Nine University of Toronto Varsity Blues are ready to vie for a national title at the 2010 Canadian track and field championships, July 28-31, at Varsity Centre.

Scarborough, Ont., natives Sarah Boyle and Sarah Wells, Jason Wurster of Stevensville, Ont., Michael Del Monte of Guelph, Ont., Michael Trnkus of Oakville, Ont. and Athena McBean of Mississauga, Ont. plus Toronto natives Doug Creighton, Andrew Cruickshank and Sasha Gollish will represent the Blue and White, while 11 other alumni and University of Toronto Track Club (UTTC) members are also set to compete this week.

A three-time CIS women’s high jump champion, Boyle will look to improve upon her bronze-medal finish at last year’s Canadian championships. Wells, a CIS 600m bronze medalist, has had a phenomenal start to the outdoor season and is in top form for her first appearance at the national event in the women’s 400m hurdles.

Wurster, a two-time CIS champion, along with Creighton will be top contenders in the men’s pole vault, while Del Monte will look to better last year’s ninth-place finish in the men’s 800m. Fellow middle distance runners Cruickshank and Gollish will also compete in the men’s and women’s 800m, respectively.

Just shy of a podium finish in 2009, Trnkus will try his luck again in the men’s 400m, while McBean is entered and ready to run in both the 200m and 400m sprints.

Recent Varsity Blues alumni Tory Merrill will join Wells in the women’s 400m hurdles, while high jumper Mark Dillon hopes to reach the podium for the third consecutive year. Alumna Kate Ruediger is also entered in both the 200m and 400m sprints and UTTC decathlete and 2008 Olympian Massimo Bertocchi will compete for his third Canadian title in four years.

Event Website: http://www.athletics.ca/toronto2010/ 

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