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2022 Men’s U Sports cross country pre-season power rankings

Are you ready for the XC season? Here's who to watch, some top-five predictions and what teams to look out for

Photo by: Kevin Mackinnon

You can smell it in the air: Canadian university cross country (XC) is back this weekend, with many of the nation’s top teams preparing for their first meets of the season.

This is our official pre-season power rankings of the top 10 men’s teams in the country, in addition to a couple of athletes to watch for this season in their respective conferences. All roads lead to the 2022 U Sports Championships in Halifax on Nov. 12.

Andrew Davies of McMaster passes Guelph’s Nick Bannon and Mitch Ubene at the 2021 Bayfront Invite. Photo: Kevin MacKinnon

Cross-country is a highly variable event, but here is how Canada’s top university teams stack up in Canadian Running‘s projection of the 2022 U Sports Cross-Country Championships, based on personal bests, past race results, and experience.

If a team is winning, they will climb the rankings. If a team is losing, they slide. That’s the beauty of this exercise. Now let’s get into the rankings.

10. St. Francis Xavier X-Men (AUS)

The X-Men finished dead last (15 of 15) at the 2021 U Sports XC Championships, but they were a young team that just had a tough day on the Plains of Abraham. Over the summer, coach Eric Gillis and company have added a stellar recruiting class with tons of potential. The X-Men could surprise a few teams this season. 

9. Queens Gaels (OUA)

As the season rolled on last year, the Gaels only got better. Their top finisher at U Sports, Mitchell Kirby, is back for his final season and backed by five strong runners behind him. Roman Mironov, the 2021 OUA Rookie of the Year, only continues to get better, setting PBs from the 1,500m to the 5,000m during the summer. If their top guys stay healthy, the Gaels will be a podium threat at the OUA Championships.

Queen’s runner Roman Mironov leads a pack of men at the 2021 Western Invite. Photo: Marley Dickinson

8. Calgary Dinos (CanWest)

This team will ride the shoulders of Eric Lutz. Last year, Lutz cracked the top 10 at U Sports XC and will be one of the outright title favourites for this season. In August, the 24-year-old won the 800m and 1,500m double for Team Alberta at the Canada Summer Games. Outside of Lutz, their top five are average at best and will need to string together some solid performances to have any shot at contending, come November.

Calgary’s Eric Lutz finished eighth at the 2021 U Sports Championships

7. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS)

The Tigers had a respectable seventh-place finish at U Sports last season, with four guys finishing inside the top 50. Now as hosts of the 2022 U Sports Championships on Nov. 12, the Tigers will receive an automatic bid. Every member of their top five from U Sports last year is back for one more kick at the can.

I am not sold on the Tigers yet, but would not be surprised if this team finished in the top five.

6. UBC Thunderbirds (CanWest)

Last year, the Thunderbirds just missed the podium, finishing fourth at U Sports. The team has big shoes to fill with Thomas Nobbs gone, but could a few of their younger athletes fill the void? Tyler Dozzi, John Perrier and company will look to lead the birds to another CanWest title and a top-five finish at U Sports.

5. McGill Redbirds (RSEQ)

McGill has a lot of talent up front, with Matthew Beaudet and Jack Stanley, plus a promising young team behind them. The Martlets lack the depth of the top four teams ranked ahead, but certainly could surprise a few teams this season.

4. Western Mustangs (OUA) 

Five of the Mustangs ran under the Purple and White Intrasquad meet course record last Friday, which may factor in why they are ranked fourth. There were high expectations for the Mustangs last year, but they managed to come up short (eventually being beaten by a younger Queen’s team at U Sports). Guelph and McMaster are the more superior teams in the OUA conference this season, but Western has the potential to be the best of the rest.

Western’s Marcel Scheele and Ethan Loucks at the 2021 Western Invite. Photo: Marley Dickinson

3. Laval Rouge-et-Or (RSEQ)

Introducing “Les champions,” I will 100 per cent be roasted in the Rouge-et-Or group chat for putting the “boys of fall” in the third spot. Jean-Simon Desgagnés claims he’s coming back for one more shot at glory and to keep the U Sports trophy in Quebec City. Thomas Fafard, who won U Sports silver last year, has moved on from Laval but the Rouge-et-Or have four of their top five returning. Despite being ranked third, they are still the team to beat in U Sports.

2. McMaster Marauders (OUA)

The McMaster men have reached the podium in three of the last four years, but have not got their hands on U Sports gold. The trio of Alex Drover, Andrew Davies and Max Turek are all back for one last shot at U Sports gold. If the Marauders can stay healthy, they could be the team to beat for the U Sports title, come November.

1. Guelph Gryphons (OUA)

Despite the 2021 U Sports champion Mitch Ubene finally graduating, this team is still exceptionally talented. Alec Purnell and Nick Bannon return after a fantastic summer on the track, and the addition of Max Davies from Iona College in the NCAA is a huge plus. Guelph has a phenomenal top seven who are only getting better. They are out for vengeance this season after finishing second to Laval in 2021.

The Guelph Gryphons are Canadian Running’s preseason pick to win the 2022 U Sports team title in Halifax.

Individual Title Top 5:

  1. Trevor Hofbauer (UBC Okanagan)
  2. Jean-Simon Desgagnés (Laval)
  3. Alec Purnell (Guelph)
  4. Eric Lutz (Calgary)
  5. Matthew Beaudet (McGill)

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