by Duncan Forbes
It was another year, and another championship for a Tigers team that has now won the AUS championship for 26 straight years. They were dominant all season, and their confidence appears to be at an all-time high.
“The women continued to show their dominance at the conference level,” says head coach Rich Lehman. “From the start of the first event, to the end of the last, they were in control at the AUS championships. Across all event groups, nobody was close and we made it very clear that it’s going to be very tough to beat us anytime soon!”
At the Tigers Track Classic in November, the Tigers kicked off their season with six first place finishes before heading to the ANS and Moncton opens in January, where they added another 11 victories.
The Tigers made a statement at the 20th annual McGill Team Challenge in January, finishing just one point back of second-place. Rebecca Haworth placed first in the high jump, while Chantelle Robbertse got the gold in the pentathlon.
They continued their winning ways at the Saint Mary’s Open with another nine gold medal performances before focusing their attention on the AUS championship.
Heading into the AUS championship in Moncton, there was no doubt that their end goal was to be on top of the podium at the end of the weekend. To no one’s surprise, the Tigers blew out the competition, and their 165 points were almost 60 more than their closest competitor. The Tigers got wins in eight individual events, plus both relays.
Rebecca Haworth was named the AUS female field athlete of the year for the third time in her career, and she also picked up her fifth-consecutive student-athlete community service award. Chantelle Robbertse was named the athlete of the meet after claiming gold in both the long jump and pentathlon. Rich Lehman was named the AUS coach of the year for the third straight year.
Lehman couldn’t say enough good things about his team’s performance.
“Sarah Taplin and Chantelle Robbertse were absolutely dominant the whole meet, and their points alone would have placed them ahead of almost every team in the AUS,” explains Lehman. “Shawna McKay qualifying for CI’s as a rookie in the 300m and Colleen Wilson, Ellen Chappell and Emily Clarke dismantling the field in both the 1500m and 3000m for 1-2-3 sweeps were huge moments for our team.”
With their sights set on continuing their winning ways, the Tigers headed to the University Windsor for the CIS championships. Rebecca Haworth led the way for the Tigers, grabbing a silver medal in the high jump for the second consecutive year. She was also named the CIS student-athlete community service award winner for the third-straight year.
Chantelle Robbertse had a great meet, placing seventh in both the high jump and the indoor pentathlon, winning the 800m portion of the event, helping the Tigers to a 14th place team finish, moving up from last year’s 17th placing.
The team’s depth was sometimes tough to manage, and Lehman’s biggest problem was one that most coaches would love to have.
“The biggest challenge this year was team and award selection!” says Lehman. “There is so much talent on our women’s team, with multiple AUS record-holders, nationally-ranked athletes, etc. There were athletes ranked in the top five or six in the conference who did not end up making our championship team. These are athletes who would have been the top competitors from any other school in the conference. Those are difficult decisions to make and you wish you could take everyone!”