Sep 17, 09 Cross Country
MONTREAL - A record number of teams are expected to compete in McGill's season-opening 18th annual cross-country running meet, scheduled to be held on the slopes of Mt. Royal, Saturday.
At least seven universites and 22 junior colleges (i.e. CEGEPs) are slated to compete, including McGill, Concordia, Laval, Sherbrooke, Queen's, Western Ontario and Southern Maine.
The women's four-kilometre run, scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start, includes at least 193 competitors. The men's 6k race, which will feature 181 runners, begins at 11:10 a.m. Admission for spectators is free of charge and the start-finish line is located just east of Molson Stadium, near the Park and Pine intersection.
In the past, Western has been the most successful women's team, galloping to nine McGill Open titles, followed by Williams College (4), the McGill Martlets (3) and the Ottawa Lions, a club team, which won last year. McGill, which has finished second in their annual meet nine times and placed third twice, is bidding to win the women's event for the first time since 2000. They also merited gold medals in 1997 and 1996.
On the men's side, Williams College, an NCAA school from Williamstown, Mass., has won the competition six times, followed by Western (5), Sherbrooke (3), McGill (2) and Vermont (1). The Redmen, who have two second-place finishes and seven bronzes, finished atop the podium in 2005 and 1997.
"We're anxiously anticipating a good result to set the pace for the fall season," said Dennis Barrett, entering his 25th year as head coach at McGill. "We suffered many injuries last year and lost the women's conference title for the first time in 20 years, so we're hoping to return to our winning tradition."
The Martlets, who finished second to Laval last year, have six returnees and seven rookies. They will be led by sophomore Melanie Myrand, a 19-year-old nursing major from Pointe Claire, Que., who won bronze at the Quebec conference championships last year.
Among the promising newcomers is Sarah McCuaig, a Greville Smith scholarship holder from Kitchener, Ont., plus Madeleine Cummings of Peterborough and Aimee Castro from Hamilton. All three qualified for the Canadian junior championships in Charlottetown last July.
On the men's side, McGill features four freshman and five returnees, led by senior Graydon Snider of Ottawa, sophomore Dan Kramer of Salem, Mass., and senior Ken Douglas of Los Gatos, Calif. One of the new prospects to watch for is Teddy Lavoie of Toronto.
Among the plethora of junior college and high school squads registered are Abitibi-Témiscamingu, Ahuntsic, André-Laurendeau, Beauce-Appalaches, Champlain-St. Lawrence, Champlain-St-Lambert, College Militaire Royale, Dawson, Drummondville, F.X. Garneau, Gérald-Godin, Heritage High School, College Brébeuf, John Abbott, Maisonneuve, Marie-Victorin, Mérici, Montmorency, Rivière-du-Loup, Terrebonne, Trois-Rivières, Valleyfield and Vanier.
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
475 Pine Avenue W.,
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4
CANADA
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
514-398-1956 (Fax)
www.athletics.mcgill.ca