The cross country season officially kicked off last Friday afternoon in Montreal as athletes from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University took to the rolling hills of Mont Royal Park. The event, host by McGill University, featured a full field of teams from Quebec in an early season preview of next month’s RSEQ Championships.
The Gee Gee men had a strong finish, placing second in the eight team field to the Laval Rouge et Or by the narrowest of margins 52 to 51. The team was led by sophomore Andre Alie-Lamarche who completed the six kilometre course in a time of 19 minutes and 25 seconds. Teammates Adrian Fournier, Stephen Robinson, Nic Roberts and Paul Bates moved as a pack through the course as the quartet placed 11-12-13-14, all crossing the line within five seconds of each other.
The women’s team was led by Rebecca Brennan who placed 13th overall, completing the four kilometre course in 15 minutes and 24 seconds. Brennan had a breakout summer season on the track, including numerous personal bests over 5000m, should be one of the Gee Gees top runners throughout the season. Teammate Keili Shepherd was next across the line for the Gee Gees, placing 28th in 16:03. The women’s team placed sixth overall with 151 points.
The Ravens fielded just two runners, with Pippa Norman taking 48th in the women’s race and Darrell Hill placing 81st among the men.
This weekend will be a break from competition with the season resuming on September 28 with the Sherbrooke Vert et Or Invitation.