CIS men's and women's cross country roundup

Photo credit Ivan Tam, University of Saskatchewan Huskies

University of Saskatchewan Huskies Open

SASKATOON, Sask. - University of Saskatchewan cross country athletes Caitlin Warkentin and Samir Marin had top results at the Huskie-hosted 2010 UofS Open in Saskatoon’s Lakewood Park Saturday.

Warkentin, a fourth-year athlete and three-time Canada West All-Star, finished first in the 4,500-metre run in a time of 15:40. Marin had the top finish for the Huskies on the men’s side finishing fifth in a time of 23:39 in the 7,500-metre race.

The University of Calgary Dinos finished first overall in the team standings on the women’s side with 30 points, followed by the Huskies green team, the University of Manitoba Bisons, the University of Alberta Pandas and the Huskies white team.

Calgary Dinos Faye Stenning finished second with a time of 16:14 and Regina’s Karissa LePage clocked in at 16:27 for third place.

The UofS Open is the second race on the Huskies schedule in 2010 and the second race in a row that the team has brought in strong results. On September 18 in Regina at the Cougar Trot, Warkentin also finished first.

Other Huskie women’s athletes competing were Paule Bertholet (7th, 16:55); Nadine Brenault (14th, 17:16); Rachael Edwards (16th, 17:17); Erin Humphries (22nd, 17:38); Joanne Traves (24th, 17:41.01); Christine Foth (26th, 17:46.01); Leanne Ejack (40th, 18:55); Andrea Armstrong (46th, 19:45); Meaghan Sweet (47th, 19:52); Ronelle Calver (50th, 20:16); Amanda Regnier (51st, 20:19) and Mallory Gellner (53rd, 20:27).

On the men’s side, Regina Cougar Kelly Wiebe won the race clocking in at 22:37. His teammate Iain Fyfe finished second at 23:20. Dino Scott Nicol rounded out the top three in a time of 23:23.

Calgary also took the team title on the men’s side. The Regina Cougars were second, followed by the Manitoba Bisons, Huskies and Alberta Golden Bears.

Other Huskie men’s athletes competing were Kurt Woytiuk (8th, 23:51); Matt Mazurik (12th, 24:09); Eric Mueller (29th, 25:02); Stephane Gerard (35th, 25:22); John Waslen (38th, 25:34); Riley MaGee (44th, 25:52); Adam Bue (46th, 26:00); John ell (52nd, 26:38); Chris Schindell (66th, 28:09); Mike Gramiak (72nd, 28:47) and Ryan Olson (28:53).

The Huskies race again on October 30 in Edmonton in the Stewart Cup. It is the final race before the Canada West/CIS Championship on November 13 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

UofS Open Full Results

Source: Saskatchewan Huskies

Windsor Lancers @ Loyola University Invitational

CHICAGO, IlIn the face of challenging 40 mph winds, intermittent driving rain, and three metre waves crashing on the nearby Lake Michigan shore, the University of Windsor men's cross country team had a very impressive performance in Chicago on Saturday, winning the 38th Annual Loyola University Invitational Cross Country Meet.

With four runners finishing in the top 14 places in the 8km race on the Montrose Beach course, the Lancers amassed 110 points to capture first place out of more than 40 NCAA teams including DePaul, Drake, Northern Iowa, the University of Chicago, Bradley University and the host Loyola University.

They also defeated teams from the University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto and McMaster University.

Leading the way for the Lancers was Anthony Berkis, who finished 4th overall in a field of 528 runners. His time of 25:07 was just 35 seconds behind the race winner Matthew Graham of DePaul University.

Also scoring for Windsor was Adam Kellar, 12th place in 25:19, Matt Sinclair, 13th place in 25:27, Lionel Sanders, 14th place in 25:28 and freshman Jordan Collison, 76th place in 26:12.

The Lancer women's team also had a very fine day, finishing 12th out of 42 competing teams. The leading runner for Windsor was Jen Corrick, who placed 35th in the 5km race in a time of 18:42.

