X-Women Cross Country/Track runner Siona Chisholm struck gold twice this past weekend at the Bell Canadian Track & Field Championship in Langley, B.C. in the U20 division.
Chisholm bested the field in the 3000m race, clocking in at 9:17.77 and followed up with another gold medal performance in the 5000m with a time of 16:32.01.
STFX head coach Eric Gillis noted, "Siona ran two great races at U20 nationals. The 3000m was her best race to date. She committed to a strong pace early and stuck with it. In the 5000m she paced her self perfectly for another gold."
"Two Canadian U20 titles at the same championships is something we don't see a lot, so credit goes to her for knowing herself as an athlete and making it happen," continues Gillis. "Her speed on the track is very good right now, I think there's more personal bests to come. It's enjoyable coaching athletes like Siona who are committed, disciplined, and hard workers."
The Antigonish, N.S. native is following up on a very successful freshman campaign with the X-Women this past academic year. Chisholm was the individual AUS cross country champion and helped guide her squad to the AUS championship title. She earned recognition as both the AUS female runner of the year and rookie of the year and placed 13th at the U SPORTS national cross country championship last fall to garner second team all-Canadian status. On the AUS track, Chisholm again received awards as the track athlete of the year and rookie of the year as she won individual gold in both the 1500m and 3000m races. The BSc Human Kinetics student came 6th overall in the 3000m at the U SPORTS track & field championship.
The STFX squad also had three incoming recruits who competed at the U20 nationals. Caroline Ash (Newmarket, ON) placed 7th in 1500m and Caden Lee (Richmond Hill, ON) was 9th in the same race. Lee had a personal best time in the semi-final of 4:33. On the men's side, incoming X-Men recruit Jack O'Connell (Toronto, ON) was 9th overall in the 1500m. Coach Gillis notes, "It was fantastic that all the X runners made the final, it was a great championship for STFX."
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And more exciting news to report from Nationals. We announced earlier that Siona Chisholm of StFX Track and Field Club won gold in the 3000m but she just added another gold medal in the 5000m in 16:32.01. Way to go Siona! pic.twitter.com/s7Qlo7N5B8
— Athletics NS (@athleticsns) June 26, 2022