The X-Men cross country team picked up right where they left off last season – on a winning note. The X-Men ran to a first place finish this past weekend in the opening AUS meet at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, hosted by Dalhousie University.

The defending AUS champions won every meet they participated in last season and extended that winning streak on Saturday with a 31 point spread for a first place finish, ahead of second place Dalhousie (37 points) and third place Saint Mary’s (81 points).

John Corbit was the first X-Man to cross the line, running in second place with a time of 25:10. Russell Christie of Dalhousie won the race at 24:29 and Brad Orchard of Saint Mary’s was third (25:44). The race marked the first one for Corbit (Antigonish, NS) in an X-Men singlet, he previously ran for Dalhousie and is now in his fifth year of eligibility.

A trio of first year StFX runners placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Connor MacGuire (Summerside, PE) ran fifth at 26:15, followed by teammates Aaron Doucette (Yarmouth, NS) at 26:15 and Jullian MacLean (Sydney, NS) at 26:16.

Other X-Men participating in the opening race were Kenton Sportak in 11th place (26:36), Ivan Lewis in 12th (26:39), Zach MacDonald in 20th (27:33), Ryan Hawkrigg in 25th (28:28), Robert Lavers in 27th (28:34) and Michael Mason in 33rd (29:43).

The 8km race featured a total of 36 AUS runners in a total field of 43 competitors. The X-Men next see action this Saturday, Sept. 19th when they will have home course advantage at the StFX Invitational, slated for 12:45 pm.

For complete meet results, CLICK HERE