Also scoring for the Lancer women were Amina Oumesrour, 79th place in 19:11, Laura Gill, 85th place in 19:14, Carly Gill, 100th place in 19:21 and Ashley Kellam, 103rd place in 19:22. A total of 511 women finished the race.

Source: Lancers Athletics

McMaster Marauders @ Loyola University Invitational

CHICAGO, Il - Jessica Pearo continued her firecracker kick off to the 2010 cross country season by clocking 17:33 to win the 38th annual Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational today in Chicago.

Although the winds off of Lake Michigan were blowing up to 40km an hour, Pearo took the lead midway through the race and won comfortably.

The no. 1 Marauder women placed second overall, trailling Northwestern (56) by only three points and beating out 39 other teams from across Canada and the United States. Their finish was an improvement on last season's bronze medal performance in a race where there were fewer teams.

Victoria Coates had an outstanding run to finish in eighth (18:07) and Katie Anderson sprinted the final metres to make it into the top ten with her time of 18:11. Also scoring for the McMaster women was Stephanie MacNeil (18:15) and Sara Giovannetti (18:37).

Andrew Yorke crossed the line first for Mac in the men's 8km race with his time of 25:19 which ranked him just shy of the top ten in 11th. Sophomore Taylor Reid placed 33rd out of the 528 participants and captain Larry Abbott was tripped up in the first 300m but raced his way through the 500 man pack to round out the men's top three in 25:57 for 42nd place.

The men's team finished 13th out of the 41 team pack.

Source: Marauder Athletics

Guelph Gryphons @ Paul Short Run

BETHLEHEM, PA - The Guelph Gryphons men's and women's cross country teams had strong showings at this weekend's rain soaked Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In one of the largest collegiate cross country meets on the continent the Gryphons registered two top 10 individual placings, with both teams finishing in the top six.

The women's raced kicked off with a bang, with Guelph's Rachel Cliff (Vancouver) quickly establishing herself at the front of the race. The field, which boasted three top 25 programs in the NCAA, was hot on her heels. Cliff would continue in the lead group through the three kilometre mark before watching Emily Infield of Georgetown break away for the win. Cliff would battle strongly down the stretch to finish 9th overall in a lifetime best performance of 20 minutes and 29 seconds on the wet and soggy six kilometre course.

Behind Cliff, the Gryphon depth and rookie strength were on full display. Rookies Emily Driedger and Melissa Jones finished 44th and 47th respectively, with teammate Courtney Laurie in 50th overall. Genevieve Lalonde, in her first race of the season rounded out the Gryphon scorers in 57th. Overall the Gryphons scored 207 points to finish 6th overall behind Georgetown, Virginia, James Madison, Cornell and Columbia.

The Gryphon men were paced by Kyle Boorsma's 9th place finish in a time of 24 minutes and 6 seconds. Boorsma was battling in the lead pack for much of the race, his 9th place finish is the best ever by a Gryphon male at the meet. Teammate Alex Genest finished 21st, with rookie sensation Ross Proudfoot 22nd, making Guelph one of only two schools in the men's race with three finishers in the top 25.

The Gryphons also had the strongest fourth man of the field with Allan Brett finished 32nd; however a series of injuries, illness and misfortune cause the team's fifth place finisher to finish further back than expected derailing any hopes the Gryphons had of securing the team title. All-Canadian Nigel Wray was unable to compete due to Bronchitis, while Rob Jackson was forced to withdraw due to a lower back injury, rounding out the run of bad luck was Andrew Nixon losing his shoe on two separate occasions during the race. Tommy Mosher, in only his second cross country race in the past three years filled in admirably, running the best cross country race of his life, he finished 122nd overall in a time 25 minutes and 22 seconds.

Overall, the Gryphons finished with a team score of 206 points, to finish fifth overall behind top 30 NCAA teams Virginia, Georgetown, William and Mary as well as Dartmouth College. With Wray and Jackson back healthy and some better luck the Gryphons will hope to make an impact in two weeks time when they become the first ever Canadian entrant into the prestigious Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Oregon.

Source: Gryphons Athletics