XC | LU Cross Country Women and Men Both Place 6th at Don Mills Waterloo Open
Laurentian's Cross Country Running team competed at the Don Mills Open this past weekend hosted by the University of Waterloo. Laurentian squared off against nine other Ontario universities over a six kilometre distance on the Columbia Lake fields on the Waterloo campus. Both squads placed sixth overall in team scoring.
The men's race saw Laurentian's top runner, Keon Wallingford (North Bay) open up his competitive season after missing the first two races of the year due to injury. Wallingford did not disappoint, as he ran to a 10th place finish in a field of 130 athletes. Wallingford covered the six kilometre race in a time of 18 minutes and 48 seconds. Third year nursing student Brandon Radey (Sudbury) continued his strong season by placing 29th in a time of 19:32. Also contributing to Laurentian's team score were fourth year kinesiology student Patrick Leroux (Wingham), 42nd in 19:46, third year engineering student Travis Annett (Sudbury), 69th in 20:30, and second year SPAD student Owen Roney (Sudbury), 72nd in 20:34. Also competing for the Vees were Seamus Doherty (Acton), 77th in 20:47, TJ Green (Manitoulin), 80th in 20:49, and Alan Wilkin (Manitoulin), 108th in 22:12.
The Laurentian women were led by Angela Mozzon (Sudbury) who placed 23rd in the field of 98 women. Mozzon's time of 23 minutes and 3 seconds was a new personal best on the Columbia Lake course. The next Vee across the finish line was fourth year nursing student Kristen Mrozewski (Sudbury), in placed 42nd in a time of 23:49. Other scoring members for Laurentian were fifth year education student Sarah Booth (Peterborough), 45th in 23:54, first year kinesiology student Georgia Lepage (Sudbury), 47th in 24:10, and third year kinesiology student Abby Lanteinge (Sudbury), 59th in 24:42. Laurentian's sixth runner across the line was second year sociology student Charlotte Grenier in 65th place in 24:59. Grenier's placing broke a tie between Laurentian and Brock in the team scoring as Grenier outpaced Brock's sixth runner. Also competing for Laurentian were 1st year SPAD student Ariel Gibbons (Renfrew), 87th in 27:07, 1st year Sport Psychology student Bay Jones (Sudbury), 93rd in 27:56, and 1st year nursing student Maeve Blake (North Bay), 94th in 28:28.
"It was great to see Keon in the top ten today," commented Vees Head Coach Darren Jermyn. "He's had some bad luck with injuries again this year, so we held him out of the Western race last weekend to ensure he was one hundred percent today and he looked comfortable running with the leaders." Jermyn also noted, "Angela was solid as always, leading our women today. Our second through fifth runners were packed a bit tighter today so that helped our team score and it was great to see Charlotte break the tie with Brock due to her solid finish".
The Vees will return to action on October 11th in Hamilton at the Marauder Invitational, hosted by McMaster University.
RESULTS: 2024 Don Mills Waterloo Open Team Scores
Women
1. University of Guelph – 40 points
2. University of Toronto – 49 points
3. University of Waterloo – 53 points
4. McMaster University – 101 points
5. Wilfrid Laurier University – 155 points
6. Laurentian University – 166 points*
7. Brock University – 166 points
8. York University – 235 points
9. Nipissing – 247 points
*tie breaker LU – 65th vs Brock – 68th
Men
1. University of Guelph – 18 points
2. McMaster University – 67 points
3. University of Toronto – 93 points
4. University of Waterloo – 109 points
5. Wilfrid Laurier University – 145 points
6. Laurentian University – 150 points
7. Brock University – 152 points
8. York University – 258 points
9. Nipissing University – 274 points
10. Toronto Metropolitan University – 302 points