LONDON, ON – September 26, 2011 - The Nipissing University Lakers travelled to London Ontario this weekend for the annual Western International Cross-Country Race.
Despite the rain that poured all day on Friday, Saturday turned out to be a bright, sunny, and warm day perfect for running. 17 schools participated in the 2011 event, including McGill, University of Alberta, and Dalhousie in addition to the full contingent of Ontario teams. The Lakers brought 8 women and 6 men to the race this year, one of the largest races in the country with 146 women and 124 men competing the 5k and 10k distances, respectively.
In the women’s race, the Nipissing Lakers outran RMC in the team competition for 16th overall, and were only 5 finishing points shy of beating the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Lakers women were led by 4th-year Concurrent Education student Amy Claridge of Ottawa Ontario, who placed 107th. Amy’s finishing time of 21:24 was just shy of the 3rd faster Lakers time on the UWO course, but considering the soggy course conditions, her time was even more impressive. Third-year Nursing Student Felicia Saunders was the second Lakers finisher in 21:30, and Third-year Physical and Health Education Student Melissa McKiel was the third female Laker to cross the line in 22:58. The Western International was won by 4-time National Champion Guelph Gryphons, but only by a narrow margin of 2 points to McMaster University.
In the men’s race, the Lakers faced an extremely strong field, placing 15th of out 15 men’s teams, in a close contest with RMC, Brock, and Concordia. The team was led by rookie Physical and Health Education Student Terry Doiron from Oshawa Ontario. Doiron’s 36:26 finishing time on the difficult 10k course was good enough for 84th overall. He was followed closely by the Lakers two other rookie runners, Kevin Perry (London, Ontario) in 36:48, and North Bay’s Jordan Scott in 38:24. The men were ran very well, considering they were missing veteran and returning team captain Kevin Gallagher, who was away in Spain racing at the World Duathlon Championships where Kevin placed 26th in the 20-24 Age-Group category. The individual winner of the men’s race was North Bay’s own Matt Walters (racing for the Windsor Lancers) in 32:03, just a little more than a minute slower than the course record (set in 1997). The team competition in the men’s race was won by the Windsor Lancers, narrowly ousting perennial National Champion Guelph Gryphons by one point.
The Lakers men and women will compete next at the Vic Matthews Open in Guelph, Ontario on October 15. Full results from the UWO International can be found here:
http://www.westernmustangs.ca/sports/2010/8/20/CROSS_0820100058.aspx?id=566WOMEN (5km)
Amy Claridge 107th, 21:24
Felicia Saunders 109th, 21:30
Melissa McKiel, 135th, 22:58
Taralynn Ray 136th, 23:05
Lynsey Bialkowski 137th, 23:19
Emily Floyd 142nd, 23:49
Brianna Yard 143rd, 24:15
Antoinette Busch 145th, 25:02
MEN (10km)
Terry Doiron 84th, 36:26**best Laker rookie performance at UWO International
Kevin Perry 91st, 36:48
Jordan Scott 107th, 38:24
Alexander Burley 118th, 40:05
Kyle Radigan 123rd, 41:09
Curtis Brennan 124th, 42:08