McMaster University wins their first national cross-country title in 59 years
The drought is over! Max Turek leads McMaster to their first Canadian University XC title since 1963
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
On a wild Saturday morning with 50km/h winds and extreme fog at The Links at Brunello Golf Course in Halifax, the McMaster Marauders won their first Canadian U Sports XC in 59 years. Max Turek led the way for the Marauders, winning the men’s individual title in a masterclass performance.
MXC🏆: Turek leads @McMasterSports to first U SPORTS Men’s Cross-Country title since 1963
XCM🏆: Turek conduit les Marauders de McMaster à un premier titre de cross-country masculin de U SPORTS depuis 1963
EN: https://t.co/QGgUXhZIKI
FR: https://t.co/NkUf0P1T2a pic.twitter.com/04L0teSySN— U SPORTS Cross Country (@USPORTS_XC) November 12, 2022
The McMaster men have been the number-one-ranked team in the country all season and were the favourites heading into the U Sports XC championships. Turek had a season to remember, winning all four of the races he entered (including an OUA championship).
It was a warm and wet affair for the 150 university athletes who ran during the aftermath of tropical storm Nicole, which rolled through Canada’s east coast on Saturday. Turek was in contention early, forming a small pack with his teammates Alex Drover and Andrew Davies at the front. At the 5K mark, Mitch Kirby of Queen’s Gaels shook things up the lead pack, pulling ahead by 50 metres, but the McMaster men were able to close the gap, which allowed Turek to make his move, taking Philippe Morneau-Cartier of Laval Rouge et Or with him. Morneau-Cartier hung onto Turek until the final turn, where Turek then sprinted home to the 2022 U Sports title in 24:21
Laval’s Morneau-Cartier finished three seconds behind Turek for second, and Davies of McMaster was third in 24:31. McMaster had all five of their runners in the top 15 to post a winning score of 37. Although Laval Rouge et Or could not defend their 2021 championship in Halifax, they took team silver with 115 points. In what was Kirby’s last university race, he helped his Queen’s Gaels squad land on the podium for bronze (130 points) with his fourth overall finish.
You can view the full results from the 2022 U Sports XC Championships here.
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