UBCO Heat set to host top university cross country runners at 2024 U SPORTS Championships
This Saturday, November 9, the top cross country runners in the country will descend on Kelowna for the 2024 U SPORTS Championships, hosted by the UBC Okanagan Heat, at Mission Recreation Park.
The men’s race gets underway at 12 p.m. PT followed by the women’s race at 1 p.m. PT. Both events will be free to spectators and will be broadcast live on CBCSports.ca.
LIVE SCORING LINK
The action at Mission Recreation Park begins with 22 men’s teams competing for the 2024 U SPORTS Championship in a deep and competitive field. The top-ranked Queen’s Gaels, the 2024 Ontario Univesity Athletics (OUA) Champions, enter the weekend as one of the favourites and feature a pair of runners, Jude Wheeler-Dee and Roman Mironov, who will be in competition for the individual championship.
The defending U SPORTS Champions, the UBC Thunderbirds, will also be in the hunt to repeat as champions after winning the Canada West Championships in Alberta two weeks ago. Jaiveer Tiwana leads the way for the Thunderbirds after earning a third-place finish at the Canada West Championships.
The UNB Reds, the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Champions, will be in the hunt for their first-ever national title and are led by Jared Howse who was victorious in the AUS Championships and finished seventh at last year’s event in London.
Finally, the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, who upset the Laval Rouge et Or in the RSEQ Championship, will look to make some noise on the strength of team leader Nolan Turgeon.
Individually, Ron McLean from the Alberta Golden Bears, the 2024 Canada West Champion, will be in the mix along with defending U SPORTS Champion Philippe Morneau-Cartier from Laval and Jacob Benoit from the Dalhousie Tigers.
In the women’s race, the OUA Champion and top-ranked Western Mustangs enter as a heavy favourite after placing five of their runners in the top seven at their conference championship. The team is led by Ashley Maguire and Olivia Roussel who finished second and third at the OUA Championships.
The Canada West Champions, the Victoria Vikes, will look to push the Mustangs for top spot after a strong season in which they defeated the defending U SPORTS Champions, the UBC Thunderbirds, in every race this season. Elise Coates leads the talented group of runners who will be looking for national gold this weekend.
The St. FX X-Women will also be in the mix after posting a big win in the AUS Championships this season as well as a third-place finish at last year’s national championships hosted by the Western Mustangs. Eileen Benoit, a First Team All-Canadian in 2023, is the X-Women’s top threat after winning the AUS Championship.
Leading the way out of the RSEQ is the Laval Rouge et Or, who captured the 2024 conference championship. Camille Boudreau will be a named to watch after finishing third in the RSEQ two weeks ago.
Individually, a number of additional runners will be competing for gold including UBCO’s Lauren McNeil, who finished second at the 2021 U SPORTS Championship, along with Madelyn Eybergen, the 2024 OUA Champion, and Constance Nankivell, the 2024 Canada West Champion.
Saturday’s races mark the first time the championships have been hosted by a Canada West school since the 2017 Championships were hosted by the Victoria Vikes.