2025-26 Season Preview: Gryphons Track and Field

GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons track and field teams will officially get the 2026 portion of their schedule underway this weekend (Jan. 9-10, 2026), with Gryphon track athletes competing in a pair of meets on both sides of the border. In Windsor, Ontario, the Gryphons will send athletes to the Windsor Can Am Classic, while U of G track athletes will also be represented south of the border this weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the 2026 Michigan Wolverine Invitational. 

"We want to compete for championships," says Jason Kerr, head coach of the University of Guelph track and field program and a 7-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year in track and field. "We need to collectively rebuild the mentality and culture that gives us the best chance to do that, without losing our connection to the fun and excitement that makes university sport special - reglardless of the outcome." 

A season ago, the Gryphons once again impressed at both the provincial and national levels, highlighted by the U fo G men capturing the OUA banner at the 2025 OUA Track and Field Championships in Windsor, marking the 9th OUA title in program history for the Gryphons men's track and field team. The Gryphons women's track and field team also had an impressive showing a season ago, claiming silver at both the OUA and U SPORTS Championships. Since the 2007-08 season, the Guelph Gryphons track and field program has been the standard of excellence in the country, claiming 18 U SPORTS banners during that time span (10 on the men's side, 8 on the women's). The Gryphons saw their incredible streak of six straight national titles come to an end last season with both the men and women placing in 2nd-place at the 2025 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships. This season, York University will serve as hosts of the 2026 OUA Track and Field Championships (Feb. 20-21, 2026), while the national championship meet will take place in Winnipeg, with the University of Manitoba set to host the 2026 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships (March 5-7, 2026). We get you set for the busy season ahead on the track with a closer look at the 2025-26 edition of the University of Guelph track and field program.
 

Sprints and Hurdles
 
MEN 

The Gryphon men boast plenty of talent and experience within the sprint and hurdles group for the 2025-26 season. The school record holder in the men's 60m (6.65) returns for his senior season in standout sprinter, Travis Campbell.  The biological science major from Milton, Ontario is a two-time OUA silver medalist in the men's 60m and won the bronze medal in the men's 60m at last year's U SPORTS Track and Field Championships. Last year's U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, Keon Rude, returns for his sophomore season as a Gryphon following an outstanding rookie season as a Gryphon a season ago. The geography major won a silver medal in the men's 60m hurdles and bronze in the men's 60m at last year's OUA Track and Field Championships. The Calgary native is also part of the men's 2x200m relay team that took home gold at OUA's and silver at U SPORTS last season. The Gryphons also add some highly-touted new additions to their sprint group in 2026, highlighted by Oluwaniyimi Fagbamiye (Surrey, BC) who arrives at U of G from the NCAA after transferring from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Matthew Francis (Mississauga, ON) is also another new addition to look at for, with the 6-foot-2 sprinter and accounting major in his first as a Gryphon.
 
WOMEN
 

An experienced group of talented sprinters helps lead the way for the Gryphons in 2026. Gabby Cole returns for her fourth season with team, after representing Canada at the 2025 World Athletics Relay Championships in China in the spring of 2025. The Ajax, Ontario native is coming off a fantastic season where she won gold in the women's 4x200m relay at both provincials and nationals to go along with her individual bronze medal in the women's 300m at nationals and individual silver medal in the women's 60m at provincials and nationals. The culture and technology major is the school record holder in the women's 60m with a time of 7.23. After a sensational first year with the program which saw her named the Dr. Mary Beverley-Burton Rookie of the Year (U of G's rookie of the year across all sports), Dianna Proctor returns to Guelph for her second season. The Edmonton native was named U SPORTS Rookie of the Year after taking indoor track season by storm, taking home three provincial and national gold medals, winning individual gold in the women's 300m and team gold in the 4x200m and 4x400m relay. The music major, alongside Gabby Cole, represented Team Canada at the 2025 World Athletics Relay Championships in China and she also represented Canada this past summer in Tokyo at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Nicole McKenzie returns to the Gryphons for her fifth season as part of the double-gold medal winning women's 4x200 and 4x400m relay teams. The Mississauga native was a double-gold medalist in the women's 300m back in 2024 and won bronze in the discipline at OUA's last season. Third-year criminal justice and public policy major, Hailey Reid, is also back with the team as a provincial champion and national silver medalist in the women's 60m hurdles in 2024.
 

