With Ottawa playing host to the Canadian Cross Country Championships for the second year in a row, many things were a little bit different in the sequel. Along with the move from Wesley Clover Park to Mooney’s Bay, the most welcome change yesterday had to have been the balmy temperatures which peaked around seven degrees centigrade in the afternoon – nearly 20 degrees warmer than in 2021. However, one important consistency remained – the Lions U18 girls team were crowned national champions for the second year in a row.
After a narrow one point victory of the University of Toronto Track Club a year ago, the U18 girls enjoyed a 30 point cushion over second place South Simcoe Dufferin on Saturday. For the second year in a row Amelia Van Brabant led the charge for the Lions, finishing 18th overall in a time of 16 minutes and 1 second on the four kilometre course. Jocelyn Giannotti was the second scorer, finishing four spots behind Van Brabant in 22nd – 50 places up from her 2021 finish. The top four scorers were rounded out by Louise Stonham and Quinn Coughlin, who placed 46th and 50th respectively.
The team victory is the 12th national team title in the Club’s history and the U18 girls become only the second team to ever repeat as national champions. The U20 men’s team won back-to-back titles 30 years ago.
Both U20 teams posted top-5 results – a marked improvement over 2021 where the women did not field a team and the men placed eighth.
Led by USports Rookie of the Year Elizabeth Vroom, the U20 women were fifth with 187 points. Vroom, a first year student at Queen’s University, placed 20th – covering the six kilometre course in 24 minutes and six seconds. Gillian Porter crossed the line in 25:24 to finish 38th overall, while Grace Munro and Aria MacDonald rounded out the scorers for the Lions in 61st and 68th respectively.
Zachary Sikka was the top finisher for the U20 men, placing 33rd overall in a time of 28:02 over the eight kilometre course. Max Benda (44th), Frédéric Parent (49th), and Kyle Porter (53rd) rounded out the scorers for the Lions as the team amassed 179 points – 66 points better than in 2021.
Just missing the top-five was the U18 boys team as they amassed 251 points to finish sixth overall. Kiefer Melinz Dupuis was the top scorer as he placed 30th overall in the six kilometre race. With no U16 race at the national level, Saul Taler and Daniel Cova each raced up a category as they were the second and third scorers for the team in 46th and 71st respectively. Nicolas Belan rounded out the team’s scoring in 104th place.
In one of the tightest spreads of the whole day, the Open Men’s team placed seventh overall for the second year in a row. Scorers Adrian Fournier, André Alie-Lamarche, Robert Mitchell, and Nic Roberts all finished within five spots of each other. Fournier topped the group, crossing the line 49th in a time of 33:11.
In the masters competition, Liz Maguire took top spot in the women’s 55-59 category. The 56-year old finished the eight kilometre course in a time of 34 minutes and 54 seconds – more than a minute and a half ahead of second place. Fritzlor Auguste picked up a silver medal in the men’s 30-34 category, finishing in 32 minutes and 11 seconds.
For complete results from the championship as well as photos from the event, please visit our results page.