Sunday, December 22, 2013

Happy Holidays from MacTrack!!


Monday, December 2, 2013

Bob Vigars Meet and Nationals

This weekend marks the last weekend of racing this year for most of the team, with the Bob Vigars Season Opener and XC Nats in Vancouver.

Patrick Dean was the only Marauder in Vancouver, finishing 22nd in the junior mens race. Highlights of the track meet include the men`s 3000, which included 6 Marauders, and 2 sub-9 performances (Blair Morgan 8:29 and Jordan Bierema 8:46), Jeff Tweedle winning the 1500, and Latisha Rhooms' 7.99 in the 60.

Nationals Results
Bob Vigars Season Opener

Most of the Marauders on now in the off-season, but we'll keep updating you with our shenanigans (including videos from our donut challenge, which are upcoming).

Monday, November 25, 2013

Post-CIS Marauder Results

It's been two weeks since the CIS championships, and while most of the Marauders are just finishing up their down time and beginning to prepare for the upcoming track season, there are still a few athletes in-season. Last Sunday (November 17th), the Marauders had athletes competing in London at the 2013 Athletics Ontario Cross Country Champs, and locally in Westdale in the Hanukkah Hustle.

On the men's side at AOs, Patrick Deane lead the Marauder squad with a 9th place finish. Not far behind was Andrew Beardsall in 11th, Nick Belore in 14th, and Sam Foran in 25th. Our lone competitor on the women's side, Adrienne Morgan finished in 8th place.

Full Results

At the Hustle 5k, the Mac team won a total of 3 medals, including both men and women's gold. Jeramie Lai won the men's race in a time of 16:29.2, and Charlotte Ward won the women's in 18:56.3. Maxine Gravina took home the silver with a 19:35.8. In the 10k, Derek van Schepen was the silver medalist in a time of 34:29.4.

5k Results
10k Results

This weekend, the Marauders will be sending athletes to Western to compete in their first track meet of the season, the Bob Vigars Season Opener. Also this weekend is the National Cross Country Championships in Vancouver, where Patrick Deane will be the lone Marauder.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Race Recap: CIS Championships 2013

Sorry for the delayed post, its been a busy week. Lets get to it:

Last Saturday the Thames Valley Golf Course once again played host to the CIS cross country championships, and the conditions were much improved from the muddy OUA championships. Led by Maddy McDonald, who finished 18th, the women's team came back from a somewhat disappointing finish at OUAs to finish in 6th again, but this time on the national stage, beating teams such as Windsor, Dalhousie, and McGill. Following Maddy was 5th year Courtney Patterson, who finished 34th in her final cross country race for McMaster. The other 3 scorers included Kierstin Myers in 39th, Emily Nowak in 53rd, and Raquel Burgess in 64th. Displacers were Chelsea MacKinnon in 77th and Megan Beverly in 89th.

There were some last-minute changes to the men's team, as Connor Darlington pulled out Friday morning with a knee injury, and 4th year Eric Barry stepped in. The Marauder men finished 4th, led by All-Canadian performances by Lionel Sanders and Blair Morgan in 10th and 11th. Not far behind with a breakout performance was 2nd year Gabriel Ghiglione. Rounding out the top 5 were the Forbes twins finishing side by side, with Taylor in 36th and Austen in 37th. Displacers were Taylor Reid in 42nd and Eric Barry in 76th. This years 4th place finish is tied for 2nd-best in the schools history, behind 1962's gold (and tied with 2000's 4th), and also the 2nd-best points score, again behind 1962's team.

All-time Men
All-time Women

Full Results
Sil Article
Marauders.ca Article
Videos
Trackie Interview with Blair and Lionel

Also, after an impressive showing on the course, the men's team went on to take the double gold in Speedgoogles annual post-CIS mustache report, with Blair Morgan taking the individual gold.

So that wraps up the 2013 cross country season, but we will keep you update with all things Marauder running between now and track!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Putdowns and Prognostications CIS 2013

The intensely and warily awaited Putdowns & Prognostications, CIS XC 2013 Edition is finally here.
Marauder Men are ranked 3rd, and the Marauder Women are 8th.

http://putdownsandprognostications.blogspot.ca/2013/11/putdowns-prognostications-cis-xc-2013.html

Monday, October 28, 2013

Race Recap: OUA Championships 2013

Well that was exciting. Mac played host to the 2013 OUA Championships on Saturday at the Chedoke Golf Course in Hamilton (just in case you had forgotten). Though the weather may have been less than ideal, the performances were stellar and the weather didn't dampen the fans spirits one bit.

