It was a close, but no cigar kind of day for the University of Ottawa Gee Gees men’s cross country team at the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Championships. Running through Parc Maisonneuve at the footsteps of the Olympic Stadium, the Gee Gee men finished an agonizing four points out of a bronze medal position as they came in fourth.
Nicholas Roberts, a third year Human Kinetics student, led the horsemen with his 13th place finish, completing the 10 km course in 32 minutes 38.2 seconds. Roberts was followed by freshman Nico Pedersen in 23rd. Also scoring for the team were Adrian Fournier, Andre Alie-Lamarche, and Stephen Robinson.
While Carleton University did not have enough men to field a full team their top finisher, Daniel Ribs, was 25th across the line in a time of 33 minutes 36.5 seconds.
While neither women’s program field a full team either, it did not lessen the quality of their performances with all women finishing among the top 21 competitors. Carleton’s Jenna Van Vliet led the ground, crossing the line in 7th. The environmental engineering graduate student completed the 8km course in 30 minutes 39.5 seconds. The Gee Gees top finisher was veteran Rebecca Brennan in 10th. The social science student finished in 30 minutes 56.9 seconds.
Advancing to the USports Championships in two weeks time are Roberts, Pedersen, Van Vliet, Brennan, and Magalie Babineau.
Elsewhere in cross country conference championships, Farah Abdulkarim and his Ole Miss teammates won the school’s first ever men’s Southeastern Conference Championship. Abdulkarim, who transferred to Mississippi this fall, was the team’s fourth scorer, finishing 8th and garnering Second Team All-SEC status.
Across the continent at the PAC 12 Championships, Shona McCulloch finished 40th to help her University of Washington Huskies team to a 4th place finsih.
Lastly, Jeremie Venne recorded a 10th place finish at the Northeast Conference Championship to help his St. Francis University team to a second place finish.
