StFX track and field was represented by lone distance runner Connor McGuire this past weekend at the CIS track & field championship in Edmonton, as hosted by the University of Alberta. The fourth year runner from Summerside, PEI was the lone StFX athlete to meet the CIS standard qualifying time, enabling him to compete nationally.

McGuire qualified in both the men’s 1500m and 3000m events and performed very well for StFX. In the 3000m race held Friday evening, McGuire went into the race ranked 11th in the country and finished with a seventh place run amongst the elite 12 runners across the country. His time was 8:30.93. The gold medal performance went to Kelly Wiebe from Regina at 8:03.13. Weibe was also the 2012 CIS individual cross country champion. In second was Matt Walters from Windsor at 8:10.58, followed by Ross Proudfoot from Guelph (8:11.11) in third.

In the 1500m race Saturday afternoon, McGuire entered the race ranked 10th in the country and ran to a dramatic fourth place finish. With a time of 3:52.87, he was clipped at the finish line by Guelph’s Ross Proudfoot who clocked 3:52.72, just narrowly missing out on a CIS bronze medal. Matt Walters won the gold with a time of 3:50.16, followed by Yves Sikubwabo from Guelph in second (3:50.44).

The overall CIS team champions were Guelph on the men’s side with 114 points, followed by Windsor (92) and Western and York each with 59 in a tie for third. On the women’s side, Calgary took home the CIS banner with 115 points, followed by Toronto (111.50) and Guelph (85.25).