The 2025 university cross country postseason got underway this past weekend, with Ottawa Lions athletes competing across both the OUA and RSEQ Championships in Kingston and Saint-Lazare. Among the standout performers was Queen’s University’s Elizabeth Vroom, who rose to the occasion in front of a home crowd at the historic Fort Henry course.
The fourth-year engineering student delivered her best-ever OUA Championship performance, placing sixth overall in the women’s 8km race with a time of 28:11.8. Her result earned her OUA First Team All-Star honours and helped the Queen’s Gaels capture their first women’s team title since 2019.
Also making his mark on the team podium was Nicolas Belan of the University of Guelph. The second-year Gryphon finished 43rd overall in 25:42.4, serving as the team’s seventh scorer as Guelph claimed silver in the men’s team standings with 69 points, just 19 behind Queen’s.
Gardiner qualifies for USports Championships
The uOttawa women finished 12th in the team standings with 326 points—just seven behind Laurentian and 21 shy of cracking the top ten. As she has throughout the season, Zoe Gardiner led the charge, placing 20th overall in 28:57.5 to secure a berth at the upcoming U SPORTS Championships in Sherbrooke.
Rookie Ciara Villeneuve impressed in her OUA debut, finishing 66th overall (32:12.8) and posting the eighth-fastest time among all first-year competitors. The Gee-Gees’ scoring lineup was rounded out by Merissa Anderton (72nd), Elliot Tyman (87th), and Taylor Brown (89th).
On the men’s side, uOttawa placed 11th overall with 285 points. Second-year Max Wilson led the team with a 47th-place finish (25:46.8), just ahead of Zach Sikka in 50th (25:53.5). The pair anchored a strong pack that included William McLeish (51st) and Ben Pascali (53rd), all finishing within 14 seconds of each other. First-year Matteo Padoin-Castillo rounded out the scoring five in 86th.
Ravens Wrap Up Season at RSEQ Championships
At the RSEQ Championships in Saint-Lazare, the Carleton Ravens fielded a small but determined squad. On the men’s side, Duncan Gray led the way with a 48th-place finish in 26:46, followed by Blaine Macauley in 100th. For the Raven women, Sara Gross was the top finisher in 78th (33:38), while Chloe Ranahan placed 86th.
Full Results from both meets are available on OttawaLions.com