Ash sets new X-Women record in 1000m at SMU Open
Caroline Ash sets new X-Women school record in the 1000m event at SMU Open in final regular season meet
Halifax, NS – The STFX X-Men and X-Women competed at the SMU Open Saturday at the Canada Games Centre in the last meet prior to the AUS championship.
Caroline Ash set a new X-Women school record in the 1000m event with her time of 2:46.45. The previous X record was 2:48.45, set by Jane Hergett in 2019. Ash won the 1000m race in Halifax, besting the field of 14 and automatically qualifying for the U SPORTS championship and currently ranking her fourth in the country in that event.
Ash also won the women's 600m race Saturday, posting a top time of 1:35.04. Caden Lee was second in the 600m with a 1:37.35 result, while Poppy Moon (1:39.67) was fourth and Jillian Bennett (1:45.57) was sixth.
Lee also competed in the 1000m race and was fourth overall with a time of 2:52.18. Eileen Benoit came sixth at 2:53.75, while Moon was 8th at 2:58.19 and Melissa Blacquier was 13th at 3:26.25.
In the 3000m race, Benoit came in first place, besting the field of 18 with a time of 9:46.82. Sarah Watson was close behind in second place at 9:47.93. Also competing for X were Quincy Rotsaert-Smith (11:01.00) and Reanne Jean (11:28.00) in 12th and 15th places.
Rounding out the X-Women results were a top performance by freshman Feron Wallace who won the 1500m race with a time of 4:48.97. Rebecca Haney came 8th with a 5:07.34 result.
In the men's races, Liam Patterson won the 1500m with a time of 3:52.14, a personal best for him and the second fastest time in X-Men history. Landyn Cooke-Bithrey came 10th at 4:21.42.
Liam McCullagh was the winner of the 1000m event, finishing at 2:30.12. Cooke-Bithrey was sixth at 2:43.74 and Conlan MacKenzie 8th at 2:45.72.
McCullagh also competed in the 600m event and his time of 1:25.07 slotted him into seventh place.
Luke MacDonald was the lone X competitor in the 3000m and he came second overall amongst the field of 15 with a time of 8:25.64.
The meet marks the final one of the season as the STFX teams prepare for the AUS championship scheduled for February 20-21 at the Universite de Moncton.
The U SPORTS national championship is slated for March 5-7 at the University of Manitoba.
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Recap courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Athletics