(SAINT JOHN, N.B.) The Dalhousie Tigers claimed both the men's and women's championship banners at the 2020 Subway AUS Track and Field Championships, presented by Keep It Social, hosted by the UNB Reds at the Irving Oil Field House in Saint John, N.B. this weekend.
The Tigers' women's team finished with 122 points to claim their 31st consecutive championship banner. The StFX X-Women team came in second with 92 points. The Moncton Aigles Bleues finished third with 70 points and the host UNB Reds finished in fourth with 60 points.
The Dalhousie men's squad earned 151 points and their 18th championship banner in 19 years.
The host UNB Reds men's team claimed second place with 128 points and the StFX X-Men finished third with 57 points.
Dalhousie's Lorena Heubach was named the championship's Subway AUS Athlete of the Meet after capturing four gold medals—including one in the 60m hurdles and another as a member of Dalhousie's 4x200m relay team. She was also named the AUS field athlete of the year. More details can be found in her write up below.
UNB's Michah Hesman was the championship's Subway AUS Athlete of the Meet on the men's side. He captured gold medals in the men's heptathlon as well as the men's pole vault. He also won bronze in the men's 60m hurdles.
AUS Men's Track and Field Major Award Winners
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Hudson Grimshaw-Surette, Dalhousie Tigers
Hudson Grimshaw-Surette of the Dalhousie Tigers is the AUS track athlete of the year.
A third-year kinesiology student from Yarmouth, N.S., Grimshaw-Surette won gold and set a new conference record in the 1000m run at this weekend's championships with a time of 2:26.53.
He captured four gold medals in all—two individual golds in the 1000m and 600m races, and two team golds as a member of the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams.
Earlier this season, Grimshaw-Surette was named an AUS all-star in men's cross country after finishing in seventh place at the AUS championship.
This marks the fourth time in five seasons a Dalhousie student-athlete has been named AUS track athlete of the year. Matt Coolen earned the honour for the Tigers in 2015-15 and 2018-19, and Mike Van der Poel won the award in 2016-17.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Jarod Manuel, UNB Reds
Jarod Manuel of the UNB Reds is the AUS field athlete of the year.
An MBA student from LaSalle, Ont. Manuel captured gold in both the men's shot put and men's weight throw events.
This marks the first time a UNB student-athlete has captured this award.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Nick Beaulieu, Dalhousie Tigers
Nick Beaulieu of the Dalhousie is the AUS track and field rookie of the year.
A first-year engineering student from Bedford, N.S., Beaulieu captured three medals at his first AUS championship meet this weekend.
He earned individual gold in the men's long jump event, and bronze in both the triple jump and the 60m dash.
Beaulieu is the first athlete from the Tigers to be named AUS rookie of the year since the 2015-16 season when Matthew Coolen earned the honour.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Jacob Halloran, Dalhousie Tigers
Jacob Halloran of the Dalhousie Tigers has been chosen as this year's recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award.
A third-year medical sciences student from Guysborough, N.S., Halloran has had success in his sport and in the classroom, while also volunteering extensively within the community.
At this weekend's championship he finished 12th in the men's 3000m.
He boasts a 4.09 cumulative GPA in the classroom and was the 2019 recipient of the Aramark Leadership Award.
Halloran founded and serves as president of the Dalhousie chapter of Jack.org—a national organization focused on mental health. Later this month, he will be the keynote speaker at the first-ever Jack.org summit in Atlantic Canada.
In his role as president, which began in 2016, he has chaired weekly meetings, overseen the activities of the executive council, and managed recruitment and executive restructuring through annual turnover.
He has served as spokesperson, delivering keynote presentations on mental health at high school symposiums across Atlantic Canada and conducting media interviews as part of Jack.org's Back to School campaign.
Halloran's win marks the first time a Tigers track and field athlete has earned this AUS award since former Dalhousie student-athlete Ueli Albert won in 2006-07.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Rich Lehman, Dalhousie Tigers
Dalhousie Tigers head coach Rich Lehman has been named the AUS men's track and field coach of the year.
This marks the fifth time in his career that he has earned this honour. He has earned coach of the year nods in men's track and field in 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18.
The Tigers team win at this weekend's championship marked their 18th men's title in 19 seasons and seventh banner in eight seasons under Coach Lehman.
VOLUNTEER COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Bawol, Dalhousie Tigers
Mike Bawol, a sprints coach with the Dalhousie, has been named the AUS men's track and field volunteer coach of the year.
Coach Bawol has been with the Tigers for the past eight seasons.
Dalhousie athletes he works with include AUS record holder Matt Coolen, AUS gold medalist Josh Lunda and AUS rookie of the year Nick Beaulieu. He also works with the 4x200m relay team which captured gold and set a new conference record this season.
This marks the third consecutive year Coach Bawol has been honoured as AUS volunteer coach of the year.
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For the women's track and field award winners, please click here.
Complete results from this weekend's championships can be found here.
This year's U SPORTS Track and Field Championships are being hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alta., March 5-7.