X-Men cross country race to first win of the season

The X-Women and X-Men cross county teams opened their AUS season today in Wolfville at the Acadia Invitational. The X-Women placed third overall while the X-Men took top spot, claiming first place.

Third year runners Lee Wesselius and Scott Donald led the X-Men, finishing first and second, respectively, with Riley Johnston and Alex Neuffer not far behind in third and fourth positions.

The X-Men placed seven runners in the top eight to 16 points for the first place victory. Dalhousie was a distance behind in second place with 73 points and UNB was third with 81. Rounding out the team results was Memorial (95), Saint Mary's (111), Moncton (177) and Acadia (189).

Wesselius' first place time in the 8k race was 25:30, with Donald finishing at 25:38. Johnston clocked in at 25:45 and Neuffer was 25:50. John Kuto (25:58) from Saint Mary's was fifth, while StFX racers placed sixth, seventh and eighth in Calvin DeWolfe (25:58), Bryden Tate (26:00) and Alex Cyr (26:02).

Also competing for the X-Men in Wolfville in the race that featured 55 participants were the following:

Stuart MacPherson, 11^th, 26:56
Ryan Hatchard, 15^th, 27:30
Edward MacDonald, 19^th, 28:01
Ryan Fuller, 20^th, 28:07
Nick Favaro, 22^nd, 28:13
Vaughn Saunders, 23^rd, 28:15
Pat Marlow, 28^th, 28:40
Warren Ferguson, 29^th, 28:54
Ryan O'Reagan, 34^th, 29:43
Corey McNamara, 36^th, 30:08

In the women's 5k race, the X-Women were led by second year runner Liz MacDonald who placed second overall with a time of 18:37. Dalhousie's Ellen Chappell won the race at 18:08, helping the Tigers to take the team first place finish with 22 points as they placed six runners in the top ten.

UNB was second in team standings with 57 points with the X-Women close behind in third spot at 66. Rounding out the team results were Acadia (116), Memorial (157), Saint Mary's (159) and Moncton (175).

Freshman runner Leah Gouthro from Hammonds Plains, NS was the next best StFX finisher, crossing the line in fourth place with a time of 18:53. Kendra MacNeil (19:47) was 16^th amongst the field of 63 racers.

Also competing for the X-Women were:

Ginny Anderson, 24^th, 20:21
Alyson Woods, 26^th, 20:37
Maura Gillis, 29^th, 20:52
Heidi MacDonald, 30^th, 20:58
Kathryn Tuck, 35^th, 21:17
Teagan Moxam, 37^th, 21:50
Rachel LeBlanc, 40^th, 22:00
Olivia MacDonald, 50^th, 22:43

Next on the AUS schedule for both the X-Women and X-Men teams is a meet in Fredericton, NB on Saturday, Sept. 20^th. Hosted in Odell Park by both UNB and St. Thomas, race times are 12:00 and 12:45 pm.