THUNDER BAY — Lakehead’s track and field team is feeling pretty good heading into nationals this weekend in Windsor, Ont.
Thunder Bay’s Niko Dowhos won a second consecutive OUA 60-metre title, setting the all-time OUA record in the process, completing the race in 6.65 seconds to edge Guelph’s Travis Campbell by seven one-hundredths of a second.
Meanwhile former Hammarskjold star Amy Stieh, in her final season with the Thunderwolves, took second place in the women’s 600-metre race, shattering the school record and attaining the first ever second-place finish for Lakehead in the event.
Stieh, now ranked third in the nation heading into nationals, said it was a fantastic performance for the team as a whole, in addition to the podium finishes.
For her personally, it was a culmination of a series of good race results that led to her silver at the OUAs, an improvement over the bronze she won last season.
“It definitely was a phenomenal weekend, with everything happening,” Stieh said. “It started off in Boston. I ran a phenomenal 500, which was super-exciting to run. Placing second in such a deep field, I was just happy to be there. OUAs were incredible. It’s the highest Lakehead has ever scored at OUAs, with a couple of fourth-place finishes.
“Niko winning gold and breaking the OUA record was incredible. It was a clear win and exciting to see the whole crowd light up. I was so happy to hit the podium and come second.”
Coach Joe McDonough said it was probably the best weekend the LU track and field team has yet to experience.
“Niko had an amazing year and career. If you look at his development from his time spent with our club when he was 14 (and) 15 years old, each year we were able to develop his skills and lower his personal bests, culminating in his most recent 6.65-second 60-metre run, which was the fastest ever run at the OUA championship, setting the all-time record, which is crazy to think about, in the 125-plus-year history,” McDonough said.
Stieh isn’t finished yet, she said.
She may be ranked third in the nation heading into nationals, but has her eye on the top of the podium, something that won’t be easy, given she finished three seconds behind Western’s Favour Okpali, the women’s champion who set a new OUA mark in the event, beating her own previous record by nearly two seconds, finishing in a time of 1:27.35.
“It’ll be a competitive race, for sure,” Stieh said. “I’m hoping to get in there, run tactically to position myself where I need to be and then hopefully run well and finish on the podium. I’m definitely a contender, so I’m excited to be there.”
Graduation won’t mean the end of Stieh’s running career.
She’s still got her eyes on the Olympics, and while that might be a longshot at this point, she’s not ruling anything out.
She plans to compete with Lakehead running during the upcoming outdoor season and will take her next cues from those results.
Up next are the Canadian nationals.
“Then we’ll see what the future holds. It was an encouraging indoor season, to say the least. So it encourages me to keep doing my running career and see how it goes. (The Olympics) are within grasp. I would love to be able to make another national team and I think if I’m able to dedicate myself, I would for sure be in the running. But it’s definitely competitive.”
