Season Recap - Men
The Western Mustangs men’s cross country team battled some tough competition at the 2009 OUA championships, and placed fifth out of a field of 15 teams, 12 points behind the Queen’s Gaels for the bronze medal. Kyle O'Neill (Aylmer, Ont.) was the top Western finisher, placing 7th in a field of 103. The third-year Mustang completed the 10km course in 30:54 en route to being named an OUA All-star for the third straight year. Ryan Huff (London, Ont.), Western’s No. 2 scorer, finished in 17th place, while Alexey Strokach (Toronto, Ont.) had his best outing of the season to help keep the Mustangs in medal contention.
Following the OUA’s, Western went on to finish 8th overall at the CIS championships at the Fort Henry Heights course in Kingston, Ont. O’Neill was the top finisher once again for Western, and this time he did it in an even more impressive fashion. Knocked down twice in the massive rush at the beginning of the race, O’Neill came all the way back to finish 10th overall in a field of 130 runners. O’Neill, Huff, David Arango (Burlington, Ont.) and Strokach all set personal bests in what turned out to be one of the fastest foot races in CIS history.
OUA Regular Season Events (and top individual finishers):
McGill Open – Silver (Huff – 5th)
Western International – 4th (O'Neill – 5th)
Loyola Invitational – 12th (O'Neill – 4th)
Rochester Invitational – 4th (O’Neill – 2nd, Huff – 10th)
OUA Championships:
Western men place fifth overall
OUA Awards:
First-Team All-Star: Kyle O'Neill
CIS Championships:
Western men finish 8th overall
CIS Awards:
Second-Team All-Canadian: Kyle O’Neill
Season Recap - Women
The Mustang women – like the men -- also placed fifth at the 2009 OUA cross country championships. But despite beating 11 of the 15 other competing teams, it was a bit of a disappointing race for the Mustangs, who had been firing on all cylinders in the races leading up to the OUA event. Lynn Mockler(London, Ont.) and Lorelle Convery (Toronto, Ont.) were the top two finishers for Western, placing ninth and 14th, respectively, in the 5km race.
At the CIS championships, the Western women placed 15th overall. In their final race in a Mustangs uniform, both Mockler and Convery went out with a bang, posting career-bests over the 5km course at Fort Henry Heights. Mockler ran the race of her life, finishing in 17:41 to place 13th and earn All-Canadian honours for the first time in her career. The fourth-year runner’s time was the second-fastest by a Mustang in this decade. It was also the second-fastest time for a Western woman on the Fort Henry course (Teresa Duck ran a 17:29 to win a CIS gold medal there in 1999). Convery, meanwhile, placed 34th with a time of 18:31 – her fastest ever at a CIS championship event. It also marked her sixth personal best in seven races in 2009.
OUA Regular Season Events (and top individual finishers):
McGill Open – Gold (Mockler – 2nd, Convery – 4th, Alicia Knox – 5th)
Western International – Bronze (Convery – 10th)
Loyola Invitational – 4th (Mockler – 11th)
Rochester Invitational – 2nd (Mockler – 3rd, Convery – 6th, Knox – 7th)
OUA Championships:
Western women place fifth overall
OUA Awards:
Second-Team All-Stars: Lynn Mockler, Lorelle Convery
CIS Championships:
Western women finish 15th overall
CIS Awards:
Second-Team All-Canadian: Lynn Mockler
