Stanat defends OUA throwing titles

Gold in shot put and discus, while Knelsen wins women's 1000 metres

March 1, 2025

By Rob J. Ross

WINDSOR, Ont. - A.J. Stanat is a back to back provincial champion.

In two events.

The St. Thomas native defended his gold medal in both men's weight throw and shot put, at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) indoor track and field championships February 20-21 at Windsor University.

Stanat set a Windsor University school record of 17.77 metres, as well as a personal best (PB) mark, in shot put, a day after winning weight throw with a distance of 17.48 metres, another PB.

"School record. Definitely super psyched about that," said Stanat about shot put. "I came into the meet ready. I was prepared. I had a great opening mark. I felt I settled down early and I didn't let nerves bring me down. I transitioned in to my next throw where it was a big throw, the one that broke the school record."

After three throws over 17 metres, Stanat had a pair fouls, before final throw of 16.95m.

"Just going for it," Stanat said of the fouls. "I knew there was still more work to do . More distance and I tried to go for that on each throw after (the 17.77 throw).

"Rushing a little bit in a the circle, so some fine adjustments to make in practice. Go over the motions and what I have to focus on for U-Sports."

At the Canadian university championships, at Windsor March 4-5, Stanat will be going for 18 metres.

"I feel I'm really close to popping something really big," Stanat said. "I feel like it's brewing. It's right there."

For weight throw, Stanat was the lone thrower over 17 metres, producing his winning distance in round two.

In his two events combined, Stanat was the leader for 11 of the 12 rounds, but being the front runner can have its challenges.

"It's hard being the leader throughout the entire series, because you know that any give moment some of these guys can pop out of big mark and be right there with you," said Stanat. "It's not the smartest thing to settle. I always want to be pushing forward, trying to rack up as much distance as I can in the event."

Seth Edwards of Western U, finished right behind Stanat in shot put at 17.62 metres, for the silver medal.

"This year I knew it wasn't smart to count out Seth," said Stanat. "He's a great thrower and I knew he was capable of having a big mark. He's right there."

Heading into U-Sports, Stanat is ranked number one in the country for shot put and sixth for weight throw. Four athletes are over 18 metres and two, including the leader Graham Wright of Manitoba at 19.40m, are over 19 metres.

"I'll be fine tuning things," Stanat said on two week of practice before U-Sports "I feel today was good because I went into the circle and I was working on things that we were really focusing on in practice. To carry that out is a great feeling."

A year ago at U-Sports, Stanat took silver in shot out and placed fourth in weight throw.

Knelsen 1000m gold

Hallee Knelsen of Malahide, with the Western Mustangs, won the women's 1000-metre run in two minutes and 47.46 seconds (2:47.46).

"I executed it really well. The plan was to go out with the pack and try to out kick at the end. It worked perfectly. I hung out behind them and took it with around 150 (metres) to go," said Knelsen. "I feel I've waited awhile for it. Last year I came in ranked first and had an injury the day before."

The 21-year old was also part of Western's women's 4x800-metre relay team that finished fifth.

Injuries continue to plague Knelsen this year, having to scratch the 600m run on day two.

"Little bit of the same thing. I don't know if it was a strain or tear last year, but I'm kind of a little bit on the verge of that," Knelsen said. "I'm trying to be careful, so that I can do my best at U-Sports."

Throughout this season the four year health sciences student has posted PB times in her race, despite battling various ailments.

"The fittest I've ever been, (but) almost every race this season has been a warm up to see if I even race," said Knelsen. "At Penn State, I was super sick and had to scratch the mile, but still got a PB in the six (600) and a 4x4 the next day. With the K last week, my hip was already bugging me a little bit."

Knelsen spent all last summer recovering from injuries occurred during the indoor season.

"This year the main goal has been staying healthy. I know based on the times I've run in the past, if I can just stay healthy, I have so much more in the tank," Knelsen said. "I want to win the K, but I know the competition is going to be tough, but even to get an individual medal is something I feel I've been waiting for awhile now. It's something I'm striving for."

Knelsen is ranked number one in the country for the 1000.

Alberta University teammates Avery Pearson and Jenica Swartz, along with Western teammate Chloe Coutts, who finished second at OUAs on the heels of Knelsen, are the top contenders at U-Sports.

Knelsen is ranked 10th for the 600 metres (1:30.99).

Luna bronze shot

Jadyn Luna from Thorndale, with Windsor U, took bronze in women's shot put (12.22) and will be at U-Sports for the event.

Luna

Jadyn Luna of Thorndale in women's shot put at the OUA track and field championships. Luna won bronze. (photo / Edwin Tam)

"I knew there was a possibility that I could medal, but I didn't know what to expect. I had already thrown shot in the pent earlier in the day, so that was kind of my warm-up," Luna said. "I was hoping to get at least over 12 metre, because I've only thrown over 12 twice, so if I can consistently get up there, there's a good chance I could get (medal). My second throw I got 12.22."

Luna placed seventh in the women's pentathlon, with 3,335 points, her second best ever total and included placing first in shot put (11.98m).

"I had a decent PB in hurdles to start the day. High jump, still working on that, but it's getting better. I'm consistently mid 1.30s to high 1.30s. Shot, I wasn't too happy, but it wasn't a bad throw. Long jump was a season's best for the pent. The 800 I was a little tired, so just tried to give everything I had left."

Luna won't be in the pentathlon at U-Sports this year, but the second year Forensics student is becoming a stronger multi events athlete.

Over this season Luna eclipsed 3000, 3100, 3,200 and then 3300 points.

To qualify for U-Sports, this season the cut off was 3,456 points for top 12 in the nation, so Luna knows where she'll be aiming.

"I still have a lot of room for improvement in high jump. That'll be my focus for the summer. If I can get my 800 down a few seconds. If I can break 2:30, the points start going up," Luna said. "Little bits in each events. Fifty points here and there. The little things add up."

Sparenberg returns

Anij Sparenberg of St. Thomas, with Western, placed fourth in women's shot put (12.07m) and 10th in weight throw (12.91m).

"Crazy. I didn't think I'd make OU's my first year, especially being off for five years. It's been a lot of work past six months. Shot put went very well. I came in seeded eighth, so my goal was to get one point for the team," said Sparenberg. "I placed fourth, so I got five points. I didn't PB, but I was really close."