EDMONTON – Two members of the University of Miami track and field program will compete at the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Selection Trials this weekend in the hopes of punching their tickets to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Alysha Newman and Aiyanna Stiverne will compete against Canada’s best track and field athletes for the Canadian championship, as well as a place on the Canadian National team. The Canadian Track and Field Championships and Selection Trials will be held at Foote Field in in Edmonton, Alberta from July 7-10.
Newman enters the Canadian national meet as the top pole vaulter in the country. The 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship runner-up, Newman earned First Team All-America honors both indoors and outdoors in 2016. She set the Canadian national record and broke her own school record at her final home meet at Miami, clearing 4.60m at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational. The Delaware, Ontario, native was the 2016 ACC outdoor champion in the women’s pole vault and she will look to become the Canadian national champion on Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
Stiverne’s quest for a spot on the Canadian Olympic Team begins in the 400m preliminaries, scheduled to begin at 9:05 p.m. ET on Friday. The rising junior will look to advance to Saturday’s final, set to begin at 8:50 p.m. ET. Stiverne, who hails from Plantation, Fla., was a Second Team All-American in the 400m in 2016 and earned First Team-All-America honors as part of Miami’s 4x400m relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also was a member of Miami’s 4x100m relay at the NCAA meet, earning Second Team All-American recognition. Stiverne was a bronze medalist in the 400m at the 2016 ACC Outdoor Championships and helped the Hurricanes earn gold medals in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Miami alumna Kelsey Balkwill will also compete at the Canadian Olympic Trials, running in both the 400m and 400m hurdles. Balkwill, who was a First Team All-American in the 4x400m relay as a senior in 2015, will compete in the 400m preliminaries at 9:05 p.m. ET on Friday. She is set to run in the 400m hurdles preliminaries on Thursday, beginning at 7:35 p.m. ET.
The 2016 Canadian Track and Field Championships and Selection Trials will be broadcasted live on athleticscanada.tv.
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