Endurance
 
MEN
 

Max Davies, one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the Gryphons track and field program, returns for his fourth season as a Gryphon. This past summer, Davies became a Canadian National Champion in the men's 1500m, posting a time of 3:58.29 in Ottawa in the summer at the 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships. At the collegiate level, Davies is a two-time University of Guelph Men's Athlete of the Year, the 2024 OUA Athlete of the Year (across all sports) and a seven-time U SPORTS gold medalist. The management major is also the new Canadian U23 record holder in the men's 1500m with a time of 3:33.86. Alongside Max Davies, another key returner for the Gryphons endurance group in 2025-26 is Jack Lehto. Lehto, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major from Burlington, Ontario, is coming off a strong 2025 cross country season where he crossed the line in 6th-place at nationals to earn himself U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian status, to go along with his OUA First Team All-Star status in cross country after claiming individual bronze medal at the 2025 OUA Cross Country Championships. Lehto will look to carry over that momentum into the indoor track season when he will compete in the men's 1500m and 3000m disciplines. Dylan Ferri (Oakville, ON) returns for his fourth season as a Gryphon, and will look to once again help lead the Gryphons men's 4x800m relay team that won gold at both U SPORTS and OUA's last year.
 
WOMEN
 

Alexandra McDougall enters the 2026 indoor track season with plenty of momentum on her side following a sensational 2025 cross country season. The Port Perry, Ontario native finished in the 3rd-place out of 174 runners to claim the individual bronze medal at the 2025 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships and won individual gold at the 2025 OUA Cross Country Championships, earning her honours as the 2025 OUA Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year. The fourth-year biomedical engineering major has already booked her ticket to nationals after she hit the U SPORTS standard in the women's 3000m on December 6 in Boston. Kayla Sanderson-Kirby joins McDougall as one of the team captains as she will compete in the women's 1000m after racing at the U SPORTS Track and Field Championships a season ago. Ruby Radovich returns to Guelph for her third season with the program after winning a pair of OUA gold medals as part of the women's 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams and a gold in the women's 4x400m relay team at U SPORTS. Radovich, a biological science major from LaSalle, Ontario, was a silver medalist at provincials in the women's 600m in 2024 and was the 2024 OUA Rookie of the Year. Radovich alongside Kayla Sanderson-Kirby and Leah Stapleton all return to the women's 4x800m relay team which won gold at last year's OUA Championships.
 

Jumps and Throws
 
MEN
 

Noah Dommasch and Samuel Utting both return to Guelph after both heptathletes found the podium at last year's 2025 OUA Track and Field Championships. Dommasch, a fifth-year accounting major, is a two-time OUA silver medalist in the heptathlon with the most recent coming at last year's provincial championships. Samuel Utting, a third-year Guelph native and team captain, finished right behind his teammate Dommasch in 3rd-place last year to earn a bronze medal in the heptathlon. Second-year thrower Liam Davis is back with the program in the weight throw as a bronze medalist at last year's OUA Championships. The Eganville, Ontario native has already qualified for nationals after reaching the U SPORTS standard mark at York. Standout rookie long jumper Sayanthan Arulrajan joins the program from Chinguacousy High School in Brampton, where he is the current OFSAA junior boys record holder in long jump.
 
WOMEN
 

A pair of fifth-year standouts and team captains return to the track program for the upcoming season in Jen Elizarov and Rebecca Parker. Jen Elizarov is back with the Gryphons following an impressive summer pole vaulting. The biomedical engineering major at the 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships became the women's Canadian national champion in the pole vault clearing the height of 4.45m. Elizarov also represented Canada at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in the women's pole vault. The Waterloo native is a three-time OUA and U SPORTS gold medalist in the discipline and set a new U SPORTS record at last year's 2025 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships. Also returning for her fifth-year with the program is pentathlete Rebecca Parker. The Windsor native is coming off an impressive season where she was the U SPORTS Field Athlete of the Year. Parker has captured the last two gold medals at the provincial level and has a pair of national silver medals including one from last season. The criminal justice and public policy major is the current OUA record holder in the pentathlon accumulating a total of 4141 total points. She also represented Team Ontario at the 2025 Canada Games in St. John's, Newfoundland where she came in 2nd-place. Incoming rookie pentathlete Paige Zinger also competed at the 2025 Canada Games representing Team Alberta where she finished in 3rd-place. Zinger, the human kinetics, major joins the program from Red Deer, Alberta and will compete in the pentathlon.