaching 5567 points during the Charlie Thomas Invitational at Texas A&M in early-February.

Grout previously won the OUA Male Rookie of the Year in 2022, and is a four-time U SPORTS all-Canadian.