By Kyle Kelley, for the Lambda
Last Saturday, Oct. 3, marked one of many success stories for the women Voyageur’s cross-country running team.
The team travelled to Waterloo to compete in the Don Mills Open, competing against rival running teams Waterloo and Windsor, both of which were down a few teammates.
At the meet, Voyageur athletes Katie “Wizzie” Wismer, Sam Edwards, Michelle Kennedy, and Marissa Lobert all placed within the top five at the meet, and some teammates gained two new personal bests.
It was Wismer who brought home the gold medal, achieving a time of 21:27 and a new personal best for a 6 km race.
However, the race wasn’t without its hurdles. With 50km/h winds, the women were battling some extreme pressures. Remembering their training, the women did their best to run in a group.
“Running is a team sport oddly enough,” said Wismer.
This isn’t the first time the women have had to run under such intense winds. The Canadian Inter Championships last year saw 114km/h gusts. “Any less than that doesn’t seem that bad,” said Moss.
The training paid off, though, and the girls finished with nineteen points overall. Their nearest rival, Brock, finished with 86 points at a close second.
A new addition has also been made to the Voyageur family this year: for the first time in over a decade, the Laurentian’s men’s cross-country team participated at the meet.
After a sixteen-year break, the men’s cross-country team is making a name for themselves: at the meet, they placed fifth overall, triumphing over Waterloo and four other teams.
Placing 32nd, 37th, and 41st were Ewan Craig, Sam Delage, and Jacob Dupuis-Latour, respectively. The men finished within 28 seconds of each other and closed the day off with 140 points total.
Dick Moss, head coach of the men’s and women’s running teams, was blown away by the speed and effort that came from the race.
Moss was quoted saying, “I wasn’t expecting the speed of the races our girls ran.” He said he hopes this is the summer sluggishness wearing off, and that peak season is just around the corner.
This competition took place only four weeks before the next OUA meet, which will be held in Waterloo once again.
Coming away from the race, it’s clear that the women are improving with every practice.
The teams must now continue to improve before the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships (CIS), where Wismer noted that competing schools such as Guelph and Queens have “a lot of talent.”
–Photos by Dick Moss