Addy Townsend and Jeremiah Lauzon garnered their share of winning times on the year. The duo would finish the abbreviated season with some well-deserved plaudits, too.
The Simon Fraser University track stars were recognized by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches with awards that acknowledged their hard work and strong performances during the 2020 track and field season.
Townsend, a senior, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s Female Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year on Monday.
The honour was voted on by GNAC coaches, and came after the 22-year-old captured both the women’s 800-metres and mile races at the GNAC championships. The wins automatically earned her a ticket for the NCAA Div. 2 Indoor championships, which have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.
Making a strong impression as a first-year athlete was SFU’s Jeremiah Lauzon, who was named the Male Freshman of the Year.
Townsend picked up her fourth consecutive 800m conference title with a time of 2:10.87 last month, and added the mile in 4:58.62
As the leadoff runner on the Clan’s championship-winning distance medley relay team, the Coquitlam athlete punched another ticket to the nationals. Earlier, Townsend was chosen as the GNAC Championships Female Track Athlete of the Week, as well as the USTFCCCA West Region Female Track Athlete of the Year.
Her best time this year in the 800m was 2:07.74, which ranked second in Div. 2, and seventh on the GNAC all-time list. In the mile, Townsend recorded a 4:40.40 time, rated third in Div. 2 and second on the all-time GNAC list.
Lauzon enjoyed a stellar debut on the Div. 2 circuit, taking the GNAC championship title in the 200m dash, with a time of 21.71 seconds. He also ran as part of SFU’s third-place 4x400m relay team. A native of Red Deer, Alberta, Lauzon made the most of two separate meets in Boston, setting the GNAC record in the 200m with a time of 21.55 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in January, then trimmed that time to 21.47 two weeks later at the David Hemery Valentine Classic. It was an NCAA championships provisional qualifying time, and tied for No. 23 in Div. 2 this season.
