A new year and the first full meet in the new Gryphon Fieldhouse brought out the best in the newest members of University of Guelph track and field team.  Gryphon rookies captured five individual titles at the Guelph New Year Opener, highlighted by Mitchell Torres (Quinte West) a men's high jumper and Madeline Yungblut (Wroxeter) in the women's 3000 metres, both achieving CIS automatic qualifying marks.  

Yungblut's run was the most dominant of the meet, lapping the entire field in the women's 3000 metres and posting the top ranked performance in the country.  Torres' jump of 2.02 metres was a personal best and part of an impressive showing from the Gryphon rookie jumpers who also registered wins in the men's long jump Matt Fontanna (Grand Valley) (6.89) and men's pentathlon Anthony Broeders (Wolfe Island) (3353).  Fontanna is currently ranked second nationally in both the men's long and triple jumps, while Broeders is the top ranked pentathlete in the early season rankings.  Rounding out the Gryphon rookie wins was Brandon Shirk in the men's 300 metres; Shirk won by nearly a second with a time of 35.66. 

The Gryphons captured 26 events at the meet, other highlights included: Tim Hendry (Parry Sound) sweeping the men's throws events posting a CIS automatic qualifying throw in the men's weight throw of 17.94 metres and winning the shot put with a best throw of 17.45; Pat Dufresne (Sault Ste. Marie) winning the men's triple jump with a mark of 14.25, a mark that ranks him first in the CIS, one spot ahead of where he finished at last year's championships; Julia Wallace (Whitby) winning the women's triple jump in a mark of 12.39 metres. Wallace, the Gryphons' master of all trades, automatically qualified for her third event at the CIS Championships and is currently ranked first in the country in all three events the women's long, triple and high jump.

Other Gryphon female winners were: Kerry-Ann Cornwall (Guelph) (60 metres), Corinne Smith (Oakville) (600 metres), Nadine Frost (St. Andrews) (1000 metres), Genevieve Lalonde (Moncton) (1500 metres),  Tomeizel Barry (Waterloo) (60 metre hurdles), Erika Fiedler (Kitchener) (pole vault),  Sarah Dougherty (Renfrew) (shot put and weight throw) and Jessica May (Binbrook) (pentathlon). 

Gryphon male winners were: Benoit Boulay (North Bay) (1000 metres), Steve Holmes (Port Hope) (1500 metres) and Paul Worndl (Kitchener) (pole vault).

The Gryphons will be back in action next weekend at the Can-Am Classic hosted by the University of Windsor.  Their next home meet will be the Guelph Last Chance February 15^th and 16^th at the Gryphon Fieldhouse.
   Full results are posted at http://can.milesplit.com/meets/125839/results/230069 Source: Chris Moulton