In their final exhibition meet of the season, the St. Thomas Tommies cross country team traveled to Stratford, PEI, for the UPEI Invitational on Saturday October 12th. With an Interlock Meet also taking place in Quebec on Saturday, the UPEI Invitational was smaller than normal with teams from UPEI, Université de Moncton, Acadia, Saint Mary's, and St. FX also present. Nine STU athletes raced a course made challenging by heavy rains and winds. The finishing times below are unofficial estimates as the meet officials' timing equipment and results were destroyed by the rain.
In the women's 6km, four runners wore the STU green and gold. Priya Bhutani was the top finisher in a time of 25:16, placing 14th overall. Jessica Kenny ran her second meet in a time of 34:30. Running their first meet for STU this season, Julia MacDonald and Alaina Mejia completed the course in 37:10 and 37:30. Team captain Jensen Elliott, although not present at the UPEI Invitational, competed in the Valley Harvest 5km in Wolfville, NS, on Sunday and set a new personal best of 22:33.
The men's team made a very strong showing during their 8km race, with two athletes finishing in the top four. Lars Schwarz continued to show that his mileage is paying off as he finished as the second overall runner in 27:10, setting a new personal best and a new STU record over the distance. Team captain Ryan Terry rebounded from the previous meet with a time of 27:30 to take the fourth-place spot in a new personal best as well. Tristan Eisnor continued to have a strong first season with a time of 33:30. Daniel Ghosn-Taimaine and Alexander Gallant worked hard in the challenging conditions to finish in season bests of 38:20. The men finished third overall in the team results.
"I'm proud of all our athletes' results from the meet," said coach Nicholas Larade. "Despite the wet and cold conditions, our athletes showed that their training is paying off and their new personal bests are always welcome as we head towards the Championships. I'm excited to see them to race at AUS." The St. Thomas Cross Country teams will have an easy week of final preparation before the 2019 Subway AUS Cross Country Championships on Saturday October 26 at the Kingwoods Golf Course in Fredericton. The women's 8km race starts at 12:00pm and the men's 8km begins at 12:45pm.