The cross country team headed south over the weekend for the Hamilton College Invitational in Clinton NY.  With both men’s and women’s teams currently ranked 4^th in the country there were some huge expectations being the only Canadian team in the field.  Before the race several spectators were asking the question where is Queens University.  The answer to that question during the race was at the front of the pack as both teams dominated the individual and team competition.  In fact the men were one point away from a perfect score with their top 5 men finishing 2,3,4,5,6 place.  The women also dominated the top 10 finishing 1,2,4,5,9 for their top 5.

Coach Shane Lakins called this one of the most impressive performance he has ever witnessed and added it was a great day to be a Golden Gael.  Both teams performed at the level that we are expecting and the depth we have now especially on the women’s side is amazing.  The tandem of Leslie Sexton and Nadia Tatlow opened up a sizable gap on the field after blasting a 5:40 opening mile uphill.  They never looked back and completed the 5k in 17:33 and 17:56 respectively.  Chelsey Wyrostok and Liz Miller were next in finishing 4^th and 5^th in a time of 18:34 and 18:39.  Leah Larocque 9^th 18:46, Natalie Desimini 11^th 18:58.  With temperatures getting close to 90 degrees, having 6 women under 19 minutes and 12 under 20:00 for 5km cross country is an incredible result.  Putting this year’s women’s team results in perspective historically, only the 2003 OUA Championship team has scored better posting a 1-2-3-5-6-7-8 place finish for 17 points; 4 less than the current crew of women posted.  Leslie ran the 3^rd fastest time over the Hamilton course, again only Beth Wightman has run faster.  Nadia posted the 4^th, Chesley the 8^th, Elizabeth the 9^th (22-seconds faster than last year), Leah the 11^th, Natalie the 15^th fastest times in school history.  Grace Keenleyside (19:16.1, 15^th, #23 ALL TIME), Liza Howard (19:21.5, 16^th, #26 ALL TIME), Julie McVicar (19:28.8, 17^th, #28 ALL TIME), Michelle Nicholson (19:41.9, 22^nd, #32 ALL TIME), Charlotte Aust (19:45.7, 23^rd, #33 ALL TIME), Megan Andrews (19:58.2, 29^th, #39 ALL TIME) and Rachel Sinclair (20:14.8, 35^th, #43 ALL TIME) rounded out the outstanding effort put in by the women’s team.

The men were not to be outdone as they ran a clinic on how to pack run.  When the gun went off for the 8k there was a sea of yellow singlets at the front, led by Braden Novakowski, Robert Kitz and Matt Hulse.  In the end it was Hamilton College’s standout Peter Kosgei of Kenya who out kicked Novakowski for the win, but after that it was all Golden Gaels as they took the next 5 spots and added a 9^th and 11^th place to complete their dominating performance.  Times for the men were  Braden Novakowski 2^nd 25:32, Robert Kitz 3^rd 25:50, Matt Hulse 4^th 26:03, Chris Brens 5^th 26:40, Jeff Barr 6^th  27:10, Travis Saunders 9^th 27:37, Josh Potvin 11^th 27:39.  This was the 5^th victory in 6 years for the Gael men; their streak of 4-consecutive team titles was broken last year when they finished 4^th.  Given their dominance it’s not too surprising to find them ranked highly among the best of all time performances on this course.  Braden, Robert, and Matt now hold down the top 3 spots of all time.  Robert’s time was 30-seconds faster than he ran here in 2004.  Chris lays claim to #7, Jeff #12, Travis #21 and Joshua #23 ALL TIME.  Trevor Walmsley (28:10.4, 18^th, #28 ALL TIME) and David Clinkard (29:13.4, 30^th, #43 ALL TIME) also put in solid efforts.

With less than three weeks now until the OUA Championships the teams will now focus on preparing to host next weekend at their famous Fort Henry Course.  Lakins explained our focus at our home meet next weekend will be on team tactics and preparing mentally for the championships phase of training.  We will also be resting some of our top athletes to prepare them for the championships, Lakins added.

You can catch the Men and Women in action on their home course at Fort Henry on Saturday October 13^th.  The women’s 5k starts at 11am and the men’s 10k will be at 11:40.  Admission is free and parking is at the Fort Henry lot.