WOLFVILLE
The Dalhousie Tigers raced to first-place men's and women's team finishes at the 2017 Subway AUS Cross Country Championships Oct. 28.
The championships were hosted by Acadia University at Hennigar's Farm in Wolfville.
The host Axewomen finished third in the team standings and Katie Robinson was the top Axewomen, finishing sixth among racers. Three Axewomen finished in the championship top 10, including Robinson, Chrissy Smith in the eighth spot and Madalyn Higgins in 10th.
Acadia head coach Ralph Williams was excited about the event and the team results.
"It was a great day for Acadia. Congratulations to the Acadia organizers for putting on class A race. It could not have gone off any better. Picture perfect," said Williams.
"I very proud of the Acadia Women's Cross Country Team. They have improved so much and the AUS Championship first place is getting closer to reality. Great talent and team spirit.”
Robinson will now move on to race at the U SPORTS national championship hosted in Victoria, B.C. on Nov. 11.
WOMEN'S RACE RESULTS
In the women's eight-kilometre race, the Tigers claimed two individual medals and four of the top nine finishers. Freshman Savanna Jordan (Calgary, AB) captured first-place honours with a time of 30:05.0.
"I actually thought the course was deceiving. It felt easy in the warm up run and it felt nice but the hill was a lot tougher and it was big. It was easier than the Laval course, but definitely one of the tougher AUS courses," noted Jordan following the race.
Dalhousie senior Michelle Reddy (Sarnia, ON) was the women's silver medallist, finishing with a time of 30:56.8.
MEN'S RACE RESULTS
In the men's 10-km race, the Tigers edged out the X-Men to snap their six-year win streak and claim Dalhousie's first AUS men's cross country title since 2010.
Dalhousie fifth-year runner Cal DeWolfe (Bridgewater) reached the podium with a time of 32:03.95 to claim the bronze medal.
The X-Men claimed a second-place team finish. Angus Rawling (Calgary), a third-year StFX runner, claimed the individual gold medal, finishing with a time of 31:43.55. Third-year runner Alex Neuffer (Stradford, P.E.I.) earned silver for the X-Men in a time of 31:58.00.
"It was a difficult course but a really fun course too. It was challenging but the right amount. I think this is straight up the best course in the AUS. We went to Quebec City and that course is a lot of hills, up and down. It took a toll on my legs, but this one was nice. You really worked on it," Rawling said.
"I took a lead on the downhill and I knew I was going to be alone for the next 5 kilometres. I hit a big hill in the Valley and I figured they are going to close on my and I wont be able to hold this lead, but I guess I did. A big surprise."
