Posted: Nov 10, 2018

WXC | Voyageurs Finish School-Best Tying 10th at Nationals

The Laurentian cross-country running teams raced at the U SPORTS National championships this weekend. Running in cold weather and winds gusting to 70km/hour on Kingston's Fort Henry course, the women's team tied a school record by placing 10^th, matching their national ranking and finishing as the third OUA squad across the line. The men placed a surprise 13^th in only the fourth season since their reinstatement. They entered the contest ranked 16^th in the country.

Over 150 women competed, including runners from 20 women's teams plus individuals from an additional 11 universities. The men's race included over 160 runners including 19 full squads plus runners from an additional 14 schools.

Jenny Bottomley led the women's team with a 23rd-place finish in a time of 29:43 over the 8km course. Megan Crocker placed 36^th in a time 30:17; Nicole Rich placed 44^th in 30:30; Breanne Steven was 90^th in 31:30 and Jessie Nusselder completed the scoring by placing 113^th in a time of 32:06. Displacers were both rookies: Pascale Gendron, who placed 123rd in 32:35 and Sarah Thackeray who was 142nd^th in 33:29.

"This is a veteran team and they showed it today with their composure under some difficult conditions," said coach, Dick Moss. "The goal since the start of the season was to crack the-top four at the OUAs and top-10 at Nationals, and they did exactly that. On the negative side, our entire top-five graduates this year and it will be really hard to say goodbye to them."

Individual Results – Laurentian – 8km

23, Jenny Bottomley, 29:43

36, Megan Crocker, 30:17

44, Nicole Rich, 30:30

90, Breanne Steven, 31:30

113, Jessie Nusselder, 32:06

123, Pascale Gendron, 32:35

142, Sarah Thackeray, 33:29

Team Scores - Women

1. Laval, 55 points

2. Queen's, 62

3. Guelph, 108