UVic Vikes repeat as U SPORTS women’s cross-country champions

The University of Victoria women’s cross-country team is back on top of U SPORTS, successfully defending its national title on Nov. 14 at Christie Lake Conservation Area in Hamilton, Ont. Led by another individual gold-medal performance from Madelyn Eybergen, the Vikes captured their second consecutive national championship. The men’s team finished seventh.

The women’s victory marks the 11th U SPORTS national championship in program history, making UVic the second-most successful women’s cross-country program in U SPORTS history, behind the University of Guelph. The Vikes scored 78 points, placing three runners in the top 11.

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Eybergen led the way, defending her individual national title in a course-record 26:05.4 over eight kilometres. She finished 1:21.3 ahead of the runner-up, averaging a remarkable 3:15 per kilometre. Eybergen becomes the third Vikes woman to win consecutive individual U SPORTS titles, joining former champions Brenda Shackleton and Anna Gunasekera.

Marisha Thompson finished sixth in 27:45.1, while Brooke Lawlor placed 11th in 28:13.6. Elissa Frielink was 24th in 28:43.8, followed by Christobel Chapman-Piche in 42nd (29:03.7), Emily Robertson in 57th (29:30.1) and Colette Reimer in 87th (30:08.2).

Adding to the championship weekend, head coach Hilary Stellingwerff was named U SPORTS Women’s Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, recognizing her role in guiding the Vikes to back-to-back national titles.

“I think their composure impressed me the most. They went out and got in position for where they needed to be, which can be risky, but they held strong and even moved up. Obviously, Maddy put on a pretty special show. It was a pretty historical performance. I don’t think people realize it, but the pace and the time that she ran is unbelievable. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a long time, if ever, so it’s pretty special,” said Stellingwerff.

“To have three women in the top 15 is special, and on the men’s side, to have three in the top 20 is great and something we haven’t had in a long time. The men went for it, and it was a gutsy performance. I’m proud of the entire team,” she added.

The Vikes men finished seventh overall, led by Daniel Damian, who placed 14th in 24:19.4. Tyler Browne finished 18th in 24:30.3, just ahead of teammate Jaxon Kuchar, who was 19th in 24:30.9. UVic therefore placed three men in the top 20.

Rhys Beaudoin finished 65th in 25:26.4, followed by Jacob Webster in 100th (25:52.7), Nico Stockwell in 128th (26:16.5) and Mitchell Erickson in 141st (26:29.9).

The back-to-back women’s team titles, Eybergen’s individual repeat and Stellingwerff’s consecutive coaching honours cap another historic season for the UVic cross-country program.

Host McMaster wins men’s

The host McMaster topped the men’s standings with 52 points, ahead of Sherbrooke (91) and Guelph (125). The championship was the Marauders’ third in program history, following victories in 1963 and 2022, and their second in five seasons.

In the men’s race, Lemaître won in 23:49.3, finishing 10.3 seconds ahead of Guelph’s Jack Lehto (23:59.6), with Sherbrooke teammate Félix Quirion third (24:01.0). Lemaître, also named U SPORTS men’s athlete of the year, added the national crown to his RSEQ championship earlier this fall. Sherbrooke placed three runners in the top six, but McMaster’s depth proved decisive: Samuel Patrick (eighth), William Weist (ninth), Austin McGoey (10th) and Jack Gregory (11th) finished consecutively to help the Marauders win the team banner by 39 points.

McMaster’s Paula Schnurr earned the Fred Foot Award as men’s coach of the year. McGill’s Mia Blackmore-Barnable and Regina’s Brett MacLean received the women’s and men’s student-athlete community service awards, respectively.

Vikes results