Talk about coming in hot to your collegiate career. At the U Sports Track and Field Championships on Friday, the University of Guelph’s Dianna Proctor just reaffirmed her status as U Sports rookie of the year, claiming the 300m national title as a first-year athlete. The 19-year-old stormed to nearly a half-second personal best of 37.68, the fifth-fastest all-time Canadian U23 mark.
Western University’s Favour Okpali clocked 37.78 for second, while Proctor’s teammate and the 60m silver medallist Gabrielle Cole claimed bronze in 38.24.
“Before the race, I knew I wanted to win,” Proctor told Canadian Running. “I knew I just had to execute the race, and I would get what I wanted.”
Although the competition marks Proctor’s U Sports debut, the Edmonton native is well-versed in high-level championships. At the U20 World Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, Proctor sprinted to three personal bests (in two days) to earn herself a silver medal in the 400m.
Dianna Proctor of the Guelph Gryphons just won the U Sports title AS A ROOKIE🤯
She clocked 37.68 to take the women’s 300m, winning by a tenth of a second🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/LfjNxEpDjX
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) March 8, 2025
So far, Proctor seems to be enjoying her time as a Guelph Gryphon. “It’s away from home, so being with the track team and experiencing things with them really helps,” Proctor said. “Being on a winning team, cheering everyone on–it’s really good.”
MacDonald smashes double U Sports records
On the same day, the University of Calgary’s Sienna MacDonald took down two U Sports records within moments of one another. She clocked 8.09 seconds in the 60m hurdle prelims, breaking the now-Olympian Michelle Harrison’s previous record of 8.15 seconds. Later, she further improved the mark in the final with a time of 7.99 seconds.
“I knew it was going to be a fast day,” MacDonald told Canadian Running. “The track is exciting, it’s fast–I’ve never run on a track that gives me this much bounce back.”
Sienna MacDonald wins the long jump with a final leap of 6.25m, taking down her 2️⃣nd U Sports record of the day!
She’s also well within the Indoor World Championships quota for the 60mH 👀🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/UKKqJxNK8z
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) March 8, 2025
Upon finishing, MacDonald raced to continue competing in the long jump and achieved another U Sports record, leaping to 6.25m in her final attempt. “I love doing events back to back,” MacDonald revealed after her win. “So going from hurdles to long jump was amazing for me because I don’t have time to cool down.”
MacDonald, well within the World Indoor Championships quota for the 60m hurdles, is now waiting for the Canadian team to be announced on March 10. “I’m really hoping to make the team,” she says. If selected, it would mark her first national team. “It feels really surreal. I keep thinking, ‘Oh, I’m dreaming,’ but this is reality, and it could very well happen, so I’m excited.”
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CRM would like to thank Under Armour for their continued support of our 2025 U Sports T&F coverage.
