Angus Rawling claims individual gold medal at AUS championship

Dalhousie Tigers sweep 2017 AUS men's and women's cross country banners
Dalhousie's Savanna Jordan and StFX's Angus Rawling claim individual gold medals

(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) The Dalhousie Tigers raced to first-place men's and women's team finishes at the 2017 Subway AUS Cross Country Championships Saturday afternoon. The championships were hosted by Acadia University at Hennigar's Farm in Wolfville, N.S.

WOMEN'S RACE RESULTS

In the women's 8km race, the Tigers claimed two individual medals and four of the top nine finishers. Freshman Savanna Jordan (Calgary, Alta.) captured first-place honours with a time of 30:05.0. 

"I actually thought the course was deceiving," commented Jordan. "It felt easy in the warm-up run and it felt nice, but the hill was a lot tougher and it was big. It was easier than the Laval course but definitely one of the tougher AUS courses."

Dalhousie senior Michelle Reddy (Sarnia, Ont.) was the women's silver medallist, finishing with a time of 30:56.8. Jenna MacDonald (New Glasgow, N.S.) finished seventh with a time of 32:07.3, while Shaylynn Tell (Toronto, Ont.) came in ninth place with a time of 32:30.3.

This marks Dalhousie's 24^th AUS women's cross country banner win and their fifth consecutive year claiming the title.

The StFX X-Women earned a second-place team finish. Their top finishers were Liz MacDonald (Bedford, N.S.) who came in fourth with a time of 31:30.7 and Rachel MacDougall (Antigonish, N.S.) who placed fifth with a time of 31:39.4.

The host Acadia Axewomen earned a third place team finish, with three runners in the top 10. Katie Robinson (Saint John, N.B.) finished sixth with a time of 31:58.3, Chrissy Smith (Glace Bay, N.S.) came in seventh with a time of 32:09.8 and Madalyn Higgins (Halifax, N.S.) claimed 10^th with a time of 32:33.2.

Dalhousie's women's team finished with a score of 36, followed by the X-Women with 52 and the Axewomen with 60.

Third-year Moncton Aigles Bleues' runner Carol-Ann MacDonald (Irishtown, N.B.) was the third runner to reach the podium on the women's side. She finished with a time of 31:11.8. Moncton earned a fourth-place team finish with 103 points.

MEN'S RACE RESULTS

In the men's 10km race, the Tigers edged out the X-Men to snap their six-year win streak and claim Dalhousie's first AUS men's cross country title since 2010.

The Tigers had five runners finish in the top 10. Fifth-year runner Cal DeWolfe (Bridgewater, N.S.) reached the podium with a time of 32:03.95 to claim the bronze medal.

Graeme Wach (Halifax, N.S.) finished seventh with a time of 33:11.90. Will Russell (Guelph, Ont.) claimed eighth with a time of 33:24.88. Angus MacIntosh (Riverview, N.B.) finished in ninth-place with a time of 33:27.56 and James Cromack (Caledon, Ont.) was the 10^th place finisher with a time of 33:33.02.

The X-Men claimed a second-place team finish. Angus Rawling (Calgary, Alta.), a third-year StFX runner, claimed the individual gold medal, finishing with a time of 31:43.55.

Rawling commented, "It was a difficult course but a really fun course too. It was challenging but the right amount. I think this is straight up the best course in the AUS. We went to Quebec City and that course is a lot of hills, up and down. It took a toll on my legs, but this one was nice. You really worked on it."

He continued, "I took a lead on the downhill and I knew I was going to be alone for the next 5 km. I hit a big hill in the valley and I figured they are going to close on me and I wont be able to hold this lead, but I guess I did. A big surprise."

Third-year X-Men runner Alex Neuffer (Stradford, P.E.I.) earned silver for the X-Men in a time of 31:58.00. Paul MacLellan (Antigonish, N.S.) finished sixth for StFX with a time of 32:57.12.

The UPEI Panthers earned a third-place team finish on the men's side. Lee Wesselius (River Glade, N.B.) was their top finisher. He posted a time of 32:57.12.

The Tigers finished with 37 team points. The X-Men followed with 44 and UPEI claimed third with 101 points.

AUS MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AND ALL-STARS

Following the races, the AUS all-stars were awarded to the top seven finishers in each race at the annual championship banquet, as were the individual medalists, team medalists and AUS championship banners.

