The Gaels raced in Montreal, Quebec at the annual RSEQ/AUS Interlock meet, where they reaffirmed their top spot in the national rankings.
The Queen’s cross country teams continued their season’s raucous achievements this past Saturday.
The women’s team placed two runners in the top three, and six runners in the top 25, while the men’s team situated two runners in the top five and five of their team members in the top 25.
Overall, the meet landed the women’s team a first-place finish and the accompanying gold medal. The men’s team won silver.
Women’s Cross Country
Even in the absence of their star runners, Brogan and Branna MacDougall, the women’s cross country team marked their spot at the top of the podium. Beating out nationally ranked second Laval for the gold, the team maintained a stranglehold on first place in the country.
Gaels fourth-year runner Kara Blair won the women’s race with a time of 29:05.57. Blair outran McGill’s fastest runner, Elizabeth Hirsch (29:16.54), by a margin of 11 seconds.
Makenna Fitzgerald (29:25.32) impressed with her bronze finish. Victoria Bouck (30:24.85) also earned a top 10 result, crossing the line in ninth place.
Jade Watson finished an honourable 16th, and Heidi Ohrling rounded out Queen’s scorers with her 21st place finish.
Laura Yantha followed just one spot behind in 22nd, and Manon Plouvier crossed the finish in 26th.
Coming into the race, the women were tied with Laval’s team for first in the country, however this meet altered the status quo. The Gaels are once again alone at the top of the national rankings.
Men’s Cross Country
The men’s cross country team were nearly victorious during this weekend’s race. Receiving second place overall and winning silver, the team improved upon last year’s fifth place finish at the same meet.
Third-year runner Mitchell de Lange (24:52.84) trailed only four seconds behind Laval runner Jean-Simon Desgagné to land a silver medal.
Coming in fourth place and nearly making the podium was Nathan Dehghan (25:08.59).
The Gaels got valuable contributions from Matt Flood and Matt Pardo, who finished in 14th and 18th place respectively.
Though Laval took first place in this past race in Montreal, the RSEQ/AUS Interlock meet was very telling of the Gael’s trajectory.
Looking Forward
The Gaels will compete in the OUA Championships on Oct. 26 in Hamilton, Ontario. The women’s main competitors are found in Guelph and Western, while the men’s team’s primary focus is outrunning Guelph, McMaster, and Western. The athletes are also looking forward to competing in the U Sports National Championships, to be held in Kingston on Nov. 9.
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