Lakers Cross-Country - Fast and getting faster!

Nipissing’s Men’s and Women’s cross-country running squads were on the move again this past Saturday at the 2012 Vic Matthews/New Balance Open at the University of Guelph Arboretum.The 2012 edition of the race was the largest university cross country race in Canada this year with 194 men and 156 women finishing the race, including many of Canada's top distance runners.
With a healthy and rested squad, the Lakers started seven women and six men in the 5km and 8km races respectively. The 2012 race was by far the fastest performance by a Lakers team. As testament to the work and dedication of these athletes, and to the growth of Nipissing’s running program, nearly all athletes shaved significant margins from their finishing times in 2012 compared to the previous year.
The team results, with 2011 data for comparison, are below.WOMEN 5km Results (2011 results in brackets)
101st Stephanie Leggat 20:55.7 (116th 21:46)
107th Felicia Saunders 21:05.7 (98th, 21:07)
112th Melissa McKiel 21:16.1 (119th, 21:50)
114th Amy Claridge 21:19.8 (114th, 21:44)
137th Brianna Yard 22:13.8 (146th, 23:22)
140th Emily Floyd 22:23.7 (150th, 23:51)
147th Lynsey Bialkowski 23:03.9 (142nd, 23:02)
The women placed 13th out of 16 teams, besting trent, RMC, and Redeemer, and only a few points back from Brock and Laurier. If last year was any indication, the OUA Championships will be a hard fought battle for a top-10 team spot!MEN 8km Results (2011 results in brackets)
135th Terry Doiron 27:37.2 (116th, 27:20)
155th Matt Chalmers 28:33.3 (first time racing on this course)
169th Kevin Durkee 30:07.1 (202nd, 32:40)
171st Randy Twomey 30:30.1 (first time racing on this course)
174th Brandon Brown 30:39.6  (first time racing on this course)
DNF (Injury) Jordan Scott (169th, 29:06)
The men suffered in the team competition with the loss of their number two runner, Jordan Scott, only 100m into the race when he sprained an ankle. Despite the loss, the men finished only a few points behind RMC and Brock, and with Scott back on the line for the OUA Championships (fingers crossed!) the men stand to make some strides at the OUA Championships.
Full results of the 2012 Vic Matthews/New Balance Open can be found here:
http://www.trackie.com/track-and-field/results/view-results.php?id=1582
The Vic Mathews/New Balance Open was the final regular season event for the Lakers Cross-Country team. The squads will be preparing at home this coming weekend for the OUA Championships, Saturday October 27, at the Kingsbridge Conference Centre in King City, Ontario, hosted by York University.
Here are a few videos of the women’s race, as well as the men’s start:http://www.youtube.com/user/graydonraymer
Thanks to all the friends and family of Lakers Cross-Country.  Many were out cheering in Guelph and many more are expected in two weeks in Toronto! You are our greatest fans!