X-Women bring home 16 AUS medals in second place showing

Moncton, NB – The StFX X-Women had an impressive performance  at the 2014 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championship, placing second overall at the two-day event held this past weekend at the Universite de Moncton.

The X-Women tallied 118 total points, just 17 points short of first place Dalhousie (135) who claimed the AUS championship banner. UNB came third with 45 points.

Veteran StFX head coach Bernie Chisholm commented, "It was a tremendous weekend by both the X-Men and X-Women. Everyone gave 100%, we went there with a purpose. We were able to close the gap significantly on women's side and the men's team had a fantastic showing, winning their first ever AUS championship banner.

The StFX X-Women took home a record-high 16 AUS medals including seven gold, four silver and five bronze.

The X-Women were led by AUS female track athlete of the year and meet MVP Eilish MacQuarrie who won four medals. The third year sprinter from Antigonish, NS won gold in the 300m and silver in the 600m, then picked up an additional two gold medals as a member of the X-Women 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams.

MacQuarrie's teammates on the first place 4x200m relay team were Candace Cruickshank, Abbi Finnan and Jillian Murphy. Joining Cruickshank and MacQuarrie on the AUS champion 4x400m relay team were Liz O'Connell and Bridget Brennan.

First year X-Women sprinter Abbi Finnan from Kingston, Ont. ripped up the Moncton track on the weekend, winning gold in both the 60m dash and the 60m hurdles. Her efforts were rewarded as she was honored as the AUS female rookie of the year.

Also winning gold medals for the X-Women were distance runners Liz O'Connell and Melissa Hardy. 2013 AUS individual cross country champion Melissa Hardy successfully defended her 3000m title, becoming a two-time consecutive AUS champion in that event. She was beaten in the home stretch in the 1500m race by her teammate Liz O'Connell who won her first ever AUS individual gold medal.

With a gold and silver medal, Hardy rounded out the collection with a bronze as a member of the 4x800m relay team. O'Connell was also a member of that squad, along with  Kathryn Tuck and Beth MacDonald.

O'Connell claimed her third medal of the weekend in the 1000m race, taking home the bronze. Other bronze medalists from StFX included Jillian Murphy in the 60m and Bridget Brennan in the 300m.

In the field events, Ellen Murphy won silver in the weight throw and bronze in the shot put in a strong weekend effort. Hailey Polluck won the silver medal for the X-Women in the shot put.

The complete results from the 2014 Subway AUS championship can be found by clicking here.

The CIS national championship is schedule for March 6-8 at the University of Alberta.