X-Women cross country now 5-time AUS champions

The X-Women cross country team successfully defended their AUS championship title Saturday afternoon in Halifax, as they claimed their fifth consecutive AUS banner.

The X-Women won the title with 25 total points and 6 runners in the top ten. Dalhousie placed second with 32 points and Memorial was third with 83. The team results finished with Acadia (109), UNB (131) and Moncton (164).

The 5k meet was hosted at Point Pleasant Park by Saint Mary’s University and featured 46 runners. Saint Mary’s Ashley Ryer was the overall race win and AUS champion, crossing the line in a time of 17:54. Caroline Schlosser of Dalhousie was second at 18:14, followed by the 2007 champion from StFX Monika Preibischova at 18:36.

Kelly MacDonald was the next X-Woman to cross the finish line, as she came in 5th place running a time of 19:05. Teammates Petra Fouskova (19:15) and Bree Bates (19:16) were right behind her in 6th and 7th places, respectively.

AUS Rookie of the Year Natalie Kannenberg (19:34) placed 9th overall for the X-Women and Heather Mosher (19:43) was 10th. Kannenberg was the first freshman to finish out of all the AUS competitors. Erin MacNeil did not finish the race for StFX.

Preibischova, MacDonald, Fouskova and Bates all earned AUS all-star status for their top 7 finishes.

X-Women head coach Bernie Chisholm earned AUS Coach of the Year honors for the fifth consecutive year.

The X-Women will be heading to Kingston, ON on Nov. 14th when Queen’s University will be hosting the 2009 CIS Cross Country championship. The X-Women’s best finish at nationals came in 2007 when they won a bronze medal.