The StFX X-Men ran to a ninth place showing at the CIS championship Sunday afternoon at Pippy Park in St. John's, Nfld as Memorial University hosted the national event.
Guelph University claimed the CIS banner with their first place finish of 27 points, followed by Victoria (103) and Laval (131). The X-Men scored 220 points in ninth place amongst 17 total teams.
Scott Donald was the top X-Men finisher in 30th spot overall, completing the 10k course in a time of 35:27.2. Guelph's Ross Proudfoot was the race winner at 33:47.2. Tristan Woodfine (33:54.8) also from Guelph, claimed silver and Laval's Charles Philibert-Thiboulot (34:04.2) was third.
Also competing for StFX in the field of 124 runners were Bryden Tate (43rd, 35:52.5), Lee Wesselius (48th, 36:03.1), Riley Johnston (51st, 36:05.6), Cal DeWolfe (58rth, 36:19.3), Nick Favero (71st, 36:52.1) and Stuart MacPherson (98th, 38:07.4).
On the women's side, the X-Women did not have a full team complement competing at the national event, though two individual runners did race the 6k course.
Liz MacDonald placed 75th overall with a time of 25:19.5 and was followed closely by her teammate Leah Gouthro in 76th at 25:19.9. A total of 132 female runners competed with Guelph's Carise Thompson the race winner at 22:42.2.
Guelph also took the team title with 34 points, followed by Trinity Western (105) and Queen's (132).
The complete press release from CIS follows
2014 CIS cross country championships
Guelph sweeps team titles for 9th straight year
Gryphons also claim both individual titles for first complete sweep since 2011
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CIS) – The University of Guelph claimed both the women's and men's titles at the 2014 CIS cross-country running championships, marking the ninth consecutive year the Gryphons have captured both banners. The races were held at St. John's Pippy Park golf course for the first time in the event's history, Saturday.
The weather provided a serious challenge for both races with winds peaking near 110 km per hour, accompanied by rain and sometimes hail-like conditions.
It was the 10th consecutive banner performance for the Guelph women and the ninth straight for the men's squad, extending their own CIS records. The Gryphons have now racked up 25 team titles in their prestigious history, also a CIS mark, 12 more than Victoria.
"The weather was an interesting variable today which tends to compress the field," said head coach Dave Scott Thomas. "Last night at our team meeting we re-jigged our strategies, and today they executed them perfectly. From a technical and emotional standpoint the team was ten out of ten."
In individual competition, Guelph's Carise Thompson, coming off second-place finishes each of the past two years, captured the women's gold medal in the six-kilometre event thanks to a time of 22 minutes and 42.2 seconds. The fifth-year senior had also placed fourth in her sophomore season, in 2011.
Teammate Ross Proudfoot (33:47.2) took top spot in the men's 10-kilometre race. The former CIS rookie of the year, also a fifth-year veteran competing in his last university event, had claimed CIS silver in 2012.
It marked the third individual gold in four years by a Guelph woman and the sixth in seven seasons – and second straight – by a Gryphon male runner.
The Gryphons had not swept all four CIS titles – individual and team – since 2011.
In the women's race, the Gryphons placed six runners in the top 18, including gold and bronze medal performances, their five scorers giving them 34 points for a comfortable lead over Trinity Western (105) and Queen's (132) in the team standings.
Queen's best individual effort came from last year's national champion, Julie-Anne Staehli (22:50.3), who was the second competitor to cross the line. The Gryphons Katelyn Ayers (22:55.4) joined Staehli and Thompson on the podium.
"I think that everything came together for me today," said Thompson. "I have been working really hard and the weather conditions were absolutely brutal but mental and physical toughness were key.
"I've had my heart set on winning CIS gold the past three years, I came second the last two, and this year everything came into place."
On the men's side, Guelph claimed gold and placed five runners in the top 13 to finish with 27 points. Tristan Woodfine (33:54.8) chased his teammate Proudfoot down the home stretch and took second place in front of Laval's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (34:04.2). Woodfine and Philibert-Thiboutot had also placed second and third a year ago.
