Runners Make History with 6th Place CIS Finish

Author: Hugh Mullally

It’s was nothing if not blustery in St John’s, Newfoundland on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the fastest cross country runners in the CIS from taking the course.

Lakehead’s men’s team used the conditions to their advantage, particularly Dylan Brown (photo left), who led his team to a Lakehead best-ever 6th place finish, on top of a 4th place finish of his own to earn him first team All-Canadian status.

PDF Results: Overall  Team Standings  Teams w/ Scorers

With winds gusting to over 100 km/h, it was a windy one, even by Newfoundland standards.

“You couldn’t stand still, everyone was getting pushed all over the course,” said coach Kip Sigsworth.

With the treacherous conditions, runners clustered together in packs, trying to shield themselves from the North Atlantic gale.

“Dom got a spike in the foot at the 4km mark, which hampered his performance on the day,” mentioned Sigsworth, referring to Dominique Aulagnon, who sported a bleeding puncture wound for the second half of the race. “Tree was battling some illness as well, so he did his best despite it. Obviously Dylan today was amazing, a great results for him.”

Kevin Tree was the 2nd Thunderwolf across the finish line, placing 20th overall, followed by Mason Quarrell (35th) and Aulagnon (39th), Tyler White (55th), with Connor McGuire and Kenny Groop placing 62 and 72, respectively for the Thunderwolves.

Sigsworth concluded, “I’m super proud of the guys, both for today, and the season they’ve put together. We weren’t on the podium, but we were in the mix with the best in the country.”