Men’s and women’s cross country teams win ACAA championships
Both the men’s and women’s cross country Mounties handily defended their ACAA championship titles this past weekend. The ACAA cross country championships were held on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Brookvale Provincial Ski Park in P.E.I. Six women and seven men from Mount Allison competed in the race. The Mounties were competing against runners from Holland College, Mount Saint Vincent University, Crandall University, Dalhousie Agricultural Campus and Université Sainte Anne. A total of 30 women and 22 men competed in the races. Both the men’s and women’s teams took first place in the races, marking the second year in a row that both men’s and women’s teams have won the championships.
The women’s team from consisted of Claire Henderson-Hamilton, Beth Torrence, Taylor Crosby, Madalon Burnett, Megan Sanderson and Gabrielle Landry. Claire Henderson-Hamilton was the second-place finisher in the race with a time of 22:34, followed by Beth Torrence in third and Taylor Crosby in fifth. “The course was really enjoyable,” said Gabrielle Landry, about the women’s 5-km course. “It had great scenery and a lot of mud puddles. It was great!” said Landry.
The men’s team included Jeppe Hejlsvig, Sebastien Engelmann, Andrew Linton, Connor Lane, Alex Neville, Ehsan Noori and Graham Muise. Hejlsvig was the top finisher for Mount Allison, coming in close behind the first-place finisher from Holland College with a time of 30:20. Engelmann followed close behind in third place, and Lane placed fifth. “It was all fun and games until the men’s course split from the women’s course, and then it became torturous,” said Lane of the men’s 8-km circuit on which the men competed.
“The season was a blast,” said Crosby, who competed in all five meets this year. “We went on a lot of adventures and won a lot of races.” Though the competitive season is over, the cross country team will continue to train throughout the school year. Everybody is looking forward to next year.
