On Saturday on the 2024 U Sports activities Cross-Nation Championships in Kelowna, B.C., the 2 favourites for the staff titles remained undefeated and got here out on prime. The Western Mustangs ladies’s staff, and Queen’s Gaels males’s staff made college historical past at Mission Recreation Park, marking their first Canadian collegiate XC victories in 34 and 40 years, respectively.
Ladies’s 8K
The spectator-friendly 8K course (4 loops of 2K) was comparatively flat, establishing a speedy race for the women and men. The ladies’s 8K had a quick begin, with athletes pushing the tempo early into the race. Simply previous the two-km mark, UBC Okanagan Warmth’s Lauren McNeil, the hometown favorite, surged to the entrance and drove the tempo even additional. She battled with CanWest champion Constance Nankivell of the Trinity Western College Spartans for the highest spot whereas OUA champion Madelyn Eybergen of the College of Windsor Lancers held on in third.
McNeil, repeatedly driving the tempo, broke away from Nankivell heading into the ultimate lap and by no means seemed again. She received by greater than 10 seconds, clocking 26:31, whereas Nankivell claimed silver in 26:42. In her debut cross-country season, Eybergen completed in 27:02 to win U Sports activities bronze.
With the rostrum contenders separated from the remainder of the sphere, the remaining athletes battled for the general staff title. The UBC Thunderbirds, seeking to defend their title, struggled within the absence of reigning particular person champion Katie Newlove, who sat out because of damage. The Mustangs, led by OUA runner-up Ashley Maguire in seventh, got here out victorious by a 25-point margin; their remaining 4 scorers all positioned within the prime 17.
Ladies’s outcomes
Staff
- Western Mustangs (OUA) 60
- UBC Thunderbirds (CanWest) 85
- Victoria Vikes (CanWest) 94
- St. Francis Xavier X-Ladies (AUS) 120
- Queen’s Gaels (OUA) 164
Particular person
- Lauren McNeil (UBCO Warmth) 26:31
- Constance Nankivell (TWU Spartans) 26:42
- Madelyn Eybergen (Windsor Lancers) 27:02
- Paige Breedon (Waterloo Warriors) 27:15
- Elise Coates (Victoria Vikes) 27:24
Males’s 8K
The boys’s occasion noticed a a lot nearer battle within the particular person competitors. The pack remained tightly bunched for greater than half of the race; after the five-km mark, reigning champion Philippe Morneau-Cartier of Laval Rouge et Or led the surge that separated the highest athletes from the sphere. AUS champion Jared Howse of the Dalhousie College Tigers was the one athlete to reply as Morneau-Cartier pushed the tempo and prolonged his lead.
Morneau-Cartier efficiently defended his championship title, clocking 23:19 to finish his second consecutive undefeated season. Howse adopted carefully behind, upgrading his earlier seventh-place end to a silver medal in a time of 23:25. Jonathan Podbielski of the College of Regina Cougars drove to take third, edging out fourth and fifth by two seconds.
The Queen’s Gaels performances showcased the depth of their roster and the importance of contributions from all scorers. OUA champion Jude Wheeler-Dee (thirteenth) and teammate Roman Mironov (14th) might not have been the highest performers of the meet, which made for a more in-depth staff battle than anticipated, however the Gaels nonetheless captured the staff title with a 36-point margin. The college has not introduced house the lads’s XC championship banner since 1984. Sherbrooke Vert et Or and Laval Rouge et Or claimed the staff silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Staff
- Queen’s Gaels (OUA) 94
- Sherbrooke Vert et Or (RSEQ) 130
- Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ) 145
- Guelph Gryphons (OUA) 160
- UNB Reds (AUS) 161
Particular person
- Philippe Morneau-Cartier (Laval Rouge et Or) 23:19
- Jared Howse (UNB Reds) 23:25
- Jonathan Podbielski (Regina Cougars) 23:32
- Yemane Mulugeta (TWU Spartans) 23:34
- Jacob Benoit (Dalhousie Tigers) 23:35
Full outcomes may be discovered right here.
