Weekend recap: Laval Rouge et Or win double gold Quebec XC championships
It was a thrilling weekend of performances in Canadian University cross-country (XC), with Laval and UBC emerging as U Sports favourites
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Western Athletics
For the seventh time in nine years, the Laval Rouge et Or men’s and women’s cross-country teams have claimed double gold at the Quebec XC Championships, which also serve as the RSEQ conference championships.
On Saturday in Rawdon, Que., the top-ranked Laval men won their 12th consecutive RSEQ title, marking the longest current (sports) winning streak in the conference. Despite the absence of their leader, Jean-Simon Desgagnés, who is currently competing for Canada at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile, his teammate, Philippe Morneau-Cartier, led the way for Laval, winning his second consecutive RSEQ individual gold. Laval’s Jonathan Tedeschi followed Morneau-Cartier, taking second place to help the Rouge et Or capture the team title.
Thomas Laviolette of U of Montreal Carabins finished third in the men’s 8K race, with the #5 ranked Sherbrooke Vert et Or and McGill Redbirds taking silver and bronze in the team category.
In the women’s championship 8K, Laval placed five runners in the top 10, winning the RSEQ conference title by a landslide. Their top runner, Catherine Beauchemin, won by nearly 50 seconds over her Laval teammate, Jade Bérubé. Elisa Tripotin of UQAM Citadins earned bronze. This marks Laval’s third consecutive conference title in the women’s race.
Guelph upsets Queen’s at OUA Championships
The Queen’s University men’s team looked to end a 34-year OUA title drought on Saturday afternoon in Waterloo, Ont. Everything seemed to align for the #2 ranked Gaels to win their first conference XC title since 1989, until their top runner, Jude Wheeler-Dee, dropped out of the race with just over a kilometre to go. Nicholas Bannon of Guelph, trailing Wheeler-Dee when he withdrew, won the men’s 8K in 24:24, aiding the #6 ranked Gryphons in earning their third OUA title in the last four years.
Despite Wheeler-Dee’s withdrawal, Queen’s still took silver, finishing 21 points behind Guelph. To the surprise of many, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues clinched the bronze, winning their first OUA cross-country medal since 2006.
In the women’s race, the #2 ranked Western Mustangs have been the team to beat in the OUA this season. They solidified their strength on Saturday morning by winning the school’s first OUA women’s title since 1998. The Mustangs claimed third to seventh positions to amass a low score of 25 points, winning the team title over Guelph (the defending champions). Julia Agostinelli of Guelph seized the individual 8K title in 29:06, completing a clean sweep of the top spots for the Gryphons, over McMaster’s Rosalyn Barrett and Western’s Chloe Coutts.
UBC dominates CanWest champs
For the third consecutive year, the UBC Thunderbirds swept the CanWest XC Championships as both the men’s and women’s teams displayed their dominance at Mission Recreation Park on Saturday afternoon in Kelowna, B.C.
The top-ranked UBC women’s team secured their fifth consecutive CanWest title, with Katie Newlove winning individual gold on the 8K course in 28:12. She finished 10 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Chloe Turner of Calgary (28:22), while Kaitlyn Harrison from the University of Saskatchewan completed the podium in 28:34.
In the men’s 8K race, UBC claimed the top three spots, with Andrew Davies leading the way for the #3 ranked Thunderbirds, in a swift 23:40. His teammates, John Perrier and Jaiveer Tiwana, joined him on the podium, securing UBC’s third consecutive CanWest title.
The UBC teams will undoubtedly be a force to watch during the U Sports XC Championships, scheduled for Nov. 12.
UNB Reds finish on top in Halifax
It’s been more than 20 years since the #7 UNB Reds last won a men’s AUS conference title for cross country. On Saturday morning in Halifax, Jared Howse and William Boyle propelled The Reds back to the top in the Atlantic conference, finishing second and third in the men’s 8K to beat #10 St. Francis Xavier X-Men for the team title. The Reds’ men are hitting their stride at the right time and could emerge as a dark horse for a top-five finish at U Sports in two weeks.
The women’s race was fiercely contested, with four athletes vying for the top spot. After 8K, only four seconds separated the first and fourth runners, with UNB’s Emily Doucet taking the victory in a sprint finish over StFX athletes Allie Sandluck and Eileen Benoit. While Doucet took the top spot, The Reds couldn’t stave off the challenge from the #4 ranked StFX X-Women, who placed five runners within the top seven to defend their women’s AUS team title.
To view all the results from U Sports cross country conference championships weekend, click here.
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