WXC | Voyageurs Turn in 5th and 8th Place Performances at McMaster

The Laurentian university women's and men's cross-country running teams competed at the Marauder Bayfront Open in Hamilton's Bayfront Park on the weekend, returning with 5th and 8th place finishes, respectively.

Over 300 runners from 13 schools competed, including out-of-province teams from Dalhousie and the University of Saskatchewan.

The women's squad was led by Jenny Bottomley, who placed 17th over the 8km course in a time 30:17. She was followed by Megan Crocker who placed 20th in a time of 30:31; Nicole Rich who was 30th in 31:04; Breanne Steven who was 48th in 31:54 and rookie, Pascale Gendron, who was 49th in 31:55. Displacers were Jessie Nusselder who was 56th in 32:16 and Megan Sippel, who was 79th in 33:03.

The women scored a total of 134 points for fifth place with a top-five average time of 31:08 over the 8km course.

"This was our final regular-season meet, and our first test over the 8km championship distance," said head coach, Dick Moss."  It was a fine performance, overall, with good starting tactics and some gutsy running over the final 3km."

Individual Results - Laurentian Women (8km)

17, Jenny Bottomley, 30:17

20, Megan Crocker, 30:31

30, Nicole Rich, 31:04

48, Breanne Steven, 31:54

49, Pascale Gendron, 31:55

56, Jessie Nusselder, 32:16

79, Megan Sippel, 33:03

80, Sarah Thackeray, 33:07

105, Amanda Boudreau, 35:17

Team Results - Women

1. Dalhousie, 56 points

2. Western, 75

3. McMaster, 91

4. Toronto, 97

5. Laurentian, 134

6. Laurier, 186

7. Queen's, 187

8. Saskatchewan, 207

9. Waterloo, 222

10. Lakehead, 243

11. Windsor, 250

12. Nipissing, 337

13. Ryerson, 382

The men's team was again led by 2nd year runner, Paul Sagriff, who cracked the top-10 with a 9th place finish in a time of 25:13 over the 8km course. He was followed by rookie, Eric Gareau, who placed 30th in a time of 26:03; Dylan McKevitt, who was 65th in 26:36; Alexandre Fishbein-Ouimette who was 107th in 28:04 and Jarod Milford, who was 114th in 28:29. Mika Muinonen was the displacer, finishing 128th with a time of 29:40.

The men scored a total of 225 points for eighth place with a top-five average time of 26:53 over the 8km course.

"Liam Passi and Caleb Beland have some aches and pains, so we held them out of the race. We want to make sure they're healthy for the OUA championships in two weeks," said Associate Head Coach, Darren Jermyn. "I'm confident we'll be ready to go for the OUA's"

The team's next competition is the OUA championships on October 27th on the Thames Valley golf course in London.

Individual Results - Laurentian Men (8km)

9, Paul Sagriff, 25:13

30, Eric Gareau, 26:03

65, Dylan McKevitt, 26:36

107, Alexandre Fishbein -Ouimette, 28:04

114, Jarod Milford, 28:29

128, Mika Muinonen, 29:40

Team Results - Men

1. McMaster, 36

2. Western, 65

3. Windsor, 75

4. Toronto, 118

5. Dalhousie, 146

6. Guelph, 160

7. Lakehead, 178

8. Laurentian, 225

9. Waterloo, 232

10. Laurier, 249

11. Brock, 306