X-Women runners race to impressive 4th place finish at U SPORTS championship

X-Women place fourth overall in the team standings at the U SPORTS national championship race hosted by UBC Okanagan

November 9, 2024

Kelowna, BC – The STFX X-Women placed fourth overall in the team standings at the U SPORTS national championship 8km race hosted by UBC Okanagan.

The bronze medalists last season, the X-Women finished just off the podium this year with 120 points. The Western Mustangs were the U SPORTS champions, garnering 60 points. UBC was second with 85 and Victoria third at 94.

The top runner for the X-Women was Eileen Benoit in 12^th place, finishing with a time of 27:37 as she was named a U SPORTS second team All-Canadian.

The overall race winner was Lauren McNeil from the host UBCO team, finishing with a time of 26:31. Trinity Western's Constance Nankivell was second at 26:42 and Windsor's Madelyn Eybergen was third at 27:02.

The race featured 128 competitors with 15 schools registering team results.

Rounding out the X-Women placings were:

19^th - Caroline Ash 27:52
36^th - Mairin Canning 28:34
37^th - Caden Lee 28:36
41^st - Allie Sandluck 28:43
45^th - Poppy Moon 28:48
99^th - Hannah McIntyre 30:01

STFX's Poppy Moon was named to the U SPORTS all-rookie team, having been the second freshman finisher in the race.

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Recap courtesy STFX Athletics

U SPORTS Major Award Winners:

Coach of the Year:  - Guy Schultz, Western Mustangs
Rookie of The Year:  Sophie Hamilton - UBCO Heat
Outstanding Athlete of The Year:  Lauren McNeil - UBCO Heat
Community Service Award Winner:  Maïné Dupuis Azizah - UQTR Patriotes

Women's First Team All-Canadians

Place	Name	School	Time
1	Lauren McNeil	UBCO Heat	26:31
2	Constance Nankivell	Trinity Western Spartans	26:42
3	Madelyn Eybergen	Windsor Lancers	27:02
4	Paige Breedon	Waterloo Warriors	27:15
5	Elise Coates	Victoria Vikes	27:24
6	Rachel Mortimer	UBC Thunderbirds	27:29
7	Ashley Maguire	Western Mustangs	27:31

Women's Second Team All-Canadians

Place	Name	School	Time
8	Holly Macgillivray	UBC Thunderbirds	27:31
9	Marisha Thompson	Victoria Vikes	27:36
10	Elisa Tripotin	UQAM Citadins	27:36
11	Olivia Roussel	Western Mustangs	27:37
12	Eileen Benoit	STFX X-Women	27:37
13	Alyshia Alkerton	Queen's Gaels	27:39
14	Ana Morariu	McMaster Marauders	27:41

Women's All-Rookie Team

Place	Name	Team	Time
1	Sophie Hamilton	UBCO Heat	28:47
2	Poppy Moon	STFX X-Women	28:48
3	Abene Glasgow	McGill Martlets	28:54
4	Noemie Beaulieu	Laval Rouge et Or	28:57
5	Sophie Jensen	Calgary Dinos	28:58
6	Lea Pelletier	Laval Rouge et Or	29:00
7	Mathilde Collard	Laval Rouge et Or	29:25

Women's Team Standings:

Place	Team	Score
1	Western Mustangs	60
2	UBC Thunderbirds	85
3	Victoria Vikes	94
4	St. Fx X-Women	120
5	Queen's Gaels	164
6	UBCO Heat	193
7	McMaster Marauders	220
8	Waterloo Warriors	255
9	Guelph Gryphons	257
10	Laval Rouge Et-Or	269
11	Sherbrooke Vert-Et-Or	283
12	Toronto Varsity Blues	301
13	Saskatchewan Huskies	305
14	Montreal Carabins	307
15	McGill Martlets	312