AUS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The AUS athletes of the year were awarded to the individual AUS champions, Savanna Jordan (Calgary, Alta.) from Dalhousie and Angus Rawling (Calgary, Alta.) from StFX.

AUS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The winners of the AUS rookie of the year awards were Dalhousie's Savanna Jordan (Calgary, Alta.) and Saint Mary's Andrew Peverill (Lower Sackville, N.S.).

AUS STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS

StFX's Hana Marmura (Antigonish, N.S.) and UNB's Michael Colford (Fredericton, N.B.) were honoured as the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service award winners.

Marmura, a third-year human kinetics student, earned an 18^th place finish in today's championship with a time of 33:43.7. She was named the AUS rookie of the year in her inaugural season with the X-Women in 2015.

Marmura has been named a U SPORTS academic all-Canadian and earned a spot on the Dean's List in her first two years at StFX. Her extensive volunteer work includes serving as a chemistry tutor at StFX's Student Success Centre and as a note-taker at StFX's Accessible Learning Centre.

This past summer, she volunteered with Med-Life on an initiative supporting community development in Lima, Peru, which brought clinics, doctors and volunteers to remote communities lacking easy access to health care.

Marmura volunteers weekly with the CBI Physiotherapy Clinic in Antigonish, N.S., and regularly lends her time to a variety of on-campus initiatives.

UNB's Colford is a second-year chemical engineering student from Fredericton, N.B. He finished in 12^th place in today's championship race with a time of 34:00.61

Colford was named to the Dean's List and earned U SPORTS academic all-Canadian status in his first year with the Varsity Reds last season.

He serves as his team's representative on UNB's student-athlete council.

Colford is a volunteer with UNB's Read with the Reds program. He also serves as an assistant track coach with the Fast Tracks Club.

AUS COACH OF THE YEAR

Dalhousie's Rich Lehman was named AUS Coach of the Year for both men's and women's cross country.

This is his fifth consecutive time being named the AUS women's cross country coach of the year, but his first time earning the nod for men's cross country.

Today's wins mark Dalhousie's fifth consecutive AUS women's cross country banner (24^th all-time) and first AUS men's cross country banner since 2010 (19^th all-time).

The U SPORTS national championship meet will take place Saturday, Nov. 12 at the University of Victoria in Victoria, B.C.

Subway AUS Women's Cross Country Championship Results: 
http://atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wxc/2017-18/files/2017_Subway_AUS_Women-s_Cross_Country_Championship_-_results.pdf

Subway AUS Men's Cross Country Championship Results: 
http://atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/mxc/2017-18/files/2017_Subway_AUS_Men-s_Cross_Country_Championship__-_results.pdf

2017 AUS CROSS COUNTRY ALL-STARS:

WOMEN
Savanna Jordan, Dalhousie (1^st year – Calgary, Alta.)
Michelle Reddy, Dalhousie (4^th year – Sarnia, Ont.)
Carol-Ann MacDonald, Moncton (3^rd year – Irishtown, N.B.)
Liz MacDonald, StFX (5^th year – Bedford, N.S.)
Rachel MacDougall, StFX (3^rd year – Antigonish, N.S.)
Katie Robinson, Acadia (4^th year – Saint John, N.B.)
Jenna MacDonald, Dalhousie (4^th year – New Glasgow, N.S.) 

MEN
Angus Rawling, StFX (3^rd year – Calgary, Alta.)
Alex Neuffer, StFX (4^th year – Stratford, P.E.I.)
Calvin DeWolfe, StFX (5^th year – Bridgewater, N.S.)
Andrew Peverill, Saint Mary's (1^st year – Lower Sackville, N.S.)
Lee Wesselius, UPEI (5^th year – River Glade, N.B.)
Paul MacLellan, StFX (3^rd year – Antigonish, N.S.)
Graeme Wach, Dalhousie (4^th year – Halifax, N.S.)

2017 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS:  

AUS Female Student-Athlete Community Service Award:  Hanna Marmura, StFX  
AUS Male Student-Athlete Community Service Award:  Michael Colford, UNB

AUS Female Rookie of the Year:  Savanna Jordan, Dalhousie
AUS Male Rookie of the Year:  Andrew Peverill, Saint Mary's

AUS Female Coach of the Year:  Rich Lehman, Dalhousie
AUS Male Coach of the Year:  Rich Lehman, Dalhousie

AUS Female Athlete of the Year:  Savanna Jordan, Dalhousie
AUS Male Athlete of the Year:  Angus Rawling, StFX

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