On the women's side, Courtney Patterson and Maddy McDonald led the way in 24th and 25th respectively. Kiersten Myers and Emily Nowak once again ran side by side the entire race, finishing in 31st and 32nd, only 0.2 seconds apart. The last scoring Marauder was Raquel Burgess in 41st, and rounding out the top 7 was Megan Beverly in 51st and captain Chelsea Mackinnon in 53rd. As a team, the women placed 6th.

What a race for the men. Going into the race ranked 4th in most polls, the Marauders surprised everyone to take down both Queen's and Windsor for the silver medal, only the 2nd OUA medal in team history (also crushing the previous point record of 86, scoring 56 this year). Captain Blair Morgan and Taylor Reid finished 6th and 7th to take first team All-Star status, while Connor Darlington and Lionel Sanders crossed the line in 13th and 14th to make second team All-Stars. Just missing the top 14 was Taylor Forbes in 16th. Rounding out the men's squad was Gabriel Ghiglione in 44th and rookie Paul Rochus in 57th.

Full Results
Update All-Time List: Women
Update All-Time List: Men
Marauders.ca Recap

Also, congratulations are in order to Maddy McDonald for receiving the OUA Community Service award, and coach Rory Sneyd for picking up OUA Coach of the Year.

Marauders.ca awards article

Up next is the CIS national championships held by Western at the Thames Valley Golf Course on November 9th.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Race Preview: OUA Championships 2013

Classic Kitely-McInnes Report #3
Jeremy Walsh's impressive team/individual predictor
Trackie predictions thread

Finally, championship season is here. Tomorrow, the best cross country athletes in the province will test their mettle against each other, and against the Chedoke golf course in Hamilton for the first time ever, and potentially the weather, which is looking to be 9 degrees with an 80% chance of rain. Given the rain Hamilton has gotten this week, its going to be messy either way.

Course Maps:

Women: Race goes at 11am, and the women do two of the 3km loop.


Men: Gun at 12pm, they start with a single 1km loop and continue on to three 3km loops. Something tells me they will be hurting by the time they hit the hill on loop number 4.

Women:
Even with the loss of the majority of last years top seven, the addition of some strong rookies and grad student Kierstin Myers means that the women will be looking to continue their streak of OUA medals this year. Leading the way will be Maddy McDonald, who is coming off a strong outdoor track season and will be looking to improve on her 7th place finish from King City last year. Courtney Patterson and captain Chelsea Mackinnon, the only other returning top 7 athletes, will be using their championship experience and the home course/crowd to their advantage. Rookie Emily Nowak and Kierstin Myers have been within seconds of each other both times they've raced together, and will be pushing each other harder than ever come tomorrow. 2nd year Raquel Burgess and 2009 World Track and Field Championships competitor Megan Beverly round out the top 7.

Men:
With the loss of only their 7th man from last year, the mens squad is looking the best they ever have. Things are looking good for the team to come home with their 2nd-ever OUA podium finish. Lionel Sanders is going to be putting the hurt on the competition, especially with the home course advantage. Who knows how to hurt better than an Ironman champion anyways? Connor Darlington, coming off a strong summer season with a Canada Summer Games gold medal, will be looking to improve on his race in Montreal and threatening some guys for at least a 2nd team All-Star spot. Taylor Forbes, Blair Morgan, and Taylor Reid are showing no signs of slowing down, and with a solid 2 weeks of running behind them after Montreal will be surprising some people come race time (I know my opinion may be slightly biased). Rounding out the top 7 are 2nd-year Gabe Ghiglione, who surprised a lot of people after being cut from the team last year, and rookie Paul Rochus. Come tomorrow, the boys will be looking to run down Windsor while staving off competition from a strong Queen's team.

Cheerios:
As always, I'm predicting another overwhelming win in the cheering department for Mac. See below:




One last article from the Sil before the race. See you on the course!