Written by Thomas Scott

Another year is in the books for the Dalhousie Tigers, building upon the most dominant conference run in U SPORTS history, winning 34 straight titles.

Dal’s dominance at this season’s AUS Championship hosted by the UNB Reds was immediate. Fourth-year sprinter Chloe Richardson set an AUS record on the championship’s first day. In the 1000m, Richardson won gold, sprinting a time of 2:52.32.

The Tigers grabbed eight gold medals on the championship’s first day, two of which came in relays. Lynn Sheppard, Ali Poisson, Jess Goodwin and Cara MacDonald led the way for Dal in the 4x200m relay. The team of Zoe Fullerton, Aidan MacDonald, Waverley Mulligan and Richardson won gold in the 4x800m relay.

Dal tallied five silver and bronze medals combined on the day, leading all teams with 104 points, 63 more points than second place.

Adding four more gold medals on the final day of the AUS Championship, the Tigers secured a 34th straight title. They finished with 167 points on the weekend, 90 more than the second-placed UNB REDS.

Richardson was named the track athlete of the year and MacIsaac was named the field athlete of the year. Gaudry also brought home the championship most valuable athlete and Amelia Reid was named the Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner.

To begin nationals, hosted by the University of Manitoba from March 7-9, fourth-year thrower Chelsea MacIsaac had a best throw of 16.67m, placing fourth in the weight throw.

“She found consistency this year,” says head coach Rich Lehman.

The other Dal finalist on the day, third-year kinesiology major Abbi Gaudry, placed eighth in the pentathlon.

On the second day, Dal had five event finalists, including first-year endurance runner Mulligan, who finished fourth in the 3000m.

“You can see the talent from the first time we saw her run. We knew there was something there,” says Lehman. “For her to become this good this fast is great to see.

Mulligan followed up the next day with another fourth-place finish, this time in the 1500m. Dal placed seventh on the national stage, totalling 21 points. “It's pretty impressive from a group that was never ranked,” says Lehman. Lehman was named the Dalhousie Coach of the Year. Mulligan brought home both the team MVP award and the Class of ’55 award as Dalhousie Female Athlete of the Year.