Cross-Country, Rugby, Field Hockey Teams Win OUA Gold
October 31, 2010 - Campus Bulletin
It was a gold-medal weekend for University of Guelph athletics, with its women's and men's cross-country teams, women's rugby team and women's field hockey team winning the 2010 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
In cross-country running, Guelph has now captured seven straight OUA women's titles – an OUA record for the most consecutive titles – and six straight on the men’s side. The OUA championships were held in Guelph on Saturday.
“It was a good day for us,” said Guelph head coach Dave Scott Thomas. “The women ran a little harder than planned; they got excited with the hometown crowd. Our guys went out on a progression, so early on they didn’t open it up as hard as they could and then they pushed off the back end, and that was the plan. So the guys stuck right to the plan, and it played out well.”
On the men’s side, the Gryphons swept the medal podium and had five of the top six runners. Alex Genest led the Gryphons after finishing the 10-kilometre course in a time of 30:30.5 and was named the men’s OUA MVP. Genest transferred to Guelph this year from Université de Sherbrooke. He was the 2007 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champion and the 2006 CIS Rookie of the Year.
Finishing nine seconds behind Genest was teammate Kyle Boorsma, who now has won back-to-back OUA silver medals with a time of 30:39.5. Allan Brett, the two-time defending OUA champion, finished third with a time of 31:00.5. Finishing fourth for the Gryphons was first-year student Ross Proudfoot with a time of 31:19. Proudfoot was named the OUA men’s Rookie of the Year for his performance.
On the women’s side, Gryphon Rachel Cliff won the silver medal with a time of 17:13.5, her best-ever OUA finish, and Courtney Laurie won the bronze with a time of 17:43.6. Gryphon rookie Emily Driedger and Genevieve Lalonde were fifth and sixth respectively, and Driedger was named OUA Rookie of the Year.
The top seven runners in the men’s and women’s race earn OUA first-team all-star status. The Gryphons will now get ready for the CIS championships Nov. 13.
In women’s rugby, it was the Gryphons' third straight OUA title. Guelph has won the championships 10 times since first competing in 1994. U of G took on Queen’s University Saturday in Kingston and came away with a 54-5 victory.
Caitlin Beaton led the Gryphons with three tries for 15 points; Jacey Murphy finished with two tries for 10 points and was named player of the game.
Both Queen’s and Guelph now advance to the CIS championships being hosted by Trent University next weekend.
The women's field hockey team successfully defended its OUA championship on Sunday with a 3-2 victory over Toronto in the gold-medal game.
It’s the team’s second OUA title in a row and third provincial championship in the past four years. Amy Wise was named Guelph’s player of the game.
The Gryphons now move on to the CIS women’s field hockey championships, which start Thursday at U of G.
