Top entrants for the 2017 Canadian Cross-Country Championships

Close to 1,000 of the nation’s top runners will be in Kingston, Ont. for the 2017 Canadian Cross-Country Championships.

The year’s final, and most prominent, at least for Canadians, cross-country races go off on Saturday at Fort Henry, a National Historic Site of Canada. The national championships serve as a qualifier for the 2018 Pan American Cross-Country Championships (in El Salvador).

The Canadian Cross-Country Championships begin with the masters race at 9:00 a.m. EST, followed by the U18, community, U20 and open (senior) divisions concluding with the men’s 10K at 2:45 p.m. Note that some athletes may compete up a category, especially in the U18 and U20 divisions.

Athletics Canada is providing a (free) live stream for the event on Saturday. You can find details here. Canadian Running will be live on location with updates, videos and interviews from the national championships.

Here are some names to watch for (by no means exhaustive):

Women

U18 (born in 2000 or 2001)

EJ Boston – 2017 OFSAA junior cross-country champion
Grace Fetherstonhaugh – 2017 B.C. youth cross-country champion
Aleksa Gold – 2016 Canadian U18 cross-country silver medallist
Samantha Flood – 2017 Quebec juvenile cross-country champion
Sadie Sigfstead – 2017 Alberta cross-country midget champion
Emma Steele – 2017 Alberta U18 cross-country silver medallist

U20 (born in 1998 or 1999)

Jocelyn Chau – 2017 Athletics Ontario youth cross-country champion
Savanna Jordan – 2017 U Sports Cross-Country Championships rookie of the year
Martha MacDonald – 2016 OFSAA senior cross-country champion
Brogan MacDougall – 2017 NACAC junior cross-country champion
Shona McCulloch – Canadian U18 3,000m record holder
Cameron Ormond – 2017 OFSAA senior cross-country champion
Justine Stecko – 2017 B.C. high school senior cross-country champion
Lilly Tuck – 2017 Athletics Ontario junior cross-country champion
Catherine Beauchemin – 2017 Quebec junior cross-country champion

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVDsUM5FYio/

Senior (born 1997 and before)

Lindsay Carson – 2017 Victoria Vikes Cross-Country Invitational champion
Rachel Cliff – 2017 Canadian 10K champion
Victoria Coates – 2017 Canadian 10,000m champion
Paula Findlay – 2012 Olympian in triathlon
Sasha Gollish – 2017 U Sports Championships gold medallist, defending champion
Natalia Hawthorn – 2017 Athletics Ontario senior cross-country champion
Branna MacDougall – 2017 Ontario university cross-country champion
Leslie Sexton – 2017 Canadian marathon champion
Claire Sumner – 2017 U Sports Cross-Country Championships silver medallist
Natasha Wodak – 2017 B.C. cross-country champion

Men

U18

Jack Amos – 2017 B.C. youth cross-country champion
Campbell Lee – 2017 Athletics Ontario U18 bronze medallist
Olivier Saint-Laurent – 2017 Quebec juvenile cross-country champion
Maximus Thiessen – 2017 Alberta high school cross-country champion
Tate Wyatt – 2017 B.C. high school cross-country championships silver medallist
Zachary Wyatt – 2017 B.C. high school cross-country championships gold medallist

U20

Andrew Alexander – 2016 OFSAA senior cross-country champion
Jean-Simon Desgagnés – 2017 U Sports Cross-Country Championships rookie of the year
Kieran Lumb – 2017 NAIA Cross-Country Championships bronze medallist
Nicholas Mota – 2017 Athletics Ontario youth cross-country champion
Brandon Vail – 2017 B.C. junior cross-country champion
Thomas Witkowicz – 2017 OFSAA senior cross-country champion
Joshua DeSouza – 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games silver medallist
Thomas Fafard – 2017 Quebec junior cross-country champion

Senior

Lucas Bruchet – 2016 Olympian
Reid Coolsaet – 2:10:28 marathoner (second-fastest in Canadian history)
Evan Esselink – 2017 Canadian 10,000m champion
Eric Gillis – three-time (2008, 2012, 2016) Olympian
Trevor Hofbauer – 2017 Canadian marathon champion
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot – 2016 Olympian
Yves Sikubwabo – 2017 U Sports Cross-Country Championships gold medallist

https://www.instagram.com/p/hkM2nFjUKr/

Masters (men/women combined in same race)

Genevieve Shurtleff – 2016 Canadian masters cross-country women’s champion
Sarah Nagy – 2017 Athletics Ontario masters cross-country champion
Kevin O’Connor – Top age-graded result at B.C. cross-country championships
Predrag Mladenovic – 2017 Athletics Ontario masters cross-country champion

Canadian Running’s highlights

2015

2016

The full entry list can be found here.