Langley, B.C. – Led by some exceptional relay performances and strong throws, the UBC Thunderbirds celebrated a successful Battle of Sparta on Saturday, their final Canadian meet of the season.

Hosted by the Trinity Western Spartans at Langley's McLeod Athletic Park, the T-Birds put forward multiple NAIA National Championship 'A' Standard qualifications while continuing to push the bar forward with numerous personal and season best performances.

"Though I haven't had time to digest all of the results, I think today was a fun, local opportunity for our athletes that elicited some good performances across each event group," said UBC head coach, Laurier Primeau.

The women's 4x800 metre relay turned their previous 'B' Standard mark into 'A' Standard with a finishing time of 9:12.72. Mia Cameron, Haley Martin, Rachel McDonald and Sarah MacGillivray combined to improve their existing number two ranked time and now boast just the second automatic qualification to nationals so far this season.



UBC's men's 4x400 relay capped off the meet with a 'B' Standard provisional qualifying time of 3:14.68. Chase Haagensen, Nickolas Sebastianelli, Will Van Schagen and James Kerr finished second and now hold the new seventh place ranking in the NAIA this season.

Jordan Dickhof set a new personal best in men's javelin with a 61.02 metre throw for a second place finish in his hometown. The senior Thunderbird has now easily met 'B' Standard and owns the current eighth ranked distance in the NAIA this season.

The T-Birds claimed second through fifth in women's javelin, led by Sarah Snell's 40.82 metres.

Sonya Urbanowicz won her third women's pole vault competition of the season by clearing 4.08 metres. The three-time defending NAIA champion remains the only female vaulter to have surpassed four metres this year.

Bryce White claimed first in men's pole vault by clearing 4.50 metres.



Senior Elysse Fleming won the women's 1500 metres with a 'B' Standard time of 4:34.53. Rachel McDonald set a new personal best finishing sixth in 4:40.78.

Kai Martland came within less than a second of his lifetime best in the men's 1500, his 3:54.58 good for eighth in Langley out of a massive field of 55 competitors. Andrew Corbeil finished ninth with a new PB of 3:55.37 while Will Lesyna also set a personal best, claiming 16^th with a time of 4:00.12.

Junior Tanya Dhanoa took first place in a windy women's 100 metre hurdles, crossing the finish line in 14.21.

Bella Hall and Lauren Curtis made it a T-Birds 1-2 finish in women's hammer throw while Katelyn Putz gave UBC three in the top five. Hall's first attempt was her best of the day reaching 51.45 metres, nine centimetres further than Curtis' top throw. Putz' third attempt made 48.55 metres in blustery conditions.

Sophomore Debbie Suleman finished third in the women's 100 metres, crossing the line in 12.03 as she shaved more than four tenths off her first entry of the season back at the SFU High Performance meet.



"For Elysse to post the fifth best time in the NAIA this season in an event she doesn't emphasize after already securing the top performance in steeple chase at the UBC Open is a major achievement," Primeau said. "Kai Martland's performance and Andrew Corbeil's lifetime best in the men's 1500 metres also stand out as real highlights. Jordan Dickhof's 'B' Standard and a top ten national ranking in the javelin and Debbie Suleman's return from injury to post a third place performance (and the first collegiate athlete across the line) in the 100 metres were significant achievements both individually and for the team. Capping off the day with a men's 4x400 time that puts them seventh in the NAIA rankings was a great way to finish the meet."

The T-Birds will now turn their focus to a big week both in southern California and southern Oregon. The Cascade Collegiate Conference Multi Event Championships are taking place in Ashland, Oregon starting Thursday, April 16 featuring the heptathlon and decathlon. The majority of the blue and gold, meanwhile, will be headed to greater Los Angeles for a series of meets which have historically helped produce a plethora of NAIA national championship qualifications.

In just under a month, the 'Birds will be off to the CCC championships hosted in La Grande, Oregon while the 2026 NAIA National Championships will take place May 20-22 in Asheville, North Carolina.
 
BATTLE OF SPARTA RESULTS