The Queen’s cross-country team crossed the border for their season opener, and they haven’t lost a step.
On Sept. 20, the Gaels travelled to Canton, New York, to take part in St. Lawrence University (SLU)’s Hoffmann Invitational. The men’s team took home first place at the event for the second year in a row, while the Middlebury team edged out the women’s for second place. The Gaels took 43 runners to the event—22 men and 21 women.
The men’s 8km was won by SLU’s Nicholas Lyndaker—the reigning NCAA D-III Mile Champion. However, the team scores are calculated using the school’s best five results. Thanks to an extremely strong group performance by the Gaels, Queen’s won the men’s event by a margin of 21 points.
The race showcased an extremely strong performance for Roman Mironov, Comm ’26, whose time of 25:19.8 is a 12-second improvement from his time at the same event last year. Mironov led the pack midway through the event, earning second place just five seconds shy of Lyndaker.
The rest of the Gaels’ strong veterans secured the victory for Queen’s. Fourth-year standouts Jude Wheeler-Dee, ConEd ’26, and Tanner Hueglin, ArtSci ’26, finished in sixth and fifth place respectively, while Angus Skinner, ConEd ’28, and Ethan Rashid-Cocker, Comm ’27, took home seventh and tenth. Notably, Rashid-Cocker’s time of 25:46.9 is over two minutes faster than his performance at the same event last year.
Freshman Saul Taler, Kin ’29, made a lasting impression in his collegiate debut, finishing twelfth with a 25:59.8. Performances from Peter Neill, Sci ’27, Owen Danby, ArtSci ’27, Cameron Bennett, Sci ’28, and Emile Zanuttini, ArtSci ’25, ConEd ’26, ensured that Queen’s took home ten out of the top 20 spots in the event.
Nine schools participated in the women’s 6km, but the event was a duel between Queen’s and athletes from Middlebury College. Three extremely strong performances gave Middlebury all three spots on the podium, but the pack of Gaels that followed ensured that the team scores were extremely close. Elizabeth Vroom, Sci ’26, led the Gaels with a 22:15.0, good for fourth place. Olivia Baggley, ArtSci ’27, Jasmine Stokes, Nurs ’26, and Hannah Goodjohn, Nurs ’26, placed fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively, and Madison McDermott, ArtSci ’29, earned eighth place in her collegiate debut.
The strong team effort put the second-place Gaels just three points behind Middlebury, but a whopping 50 points ahead of hosts SLU in third. Queen’s depth was evident on the women’s side too, as the Gaels took ten out of the top 20 spots in this event as well.
Last year, the men’s cross country team was named the Queen’s Varsity Team of the Year thanks to the team’s victory at the U Sports Championships. The women’s team also established themselves as a top team in Canada, finishing fifth at the event. The teams’ early success is an indicator that they’re well on their way to continuing their successes this year.
Next, the Gaels will compete in Ottawa, ON., at University of Ottawa’s Capital Cross Country Challenge on Sept. 27.
Tags
Angus Skinner, Cameron Bennett, cross country, Elizabeth Vroom, Emile Zanuttini, Ethan Rashid-Cocker, Hannah Goodjohn, Hoffmann Invitational, Jasmine Stokes, Jude Wheeler-Dee, Madison McDermott, Olivia Baggley, Owen Danby, Peter Neill, Roman Mironov, Saul Taler, St. Lawrence University, Tanner Hueglin
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