Cross-Country recap

The Nipissing University Lakers Cross-Country team travelled to London, Ontario, last weekend for the annual Western International Cross-Country Race.Saturday turned out to be a bright, sunny, and warm day – perfect for running. A total of 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 eight women and six 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 five finishing points shy of beating the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Lakers women were led by 4th-year concurrent education student Amy Claridge, who placed 107th. Amy’s finishing time of 21:24 was just shy of the third faster Lakers time on the UWO course; considering the soggy course conditions, her time was even more impressive. Third-year Nursing student Felicia Saunders was the second Laker, finishing in 21:30, and third-year bachelor of physical and health education (BPHE) student Melissa McKiel was the third female Laker to cross the line in 22:58. The Western International was won by the four-time National Champion Guelph Gryphons, by a narrow margin of two points over 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 BPHE student Terry Doiron. His 36:26 finishing time on the difficult 10k course was good enough for 84th overall. Dorion was followed closely by the Lakers two other rookie runners, Kevin Perry, in 36:48, and North Bay’s Jordan Scott in 38:24. The men 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 he 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 the 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.
WOMEN (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, 25:02MEN (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