XC | Voyageurs Finish 13th at Nationals

The Laurentian women's cross-country running team competed at the U-Sport (CIS) Championships this weekend on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. They finished 13th with a score of 356 points and an average time of 24:08 over the challenging 6km course.  Over 160 women competed, including 22 full teams and partial squads from an additional 11 universities.

The Vees were led by senior Marissa Lobert, in her final cross-country race as a Voyageur. Lobert placed 58th in a time of 23:50.  She was followed by Jenny Bottomley who was 72nd in 24:04; Jessie Nusselder, 82nd in 24:13; Megan Crocker, 85th in 24:16; and Nicole Hessels, 86th in 24:17.  Displacers were Nicole Rich who was 110th in 24:42, and Breanne Steven, who was 138th in 25:21. The top-5 runners finished within 26 seconds of each other.

"We didn't react well to the gun and were trailing the field after the 1st kilometer," said head coach, Dick Moss. "Our women finished strongly and did well to claw themselves back into the race."

"We're a young squad, and should lose only one runner, Marissa Lobert, to graduation this year," said assistant coach, Darren Jermyn. "The experience we gained here will help us in next year's championships."

Laurentian's Marissa Lobert was the OUA's nomination for the CIS Community Service Award that was eventually won by Dalhousie's Jenna MacDonald.
 
The cross country season is now over. The focus now shifts to the indoor season that begins in January 2017.


Individual Results - Laurentian Women
58, Marissa Lobert, 23:50
72, Jenny Bottomley, 24:04
82, Jessie Nusselder, 24:13
85, Megan Crocker, 24:16
86, Nicole Hessels, 24:17
110, Nicole Rich, 24:42
138, Breanne Steven, 25:21

Team Results
1. Guelph, 71 points
2. Queens, 76
3. Trinity Western, 103
4. Western, 143
5. Toronto, 184
6. Alberta, 222
7. McGill, 224
8. McMaster, 238
9. Victoria, 247
10. Dalhousie, 249
11. Calgary, 265
12. Manitoba, 356
13. Laurentian, 359
14. U. of Montreal, 359
15. Laval, 385
16. Sherbrooke, 426
17. Saskatchewan, 446
18. St. FX, 452
19. MacEwan, 477
20. Waterloo, 545,
21. Laurier, 548
22. UQTR, 667
Partial Teams: Acadia, Concordia, Carleton, Moncton, Ottawa, Regina, Ryerson, St. Mary's, Thompson Rivers, U. Quebec at Montreal, Windsor
Individuals: Lakehead, Algoma