A rookie won the U Sports Cross-Country Championships

Brogan MacDougall ran away with the race at the 2018 U Sports Championships this weekend. The first-year Queen’s student has been a force in Canadian distance running for several years, and is continuing her dominance in university. 

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Brogan took the women’s race out fast, despite cold and very windy conditions. Saturday was a difficult day to lead, but MacDougall was out front for the majority of the race. She brought a small group of runners with her through the first 2.5K, but they trailed off and MacDougall was on her own. 

Post race interview with 2018 women's @USPORTS_XC champion Brogan MacDougall pic.twitter.com/iTkU7AE98V

— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) November 10, 2018

Brogan is following in the footsteps of older sister Branna, also a runner for Queen’s and a distance star. Branna started her collegiate career at Iowa State in 2016, but returned home to Kingston following her first year. Branna won the 2017 OUA Cross-Country Championships and went on to finish third at the 2017 U Sports Championships. Branna had a late start to her 2018 cross-country season and finished ninth in Saturday’s race. 

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Brogan is managing an engineering course load with first-rate running. The first-year student said the highlight of her 2018 cross-country season was the OUA championships, where she and her older sister went one and two in the women’s race, along with taking the team title. “Our team did really well and me and my sister did really well, so that’s a great memory.”

Congratulations to Brogan MacDougall on winning the U SPORTS Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year award!

Félicitations à Brogan MacDougall qui remporte le titre de l’Athlète de l’année du cross-country féminin U SPORTS!#ChampSZN pic.twitter.com/YIEpcMbLaD

— U SPORTS Cross Country (@USPORTS_XC) November 10, 2018

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MacDougall will now refocus, heading into the Athletics Canada Cross-Country National Championships in two weeks’ time. The 17-year-old will race the junior event in hopes of qualifying for the Cross-Country World Championships in Denmark in March 2019. 

Brogan is heading into nationals with some confidence. She’s secured the title of both U Sports female rookie of the year and U Sports female athlete of the year following her dominant collegiate season.