The UNB Cross
Country team tore up some dirt this past Saturday as they ran hard in the first
AUS meet of the season. The race was held at Odell Park, as it was a combined
invitational for both UNB and St. Thomas. The course was very wet and muddy but
that did not stop the UNB runners from stirring up some conversation. Coach, Tim Randall mentioned that he had a number
of the other coaches come up to him during both the Male and Female races
commenting on how good of a team UNB had this season. Both teams fought hard
and this was shown both on the result sheets and the mud that each runner had
splattered from head to toe.
The excitement
started with the girl’s 5km race at noon. With twelve girls lined up at the
start line, UNB was looking fierce. Captain Sarah Myatt led the UNB pack
finishing in a strong sixth place with a time of 19:52. Not far behind the team
had a “Katie duo” consisting of first year runner Katie Robinson finishing 8th
with a time of 20:08, and returner Katie Wallace finishing 12th with
a time of 20:34. Returner Nathalie Cecire also looked strong as she crossed the
finish line with a time of 21:27 taking 19th. Kelsey Hogan, Priya
Bhutani, Hannah Connon, Courtney Barbour, Laura Clark, Ally Pickard-Tattrie, Kelsey Tucker, and Ashley Gallagher all ran extremely hard and finished in outstanding times!
As a team the girls did not only finish third, but also gave the St.FX and Dal
teams something to watch out for!
After cheering
the girls on, the boys were ready to start their 8km race. As soon as the clock
struck 12:45, the gun fired and the UNB boys were ready to get dirty. The boys
ran the race with only nine strong runners as they have Jonathan Bunn, Chris
Farnham, and Nevan Tait out with injuries. Leading the race for the boys was
captain James Murphy running a 27:18 and finishing 8th overall!
Following James was returner Chris McNamara who has been running absolutely
amazing since returning after the summer! Chris finished the race in 29:26,
with returner Taylor Lamarche running hard and right on his tail! Brent
McCumber and Colby Craig also looked strong as the two of them sprinted to the
finish! Kyle Lefort, Clayton Holteen, Mark Manuel and Michael Yitayew also all ran
outstanding races! The boy’s team went home with a third overall, and a sense
of determination to steal that second place spot.
UNB’s team
coaches Jason Reindl, Tim Randall, and Chris Gairns are all extremely excited
for what this year has in store. With such a strong team this early into the
season, the coaches are confident that UNB will finish amongst the top! The UNB
team is not just out to run this year, they are out to win and to make a name
for themselves in not only the AUS, but also the CIS!
Here are the results for todays
race:
http://www.anb.ca/documents/uploads/UNBSTUXC2013.pdf
Such an excellent race would not have been possible without the countless volunteers who prepared the course (some even arriving at 6am!), the STU Cross Country team (our co-hosts for the event) and all of the spectators who came out to cheer! And speaking of the spectators, it was wonderful to see UNB President Eddy Campbell cheering us on! We are lucky to have such strong community support in both Fredericton and Saint John. Now we just have to keep giving them something to cheer about!
Stay tuned
for the next Cross Country Update! Go VREDS!
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