2023 Men’s U Sports cross country pre-season power rankings

As autumn approaches, it’s that time of year again, when we unveil our annual pre-season U Sports cross-country power rankings.

Here’s how our rankings operate: When a team secures wins, their position in the rankings ascends, while losses cause them to slip down. We’ll be providing updates to these rankings every three weeks throughout the season as we build up to the 2023 U Sports Championships scheduled for Nov. 12, in London, Ont.

With only eight weeks until the 2023 U Sports XC Championships, here are the rankings of the nation’s top 10 men’s teams, and a few athletes to keep an eye on for the individual title this season.

2023 Women’s U Sports cross country pre-season power rankings

10. McGill Redbirds (RSEQ)

9. McMaster Marauders (OUA)

8.  Dalhousie Tigers (AUS)

7. Victoria Vikes (CanWest)

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

5. Western University (OUA)

4. UBC Thunderbirds (CanWest)

3. Guelph Gryphons (OUA)

2. Queen’s Gaels (OUA)

1. Laval University (RSEQ)

Laval Rouge-et-Or’s men’s team reclaims the top-ranked position in our rankings as they head into the 2023 XC season. This follows their second-place finish to the McMaster Marauders in Halifax last year. Jean-Simon Desgagnés returns to U Sports competition for what we believe is his final year of U Sports eligibility. Desgagnés recently finished eighth in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. The Rouge-et-Or have also brought back two of their top two runners from the previous season, Philippe Morneau-Cartier and Jonathan Tedeschi, along with the new addition of 2021 Olympic triathlete Alexis Lepage. Les Rouges are making a concerted effort to win gold in London come November.

With McMaster losing Alex Drover and Max Turek to graduation, Queen’s and Guelph are poised to step up and contend for the OUA title and to challenge Laval for the U Sports championship come November. Another team to watch closely is UBC, especially with the addition of Andrew Davies, who finished seventh in the men’s 5,000m at the Canadian track nationals in July. The Western Invitational on Sept. 23 will witness UBC, Queen’s, Guelph, and Western going head-to-head.

Individual title contenders

Jean-Simon Desgagnés (Laval Rouge-et-Or)
Phillipe Morneau-Cartier (Laval Rouge-et-Or)
Marcel Scheele (Western Mustangs)
Max Davies (Guelph Gryphons)
Andrew Davies (UBC Thunderbirds)
Jude Wheeler-Dee (Queen’s Gaels)
Roman Mironov (Queen’s Gaels)
Jon Podbielski (Regina Cougars)