HALIFAX, N.S. - After an impressive season in which the maroon and grey won every men's race, both individual and team, the Marauders traveled to the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships in Halifax, N.S., looking to keep the perfect season alive and finish atop the podium.
For the first time since 1963, the McMaster Marauders claimed the national men's cross country title. McMaster braved a downpour, 40 kilometre per hour wind gusts and less than ideal conditions on the 8-kilometre course at The Links at Brunello Golf Course to become the 2022 U SPORTS Men's Cross Country Champions. The title marks the first for the Marauders in 59 years, after last bringing home the national banner in 1963. The maroon and grey also clinched the individual title on the men's side to finish the season with a perfect record while the women ended the race as the No. 7 team in the nation.
FULL RESULTS
Securing gold at each of the previous four meets this season, including the OUA Championship, the No. 1 McMaster men's cross country team was faced with a lot of expectations headed into Saturday's race but the Marauders shook off the weight on their shoulders and focused on one thing and one thing only - running. The maroon and grey did not disappoint, putting on a dominant performance, finishing with the first, third and fifth fastest times in a field of 157 competitors from across the nation.
The 2022 U SPORTS Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year, Max Turek (Whitby, Ont.) finished his varsity cross country career on a high note. For the fourth time this season, Turek was the first to cross the finish line, adding individual U SPORTS gold to his extensive resume. His time of 24:21 on the championship course was his second fastest time of the season and, given that the Whitby local fell on a steep, muddy corner during the opening lap, and made up time to lead the race, his 3:03 per kilometre pace is that much more impressive. The mechatronics engineering and management student finished three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from Laval. Ensuring the day was one to remember, Max celebrated as he crossed the finish line but slipped at the end and awaited news from his teammates to learn that the Marauders had won the team title.
Andrew Davies (Sarnia, Ont.), the 2022 U SPORTS Men's Cross Country silver medalist, claimed the second Top 3 finish of the day for the Marauders. Davies, who raced for the final time in his Marauder cross country career, ran the 8km race in 24:31, finishing just 10-seconds back of McMaster teammate, Max Turek. The integrated business and humanities student averaged 3:04 per kilometre. Running together for much of the race, Alex Drover (Kingston, Ont.) finished a mere 11-seconds behind Davies with a time of 24:42, making it three Marauder runners in the Top 5. The three-headed monster of Turek, Davies and Drover has been unstoppable this season and continued to be a force on the East Coast. Rounding out the scoring finishers for the Marauder men were Dylan Alick (Mississauga, Ont.) who finished 14th and Sam Nusselder (Port Elgin, Ont.) who crossed the line in 16th. The five Marauders contributed to the team scoring just 37 points to earn the gold medal, a wild 78 points clear of second-place Laval who ended the race with 115 points. It was nothing less than a dominant performance.
David Marchant (Toronto, Ont.) and Christopher Hoftyzer (Brighton, Ont.) crossed the finish line in 87th and 89th spot, respectively, to wrap up the finishes for the Marauders.
"This has been five years in the making for us," said Marauders head coach Paula Schnurr. "They worked really hard and I'm really thrilled for our men. This is the last season for our top five runners, so it's a really good way for them to finish their university careers."
Schnurr the 2022 OUA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year was named the 2022 U SPORTS Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year at the awards ceremony following the races on Saturday afternoon
"Today, something we've known for years was solidified," said veteran runner and team captain, Alex Drover. "Paula Schnurr is the best cross country coach in the nation and now, everyone knows it."
On a historic day for the maroon and grey that saw all five scoring athletes finish in the top sixteen, the Marauders earned the first national cross country banner for McMaster since 1963.
On the women's side, the Marauders finished Top 10 in the team standings, earning the No. 7 spot in a field of 21 teams. Running the second race of the day, the women dealt with a torn up and mud-covered course, making the competition that much more challenging. Rosalyn Barrett (Ottawa, Ont.) crossed the line first for the Marauders, finishing in 30th place at the national event. The third year kinesiology student almost lost one of her shoes in the muddy conditions and ran three of the four laps with her shoe half off of her foot and still finished with a time of 30:20. Behind Barrett was teammate Hannah Goodjohn (Mount Albert, Ont.) who finished 36th followed by Sarah Nolan (Toronto, Ont.) and Kaitlyn Treleaven (Hamilton, Ont.) who finished 51st and 52nd, respectively. Rounding out the Marauders who contributed points was Emma Waddington (Hamilton, Ont.) who crossed the line in 53rd. Morgan McKeown (Minesing, Ont.) and Kayla Overholt (Burlington, Ont.) were the final two runners for the Marauders, finishing in 63rd and 79th, respectively, among the 150 runners.
Laval took home the team title on the women's side while the UBC Thunderbirds claimed individual gold.
With a historic finish to the season for McMaster, the teams will now look ahead to the indoor track season, beginning next month.
MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
First Team All-Canadians
- Max Turek, McMaster Marauders
- Phillipe Morneau-Cartier, Laval Rouge et Or
- Andrew Davies, McMaster Marauders
- Mitch Kirby, Queen's Gaels
- Alex Dover, McMaster Marauders
- Andrew Peverill, Saint Mary's Huskies
- Tyler Dozzi, UBC Thunderbirds
Second Team All-Canadians
- Nicholas Bannon, Guelph Gryphons
- Matthew Beaudet, McGill Redbirds
- Jacob Benoit, STFX X-MEN
- Cameron Cira, Windsor Lancers
- Jonathan Tedeschi, Laval Rouge et Or
- Dylan Alick, McMaster Marauders
Athlete of the Year
Max Turek, McMaster Marauders
Rookie of the Year:
Félix Quirion, Sherbrooke Vert et Or
Fred Foot Fox 40 Coach of the Year:
Paula Schnurr, McMaster University
Student-Athlete Community Service Award:
Alan Lavoie, Université de Moncton
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
First Team All-Canadians
- Glynis Sim, UBC Thunderbirds
- Jessy Lacourse, Laval Rouge et Or
- Kiana Gibson, UBC Thunderbirds
- Sadie-Jane Hickson, Guelph Gryphons
- Nina Whitford, Guelph Gryphons
- Catherine Beauchemin, Laval Rouge et Or
- Sophie Coutts, Western Mustangs
Second Team All-Canadians
- Joanna Brown, UBC Okanagan
- Olivia Roussel, Guelph Gryphons
- Olivia Cooper, Alberta Pandas
- Marley Beckett, UBC Thunderbirds
- Jade Berube, Laval Rouge et Or
- Erika Jordan, Western Mustangs
- Sara-Pier Paquet, Laval Rouge et Or
Athlete of the Year
Glynis Sim, UBC Thunderbirds
Rookie of the Year:
Elizabeth Vroom, Queen's University
Fox 40 Coach of the Year:
Félix-Antione Lapointe, University of Laval
Student-Athlete Community Service Award:
Hannah Woodhouse, University of Guelph
