Stanat defends U-Sports shot put title

  St. Thomas native adds fourth National medal to career resume

  March 10, 2026

By Rob J. Ross

WINNIPEG, Man. - AJ Stanat remains the U-Sports men's shot put champion.

The 22-year old from St. Thomas, with the Windsor Lancers, had an event best 18.24 metre throw to win the gold, for a second consecutive year at U-Sports, the Canadian university indoor track and field championships, March 5-7.

All three of Stanat's measured throws, a 17.74m throw top open in round one and 17.95m, were further than silver medalist Sander Sampson's best of 17.09 metres. Stanat also had three fouls, gunning for 19 metres.

"Defending my title in shot put felt great, but I was still a little bit disappointed in myself. I had been eyeing up the U-Sports meet and all time records since the beginning of the year and really thought I had a good opportunity to break them," Stanat said. "Definitely thought I could've thrown further, but still happy with the result."

Stanat, who threw a personal best and meet record 19.06 metres at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships two weeks earlier, was eying Mark Bujnowksi's U-Sports record mark of 19.08m set in 2023.

"I know that there's more there. I suppose I just hold myself to very high standards and expectations," Stanat said. "I'm content with the season I've had overall, as well as the mark I've made in Canadian University sport. I also believe that I helped to uplift the Windsor Lancer track and field program, continuing my father's legacy."

Stanat's dad, Alex, also attended Windsor University and competed in throws, specifically discus during the outdoor season. The senior Stanat represented Canada at the Francophone, Pan-American and Commonwealth Games.

AJ leaves his mark as a back to back U-Sports shot put champ, with a silver medal in 2024.

Stanta is three time OUA gold medalist in shot put and holds the OUA and Windsor Lancers record.

For weight throw, Stanat has a bronze medal from 2025 and a pair of fourth placements at U-Sports. At OUAs, it's two gold and a bronze medal on his throws resume.

"I've seen a tremendous amount of growth in shot over the last five years,' Stanat said. "I came into university as more of a discus thrower and gradually transitioned more into shot put. Even then, I was a glider at first before I started rotational. I'm better than I've ever been before in shot put, and I still firmly believe that there's more for me to achieve."

Stanat credits Lancers' coaches Tina Sharman and Denise Hebert for his development as a thrower.

"I don't think there's anyway I could've accomplished what I did without them," said Stanat, who improved from eighth in shot put and 10th in weight throw in his freshman year, to the top of the OUA podium.

From the facilities Stanat competed at, Penn State, "is one of the best facilities I've ever seen."

For the upcoming out door season, Stanat plans to attend the major track and field meets, including the Canadian outdoor championships, August back in Ottawa, to defend his shot put title.

As for his education, the Kinetics major is exploring his options, but could follow in his dad's footsteps and become a high school teacher.
 

Hallee Knelsen from Malahide, with the Western Mustangs, finished fourth in the women's 1000 metres in a time of two minutes and 47 seconds (2:47.00).

Knelsen was part of Mustangs women's 4x400-metre relay team that placed fifth and the 4x800-metre relay that was seventh (9:02.16).

On day one, Knelsen placed eighth in the women's 600m, missing qualifying for the final by two positions.

The 22-year old didn't bring home hardware this year, but owns eight medals from her five years as a Mustang, including a silver in the 1000m from 2025 and a gold in the 4x800 relay from 2022.

Knelsen has three bronzes in the 4x400m relay, as well as a silver and two bronzes in the 4x800. In addition, Knelsen has eight top 10 results in the 600 and 1000 individual races, including the silver medal in the 1000.

Anij Sparenberg of St. Thomas, with Western, had an impressive U-Sports debut, placing seventh in women's shot put (12.63m).

The 22-year old had four throws over 12 metres, along with two fouls, with her best measure coming in round one. Sparenberg's PB had her 12th on the U-Sports rankings entering the competition.

"A great experience and good to be able to compete in a higher class meet like U-Sports for a learning experience," said Sparenberg. "I was definitely nervous, but also didn't really have anything to lose, so that definitely helped with the nerves. Even though I didn't throw my best (PB 12.89m) I still placed higher than I was ranked and ended up getting some points for my team."

Sparenberg had a front row seat for teammate Liv Sands capturing gold with an U-Sports record 17.67 metre throw.

"Watching Liv beat the U-Sports record twice while I competed with her, was an incredible thing to watch and so much emotion that went along with it," Sparenberg said.

Memories with all her Western teammates will remain with Sparenberg long after the competition.

"We are such a large team that you don't always get to spend time with or get to know a lot of the team," Sparenberg said. "However, these multi day meets like OUAs and U-Sports, are where you really get to know each other really well and it makes me very happy."

After four years away from throwing, the Parkside CI graduate who won an OFSAA silver medal in javelin while in Grade nine, returned to the circle last season, for shot put and weight throw.

"After a full year of getting back into the sport, I've improved a lot on learning how to compete, including preparation, mindset and having realistic goals for myself each meet," said Sparenberg. "Additionally, staying positive and having resiliency after those bad practices or meets, being able to shake it off and then come back swinging even harder the next time."

Sparenberg will be returning next season and it just may be her best one yet.

Brianna Rand of Dorchester with Western, placed 12th in women's triple jump (10.37m). Previous results at U-Sports are 11th place twice and fifth place (11.95m) a year ago.

In the men's 4x800-metre relay race, Vincent Moore of St. Thomas, with Western finished eighth, while Mason Basson from Sparta, and the Guelph Gryphons was ninth.

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