Several StFX track and field athletes competed at the recent Aileen Meagher International Track Classic in Halifax.
Eilish MacQuarrie set a personal best time of 57.47 in the women's 400m dash. The race featured national development athletes from across the country and MacQuarrie was very close to winning the race, clocking in at only two one-hundredths of a second off Amy Lynn's Grant first place finish of 57.45.
MacQuarrie recently wrapped up a successful second season with the X-Women this past winter. At the AUS championship in late February, she was an AUS all-star, racking up four AUS medals. She won gold in the 300m and with the 4x400m relay team, earned silver in the 4x200m relay and bronze in the 600m race. The Antigonish, NS native was also the X-Women track and field most valuable player.
Fellow X-Men sprinter Mackenzie Munroe ran a strong race in the men's devleopment 400m event. The Yarmouth, NS native placed seocnd overall with a time of 50:54. The first place finisher was Jason Bouchard at 49.30. Munroe completed his first year of eligibility this past season at StFX and had a strong showing at the AUS track and field championship, winning three gold medals and one silver. The AUS all-star and X-Men rookie of the year won gold in both the 300m and 600m races, as well as in the 4x400m relay. He earned silver with his teammates in the 4x200m relay.
Two more X-Men competed at the Halifax international meet, including Heatherton, NS native Bryden Tate. The winner of last month's BlueNose 5km race in Halifax, Tate placed fourth in the 800m national development race, clocking a time of 2:01.38. He is entering into his third year of eligibility with both the X-Men cross country and track and field teams this coming fall.
Recent StFX graduate and Summerside, PEI native Connor McGuire competed in the men's 1500m race, facing some of the top distance runners in the country. His time of 3:55.88 placed him 10th overall. The 2013 StFX male athlete of the year, McGuire capped off a very successful 2012-13 year campaign as the three-time consecutive X-Men cross country and track & field most valuable athlete won the AUS cross country championship race for the second time in as many years.
McGuire was the two-time AUS cross country athlete of the year on the AUS champion X-Men squad, and was honored as the 2012 AUS and CIS men's cross coutry community service award winner. On the track, McGuire won three AUS gold medals, claiming top honors in both the 1500m and 3000m races, as well as in the 4x800m relay. He was named the AUS male track athlete of the year and at the CIS national championship, placed fourth in the 1500m, then narrowly missed a bronze medal in the 3000m.
Complete results for the Aileen Meagher International Track Classic are available at http://aileenmeagher.com/2012AileenMeagher.pdf.