A blanket of early winter weather set the stage for a dramatic weekend at the 2025 Canadian Cross Country Championships, held at Fanshawe Golf Course in London. A dusting of snow greeted athletes for Saturday’s age-class races, but by Sunday the course was fully covered after an overnight storm—conditions the Lions athletes not only embraced, but thrived in.
U16 Teams Double Up on National Silver
The weekend opened with a strong statement from the Lions’ U16 squads as both the girls and boys earned team silver, matching their podium finishes from the Ontario Championships two weeks earlier.
In the U16 girls 4km, Isla Kittmer led the charge with a composed run, finishing 10th in 15:14.8. Scoring support came from Charlie Fee (38th), Keira Ganton (58th), and Saoirse Hoogenraad (77th). Their combined 134 points placed them second behind the Etobicoke Huskies.
The U16 boys mirrored the achievement with their own silver-medal performance. Oscar Lorrain delivered a top-10 finish of his own, placing 10th in 13:22.0. Teammates Graeme Siderius (35th), Jaiden Taft (37th), and Theo Hurst (56th) rounded out the scoring for a total of 137 points, trailing only the Durham Dragons.
Taler Qualifies for Team Canada in U20 Men’s 8km
The U20 men entered the championships looking to replicate, or improve upon, their 2024 U18 team bronze. They came agonizingly close, holding a podium position through three of the four laps before ultimately finishing fifth with 121 points.
The story of the race, however, was Saul Taler, the first-year Queen’s University student who produced one of the Lions’ defining moments of the weekend. Taler finished 11th in 25:30.1 over the rolling 8km course, earning a coveted spot on Team Canada for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships this January in Tallahassee, Florida. He became the first Lions male to qualify for a World Cross team since Allan Brett in 2006.
Close behind was Daniel Cova, the reigning U20 5000m silver medalist and Iona University freshman, who placed 22nd in his second race of the fall after redshirting the collegiate season. Charlie Mortimer, continuing his strong momentum after moving up from U18, finished 21st. Dean Kontogiannis completed the scoring with a 70th-place showing.
Additional Age-Class Performances
In the U18 girls 6km, Kyra Lauter led the Lions with a 21st-place finish in 23:17.0, while Max Gerundin placed 61st in the boys 6km (20:35.0). Tessa Knight placed 43rd in 32:28.7 in the U20 women’s race as the Lions top-finisher. Rounding out the first day, Zach Sikka placed 89th in the Open men’s 10km event in 34:31.9.
Historic Para Bronze for Jacob Gauthier
Sunday’s snowfall brought history with it as 17-year-old Jacob Gauthier captured bronze in the first-ever para men’s 5km race at the Canadian Championships. The visually impaired athlete added the national medal to the Ontario gold he claimed two weeks earlier, cementing his place as a trailblazer in the event’s inaugural edition. Gauthier was led by guide Adrian Rivers.
Relay Wrap-Up
The championships closed with the U18 mixed 4×2km relay, where the Lions quartet of Max Gerundin, Kyra Lauter, Charlie Mortimer, and Isla Kittmer placed 9th overall in 29:05.3, concluding a weekend marked by grit, depth, and breakthrough performances.