STFX X-Women and UNB REDS win AUS women’s and men’s cross country titles

REDS' Emily Doucet and Tigers' Jacob Benoit claim individual gold medals 

(HALIFAX, NS) The STFX X-Women and UNB REDS raced to first-place for the women's and men's team finishes at the 2023 AUS Cross Country Championships presented by Bell. Today's wins mark STFX's 11th AUS women's cross country banner and UNB's 23rd AUS men's cross country banner.

The championships were hosted by the Saint Mary's Huskies at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

WOMEN'S RACE RESULTS 

In the women's 8km race, the UNB REDS Emily Doucet (Andouane, NB) captured the gold medal with a time of 31:11 - a tremendous improvement for the third year who finished 21^st overall at the 2022 AUS Championship.

"The strategy was to stay in the front and stay with the STFX girls," said Doucet post-race. "As a middle-distance runner, I like to tell myself that I'm pretty fast, and that I can take the last kilometre or 500-metres. I knew going into it that Allie (Sandluck) and Mairin (Canning) were going to put up a fight, but I just kept telling myself, 'I'm faster, I'm faster, I can do it'."

The STFX X-Women raced to a first-place team finish with 22 points, claiming silver and bronze medals, as well as five of the top seven finishers on the day. Allie Sandluck (Thorburn, NS) – the 2022 champion - finished in the silver position with a time of 31:12, Eileen Benoit (Windsor, NS) finished in bronze, also finishing at 31:12. X-Women teammates Mairin Canning (Antigonish, NS) in fourth, Caroline Ash (Newmarket, ON) in sixth and Caden Lee (Richmond Hill, ON) in seventh rounded out the top seven finishers, who were named AUS First Team All-Stars.

Doucet led the REDS to a second-place team finish with 42 points. She was joined in the top 14 by five teammates – Georgia Bernhard (Guelph, ON) finished eighth, Olivia Baggley (Ottawa, ON) finished 10^th, Sierra Rodrigues (Bolton, ON) finished 11^th, Hilary Bishop (Milton, ON) finished 12^th and Laura Dickinson (South Nelson, NB) finished 14^th, with all five being named AUS Second Team All-Stars. Baggley was the top first year finisher and named AUS Rookie of the Year.

"Getting second is a big step for our program, I think we halved our point total from last year, which is awesome," said Doucet post-race.

The Dalhousie Tigers finished third with 73 points, led by Waverley Mulligan (Kingston, ON) who finished fifth and was named a First Team All-Star.

The UPEI Panthers finished fourth with 116 points, with Katie Richard (Charlottetown, PE) finishing ninth to round out the top-10 and earn a Second Team All-Star selection.

Ava Stefanovich-Thomson (Toronto, ON) was Acadia's strongest runner, leading the team to a fifth place standing. The sixth-place Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues were led by Sophie Black (Dieppe, N.B.). Rounding out the field were the Memorial Sea-Hawks who were led by Maria Chafe (St. Philip's, NL), followed by Saint Mary's with Mackenzie Beggs (Kemptville, ON) pacing the Huskies. 

MEN'S RACE RESULTS

The men's race featured a tight finish with Dalhousie Tigers fourth year Jacob Benoit (Windsor, NS) pulling away from the pack and winning the gold with a time of 25:34.

"It's a great feeling, I'm happy to be here today," said Benoit post-race. "This feels like a long time coming, I was always just creeping in behind Andrew (Peverill, former Saint Mary's Husky) and last year I lost to Jared (Howse), so it felt good to snag the podium and win today."

The UNB REDS raced to a first-place team finish with 35 points, claiming silver and bronze medals, as well as five of the top 13 finishers. Jared Howse (Red Deer, AB) finished in the silver position with a time of 25:48, while teammate William Boyle (Winnipeg, MB) finished in bronze with a time of 26:26. REDS teammates Benjamin Perrett (Neepawa, MB), Isaac Cull (Pubnico, NS) and Mitchell Kean (Fredericton, NB) finished eighth, ninth and 13^th respectively, earning them AUS Second Team All-Star selections.

The STFX X-Men raced to a second-place team with 43 points, led by Joel Gallant (Wellington, PEI) who finished fourth with a time of 26:28 and Jack O'Connell (Toronto, ON) who finished sixth with a time of 26:35, both earning First Team All-Star selections. They were joined in the top 12 by teammates Luc Gallant (Wellington, PEI), Liam Patterson (Toronto, ON) and Griffin Gamble (Shad Bay, NS), who were each named Second Team All-Stars. Gamble was the top first year finisher on the day, earning him AUS Rookie of the Year honours.

Benoit led the Dalhousie Tigers – the 2022 AUS champions – to a third-place team finish with 73 points. He was joined in the top 14 finishers by teammate Nick Robertson (Charlottetown, PEI), who finished 14^th and earned Second Team All-Star selections.

The Saint Mary's Huskies finished fourth with 121 points, led by Rory McGarvey (Belleville , ON) who finished seventh and was named a First Team All-Star.

The Memorial Sea-Hawks finished fifth with 129 points, led by Levi Moulton (Paradise, NL) who finished fifth and was named a First Team All-Star.