Philibert-Thiboutot's effort helped his Rouge et Or to third place in the team standings with 131 points, just behind the University of Victoria (103), whose top finisher was Ryan Cassidy (34:10.0), in seventh.
The men's and women's coach of the year award went to Dave Scott Thomas, who led the Gryphons to a first place finish on both sides. This was his ninth consecutive award in men's competition and his ninth in 10 years for the women.
Complete results: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/xc/2014/files/sched_results
WOMEN'S RESULTS (6 km)
Team standings
1. Guelph, 34 points
2. Trinity Western, 105
3. Queen's, 132
4. Toronto, 159
5. Western, 163
6. Victoria, 164
7. Laval, 185
8. Dalhousie, 189
9. Ottawa, 244
10. Alberta, 258
11. Calgary, 276
12. McMaster, 302
13. Calgary, 303
14. MacEwan, 353
15. Waterloo, 368
16. Regina, 385
17. Manitoba, 437
18. Memorial, 557
19. Thompson Rivers, 577
Individual honours
Athlete of the year: Carise Thompson, Guelph
Rookie of the year: Katie Phillips, Ottawa
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Kendra Pomfret, Victoria
Coach of the year: Dave Scott Thomas, Guelph
First All-Canadians (top 7 finishers)
1. Carise Thompson, Guelph, 22:42.2
2. Julie-Anne Staehli, Queens, 22:50.3
3. Katelyn Ayers, Guelph, 22:55.4
4. Katrina Allison, Guelph, 22:57.1
5. Sarah Inglis, Trinity Western, 22:58.3
6. Claire Sumner, Queens, 23:01.5
7. Alison Jackson, Trinity Western, 23:04.6
Second All-Canadians (finishers 8-14)
8. Emma Cook-Clarke, Calgary, 23:10.0
9. Amanda Truelove, Western, 23:12.7
10. Fiona Benson, Trinity Western, 23:16.8
11. Gabriela Stafford, Toronto, 23:30.4
12. Heather Petrick, Guelph, 23:41.4
13. Vanessa Trofimenkoff, MacEwan, 23:49.1
14. Madeline Yungblut, Guelph, 23:53.5
MEN'S RESULTS (10 km)
Team standings
1. Guelph, 27 points
2. Victoria, 103
3. Laval, 131
4. McMaster, 144
5. Windsor, 148
6. Lakehead, 153
7. Trinity Western, 178
8. Calgary, 186
9. StFX, 220
10. Queen's, 229
11. Dalhousie, 284
12. Regina, 305
13. Western, 328
14. Manitoba, 343
15. Saskatchewan, 430
16. Memorial, 471
17. Thompson Rivers, 538
Individual honours
Athlete of the year: Ross Proudfoot, Guelph
Rookie of the year: Russell Pennock, Calgary
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Mihai Prajea, Trinity Western
Coach of the year: Dave Scott Thomas, Guelph
First All-Canadians (top 7 finishers)
1. Ross Proudfoot, Guelph, 33:47.2
2. Tristan Woodfine, Guelph, 33:54.8
3. Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Laval, 34:04.2
4. Dlyan Brown, Lakehead, 34:06.8
5. Yves Sikubwabo, Guelph 34:06.9
6. Aaron Hendrikx, Guelph, 34:08.8
7. Ryan Cassidy, Victoria, 34:10.0
Second All-Canadians (finishers 8-14)
8. Matt Johnson, Regina, 34:19.1
9. Joel Deshiffart, Trinity Western, 34:25.8
10. Alex Wilkie, Queen's, 34:29.4
11. Olivier Collin, Victoria, 34:30.7
12. Matt McNeil, Dalhousie, 34:32.3
13. Christian Gravel, Guelph, 34:57.2
14. Alexandre Ricard, Laval, 35:02.4