The Marauder men showed their promise, while the women out-performed their seeding at the CIS Cross Country Championships hosted by Western on Saturday.

McMaster finished fourth in the men's team standings -- the group's best showing on the national stage since 2000 -- without the services of Connor Darlington. Maddy McDonald's 18th-placed finish paced the Marauder women, who finished sixth as a team after being seeded eighth in the final rankings of the season.

A nagging injury saw Darlington scratched prior to the men's 10-kilometre race, but the duo of Lionel Sanders and Blair Morgan performed admirably in his absence. The two were named as Second Team All-Canadians after finishing 10th and 11th respectively to lead the scoring for McMaster.

Gabe Ghiglione enjoyed a tremendous run on Saturday, scoring third for the Marauders by placing 20th, after scoring sixth and placing 44th at the OUA Championships two weeks ago. His unexpected leap into the upper echelon was a huge help to McMaster's final score.

Brothers Taylor and Austen Forbes provided the fourth and fifth scores for the Marauders, finishing side-by-side in 36th and 37th respectively. McMaster's sixth and final score came courtesy of Taylor Reid, who struggled with illness en route to a 42nd-placed finish after leading the Marauders at the OUA Championships.

The future appears bright for McMaster's men, who will return all six of their scorers from this year's race, and should boast a healthy Darlington once more. Bigger and better things are possible for this group.

Meanwhile, Maddy McDonald led the Marauder women to a sixth-placed finish as a team, bettering its projected spot in the national rankings. The second-year runner finished 18th to score first, and was followed by Courtney Patterson in 34th.

Kierstin Myers (39th), Emily Nowak (53), Racquel Burgess (64th) and Chelsea MacKinnon (77th) rounded out the scoring for the Marauders.


FULL MEN'S RESULTS


FULL WOMEN'S RESULTS