ORANGEVILLE, Ont. - To cap off a season for the books, the Marauders men's cross country team was honoured as the OUA Team of the Year on Wednesday at the OUA Honour Awards Gala.

The collection of runners that made up the McMaster men's cross country team set an incredible standard of success throughout this year's races, pacing the pack every time they stepped onto a course.

Included in those triumphs was a podium-sweeping performance at the OUA Cross Country Championships. Five athletes scored among the top eight finishers in a field of 102 runners, and collectively, the group's score of 31 was just five points shy of a clean sweep. The feat was nothing new for the Hamilton squad, who also saw an undefeated stretch heading into the conference finale.
 

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McMaster continued to make their mark on the national stage, with five runners earning top-20 spots at the U SPORTS Championships. The team was led by individual champion Max Turek, who also came first among his conference peers the week prior, while also crossing the line in third, fifth, fourteenth, and sixteenth positions, respectively, to capture their first national title in 59 years.

The top seven runners for the Marauders all graduate following this season, and despite not being running stars in high school, each of them found their stride at McMaster under the guidance of head coach Paula Schnurr and capped off their respective varsity tenures in picture-perfect fashion.