Dalhousie Tigers capture 31st consecutive AUS women's track and field title

(SAINT JOHN, N.B.)  The Dalhousie Tigers claimed both the men's and women's championship banners at the 2020 Subway AUS Track and Field Championships, presented by Keep It Social, hosted by the UNB Reds at the Irving Oil Field House in Saint John, N.B. this weekend.

The Tigers' women's team finished with 122 points to claim their 31^st consecutive championship banner. The StFX X-Women team came in second with 92 points. The Moncton Aigles Bleues finished third with 70 points and the host UNB Reds finished in fourth with 60 points.

The Dalhousie men's squad earned 151 points and their 18^th championship banner in 19 years.

The host UNB Reds men's team claimed second place with 128 points and the StFX X-Men finished third with 57 points.

Dalhousie's Lorena Heubach was named the championship's Subway AUS Athlete of the Meet after capturing four gold medals—including one in the 60m hurdles and another as a member of Dalhousie's 4x200m relay team. She was also named the AUS field athlete of the year. More details can be found in her write up below.

UNB's Michah Hesman was the championship's Subway AUS Athlete of the Meet on the men's side. He captured gold medals in the men's heptathlon as well as the men's pole vault. He also won bronze in the men's 60m hurdles.

AUS Women's Track and Field Major Award Winners

TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Jane Hergett, StFX X-Women

Jane Hergett of the StFX X-Women is the AUS track athlete of the year.

A third-year nursing student from Port Williams, N.S., Hergett topped the podium four times at this weekend's championship.

She won individual gold twice—in both the 1000m and 1500m runs. She captured two more gold medals as a member of the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams.

Her win marks the first time an athlete from the X-Women has been named AUS track athlete of the year since the 2013-14 season when former StFX standout Eilish MacQuarrie earned the honour.

FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Lorena Heubach, Dalhousie Tigers

Lorena Heubach of the Dalhousie Tigers is the AUS field athlete of the year.

A third-year science student from Wolfville, N.S., Heubach captured four gold medals at this weekend's championship—including one in the high jump and another in the long jump.

This marks the second time in her career that she has been honoured as the AUS field athlete of the year. She first won the honour in her rookie season in 2017-18.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Caroline Gagnon, Moncton Aigles Bleues

Caroline Gagnon of the Moncton Aigles Bleues is the AUS rookie of the year.

A first-year health sciences student from Moncton, N.B., Gagnon earned three silver medals at her first AUS championship meet this weekend.

She captured individual silver in the 60m hurdles event and earned team silver as a member of the 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams. She also placed fifth in the long jump.

This marks the first time an athlete from the Moncton Aigles Bleues has been named the conference's top rookie since Erica Doucet won the award in 2004-05.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Joëlle Léger, Moncton Aigles Bleues

Joëlle Léger of the Moncton Aigles Bleues has been chosen as this year's recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award.

A second-year psychology student from Dieppe, N.B., Léger excels on the track and in the classroom, while also volunteering extensively within her community.

At this year's championship, she captured two silver medals as member of the Aigles Bleues 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams. Individually, she finished eighth in the women's 300m dash.

In the classroom, Léger was an academic all-Canadian last season and is on pace to earn the honour again this year. She currently boasts a GPA of 4.3 and a cumulative GPA of 4.21.

As a volunteer for the Canadian Mental Health Association of New Brunswick, she helps to plan initiatives in the community and works to promote mental health within the province.

On campus, she is a member of Psychology department's student association. She volunteers planning student activities and assisting students within the program with academic planning.

Léger also volunteers as a lab assistant in the neuroscience department and as a volunteer tutor in statistics.

She is also serving as a volunteer coach for the New Brunswick track and field team at the 2020 Candian Francophone Games (Jeux de la francophonie canadienne).

This marks the first time a student-athlete from the Aigles Bleues track and field team has won this award.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Rich Lehman, Dalhousie Tigers

Dalhousie Tigers head coach Rich Lehman has been named the AUS women's track and field coach of the year.

This marks the seventh time in eight seasons Coach Lehman has earned this honour.

Today's AUS women's track and field conference title marked Dalhousie's 31^st straight and eighth consecutive banner under Lehman's leadership.

VOLUNTEER COACH OF THE YEAR: Earl Church, Moncton Aigles Bleues

Earl Church, a throws coach with the Moncton Aigles Bleues, has been named the AUS men's track and field volunteer coach of the year.

Coach Church has been coaching for over 53 years and has coaches at an international level.

He has worked as a throws coach with the Aigles Bleus for the last 10 years. Under his leadership, three athletes from Moncton's women's team earned medals at this weekend's championship—scoring 22 of their 70 team points.

This marks the second time Church has won this honour since the award's inception in the 2016-17 season. He was first named volunteer coach of the year in 2017-18.

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For the men's track and field award winners, please click here. 

Complete results from this weekend's championships can be found here.

This year's U SPORTS Track and Field Championships are being hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alta., March 5-7.