Rounding out the field were the UPEI Panthers who were led by Jack Roberts (Charlottetown, PEI) followed by Moncton with Alain Lavoie (Grand Falls, NB) pacing the Aigles Bleus. 

2023 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AND ALL-STARS 

Following the races, AUS all-star awards were presented to the top 14 finishers in each race, and individual medals, team medals and the AUS championship banners and trophies were handed out. 

AUS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARDS 

The AUS athletes of the year were awarded to the individual 2023 AUS champions, UNB's Emily Doucet (Andouane, NB) and Dalhousie's Jacob Benoit (Windsor, N.S), both first time winners of the awards.

AUS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The winners of the AUS rookie of the year awards were UNB's Olivia Baggley (Ottawa, ON) who finished 10^th with a record of 32:11, and STFX's Griffin Gamble (Shad Bay, NS) who finished 12th with a time of 27.10. 

AUS STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS 

Moncton's Hannah Levysshon and Saint Mary's Rory McGarvey were honoured as the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award winners for 2023.

A third-year business student from Moncton, N.B., Levysshon has had success in her sport and in her studies while balancing both with volunteer work in her community.

She has steadily improved as a runner for the Aigles Bleues cross country team, earning an eighth-place finish at the Acadia invitational meet earlier this season.

In the classroom, she has a 3.63 GPA and has received multiple academic bursaries including the Ron Smyth scholarship for exceptional leadership.

She has volunteered her time with a number of initiatives, including Blankets for Moncton and the 'French for the Future' event at Université de Moncton. She has also served as a volunteer coach for the local high school and a volunteer official for high school cross country regional qualifiers and provincial championships.

Saint Mary's McGarvey is a senior environmental studies student in his third year of eligibility from Belleville, Ont.

His athletic successes include being named an AUS second team all-star at last season's conference championship, as well as being named this season's captain of the Huskies track and field team.

In the classroom he boasts a 4.23 cumulative GPA. He is a two-time U SPORTS academic all-Canadian on pace to repeat for a third time this season.

His community work includes having served as a volunteer for the 2023 CIBC Run for the Cure, as well as serving on campus as vice president of the Saint Mary's University Geography Society and volunteering with the university's Environmental Society.

AUS COACH OF THE YEAR 

On the women's side, STFX's Eric Gillis earned his third consecutive AUS coach of the year nod, while UNB's Chris Belof took home the honour on the men's side.

2023 AUS CROSS COUNTRY ALL-STARS
 
WOMEN 
 
First Team 
Emily Doucet, UNB (3rd year—Andouane, NB)
Allie Sandluck, STFX (3rd year—Thorburn, N.S.) 
Eileen Benoit, STFX (3rd year—Windsor, N.S.) 
Mairin Canning, STFX (3rd year—Antigonish, N.S.) 
Waverley Mulligan, Dalhousie (1st year—Kingston, ON)
Caroline Ash, STFX (2nd year—Newmarket, ON) 
Caden Lee, STFX (2nd year—Richmond Hill, ON) 

Second Team 
Georgia Bernhard, UNB (2nd year—Guelph, ON) 
Katie Richard, UPEI (3rd year—Charlottetown, P.E.I.) 
Olivia Baggley, UNB (1st year—Ottawa, ON)
Sierra Rodrigues, UNB (2nd year—Bolton, ON) 
Hilary Bishop, UNB (3rd year—Milton, ON) 
Eve Carreau, STFX (2nd year—Truro, NS) 
Laura Dickinson, UNB (5th year—South Nelson, NB) 

MEN 

First Team
Jacob Benoit, Dalhousie (4th year—Windsor, N.S.) 
Jared Howse, UNB (3rd year—Red Deer, AB) 
William Boyle, UNB (3rd year—Winnipeg, MB) 
Joel Gallant, STFX (3rd year—Wellington, PE)
Levi Moulton, Memorial (5th year—Paradise, NL)
Jack O'Connell, STFX (2nd year—Toronto, ON)
Rory McGarvey, SMU (3rd year—Bellville, ON)  

Second Team
Benjamin Perrett, UNB (4th year—Neepawa, MB) 
Isaac Cull, UNB (5th year—Pubnico, NS) 
Luc Gallant, STFX (5th year—Wellington, P.E.I) 
Liam Patterson, STFX (2nd year—Toronto, ON) 
Griffin Gamble, STFX (1st year—Shad Bay, NS) 
Mitchell Kean, UNB (4th year—Fredericton, N.B.) 
Nick Robertson, Dalhousie (5th year—Charlottetown, P.E.I.) 

2023 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

AUS Women's Cross Country: 

• Athlete of the Year: Emily Doucet, UNB
• Rookie of the Year: Olivia Baggley, UNB
• Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Hannah Levysshon, Moncton 
• Coach of the Year: Eric Gillis, STFX

AUS Men's Cross Country: 

• Athlete of the Year: Jacob Benoit, Dalhousie
• Rookie of the Year: Griffin Gamble, STFX 
• Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Rory McGarvey, Saint Mary's 
• Bernie Chisholm Award for Coach of the Year: Chris Belof, UNB

The U SPORTS national championship meet will take place Sunday, November, 12, 2023, at Thames Valley Golf Course in London, ON, hosted by the Western University Mustangs.