Blue and gold show strong at home through day one of UBC Open

VANCOUVER – The sun shone (eventually), and so did the Thunderbirds who showed up and produced spectacularly in their lone home meet of the Track and Field season with qualifying standards and personal bests galore on day one of the 2025 UBC Open.

The only opportunity all season for the T-Birds to compete on their familiar training grounds wasn't lost on the blue and gold which produced a total of 14 'A' Standard results and a number of meet records.

While impressive results came throughout the day, some of the best came in the early evening as the opening day was coming to a close, highlighted by sophomore Lyle Lo setting a new personal best triple jump attempt of 15.25 metres. Winning the event by over 2.5 metres, Lo now also holds the number one NAIA ranking. Earlier in the day Lo set another personal best in long jump, his 7.55 metres setting a new meet record while meeting 'A' Standard to book his ticket to the National Championship in a second event.



Amelia Cha won the women's Long Jump, setting a new personal best as her 5.78 metre top attempt bested her previous PB set just last week by one centimetre, also improving her eighth overall ranking.

Holly MacGillivray won the women's 5000 metres and now holds the number one NAIA ranking with a 16:04.85, more than a 12 second margin of victory on the Rashpal Dhillon oval. Fellow T-Bird senior Amelia Pfohl will also be headed to the NAIA National Championship with an 'A' Standard time of 16:49.38, a new personal best.

Dylan Uhrich came just shy of a personal best in the men's 5000 metres, taking second place with an 'A' Standard time of 14:18.03. T-Bird alumnus Thomas Broatch won the grueling race with a blistering 14:12.26.

Saturday marked another excellent day for UBC's racewalkers as all five competitors met 'A' Standard to qualify for the National Championships. Three-time defending women's NAIA 5000 metre racewalk champion Olivia Lundman crushed 'A' Standard by nearly five minutes, her 22:17.76 now sitting as the number one ranked time while also besting her own meet record set two years ago. Freshmen Grace Wong and Chantelle Dass also both qualified for the national championship.
 

Both T-Bird male walkers, Tyler Wilson and Lowell Solmes, also easily met 'A' Standard. Wilson's 21:21.05 is now the number one NAIA time this season while Solmes is ranked number two with a 21:26.58 on Saturday.

Freshman Kayden U-Ming officially began his collegiate career by putting the NAIA on notice, his winning javelin throw of 65.74 metres meeting 'A' Standard by more than 3.5 metres. He now holds the number one NAIA ranking ahead of teammate Daniel Smart-Reed who took fourth place Saturday. Theo Manuel finished second at the UBC Open with a top attempt of 62.25 metres.

Sarah Snell met 'B' Standard in women's javelin as her top throw Saturday of 42.30 metres took first place honours at the UBC Open.
 
Senior Michelle Dadson set a new personal best in women's shot put with her 13.83 metre attempt taking top spot Saturday while also meeting 'B' Standard. Earlier on Saturday, Dadson finished third in hammer throw, reaching 51.01 metres.
 

The 2025 UBC Open women's hammer throw title went to Bella Hall as her 54.72 metres now stands as the number two ranking in the NAIA this season. Her 'A' Standard throw is also a new personal best by nearly three metres.
Auguste Turner earned first in men's shot put with 13.99 metres.

Logan Peterson won the men's 400 metres with a personal best time of 48.23 while Nickolas Sebastianelli claimed third, also with a lifetime record of 49.23.

Hanna Sobkowich won the women's 400 in 55.91 to meet 'B' Standard and a provisional entry to nationals.

It was a top three sweep for the T-Birds in the men's 800 metres with senior Spencer Hardy surging down the home stretch to win with a time of 1:53.34. Devon Meadows and Ryan Goudron claimed second and third, respectively.

Mackenzie Campbell earned 'B' Standard in the women's 800 metres, finishing second overall with a 2:12.28. It was a terrific day for the junior T-Bird who also made 'B' Standard in the 1500 metres, her 4:32.86 good for another second place finish out of 46 competitors.



Sophomore Mia Cameron won the women's 400 metre hurdles in 1:03.31 while freshman Haley Martin came second with a time of 1:04.74.

Tanya Dhanoa won the women's 100 metre hurdles crossing the finish line in 14.80.

Two T-Birds are competing in the meet's decathlon with freshman Samuel McGee holding the lead through five events with a total score of 2921. McGee earned first place finishes in the 100 metre dash (11.76), and high jump (1.76m). Jack Marshall sits third with 2597 points, finishing first in shot put with a top attempt of 9.83 metres.

Sarah Pimblett holds the lead through four events in the heptathlon. The junior T-Bird's point total stands at 2579 having finished first among the eight competitors in high jump, clearing 1.63 metres and earning second in shot put. Alessandra Ionescu-Zanetti is fourth with 2369 points and freshman Audrey Vennesland sits eighth with 1658.

Day two of the 2025 UBC Open begins Sunday at 10:00 a.m. starting with women's pole vault while the first track event of the day will feature the men's 110 metre hurdles at 10:30.