XC | Voyageurs Narrowly Miss Podium
The Laurentian cross-country teams competed in steamy hot conditions this weekend at the Bill Salter Western International at the Thames Valley Golf Club in London.
The women finished fourth in the 12-team field, while the men finished 10th out of 12th
The women's squad was led by a breakthrough performance by Jenny Bottomley, a second year runner who is taking her masters in Human Kinetics. Bottomley finished 11th among OUA runners and 12th overall in a talented field with a personal best performance of 22:36 seconds over the 6km course.
She was followed by Nicole Rich who was 29th in a personal best 23:45; rookie Nicole Sartor who was 34th in 23:59; Jessie Nusselder who was 36th in 24:07 and Megan Crocker, who was the final scorer with a 37th place in 24:07. Displacers were transfer Heidi Tuszkiewicz who placed 43rd in 24:20 and Breanne Steven with a 53rd place finish in 24:43.
"It was an outstanding race by Jenny," said head coach, Dick Moss. "She trained over 90km/week this summer while working a construction job, and her hard work is evident. We've also learned that we're going to be in a battle this year with Waterloo, Laurier and Windsor all in close contention for the 7th place OUA spot that we need to qualify for Nationals."
Laurentian Results – Women, 6km
12. Jenny Bottomley, 22:36
29. Nicole Rich, 23:45
34. Nicole Sartor, 23:59
36. Jessie Nusselder, 24:07
37. Megan Crocker, 24:07
43. Heidi Tuszkiewicz, 24:20
53. Breanne Steven, 24:43
64. Meghan Sippel, 25:12
87. Kelsey Lefebvre, 26:04
98. Lindsay Robinson, 26:47
99. Lindsay Greasley, 26:49
101. Karissa Merrylees, 27:39
Team Results - Women
1. Queens, 55 pts
2. Western, 66
3. Toronto, 86
4. Laurentian, 131
5. Waterloo, 132
6. Laurier, 158
7. McMaster, 163
8. LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY, 196
9. Windsor, 220
10. Nipissing, 232
11. Brock, 274
12. Ryerson, 346
The men were led by rookie Paul Sagriff, who finished 52nd in a time of 27:01 over the 8km course. He was followed by Caleb Beland who was 62nd in a time of 27:19; Jordan Burkitt who was 104th in 29:25; Sam Delage who was 106 in 29:29; and Jarod Milford who completed the scoring with a 107th place finish in 29:30.
"It's early in the season and Dylan McKevitt, Liam Passi, Gordie Chown and Mika Muinonen were a little banged up, so we held them out of this race as a precaution," said Associate Head Coach, Darren Jermyn. " Once they're 100% health-wise, they'll be back in action."
Laurentian Results – Men, 8km
52. Paul Sagriff, 27:01
62. Caleb Beland, 27:19
104. Jordan Burkitt, 29:25
106. Sam Delage, 29:29
107. Jarod Milford, 29:30
Team Scores - Men
1. McMaster, 45
2. Queen's, 53
3. Windsor, 63
4. Western, 97
5. Toronto, 161
6. Waterloo, 187
7. Laurier, 221
8. Le Moyne (Syracuse), 229
9. Brock, 263
10. Laurentian, 274
11. Nipissing, 295
12. Ryerson, 334
York – partial team
The Voyageurs' next race is this weekend at the Mike Woods/Geneseo Invitational in Geneseo State Park, New York.