London, ON – The 2023 U SPORTS Cross Country Championship is coming back to Western for the eighth time in program history it was announced on Thursday afternoon.
"We are pleased that Western University and the Western Mustangs have been selected to host the 2023 U SPORTS Cross Country Championship," said
Christine Stapleton, Western University's Director, Sports & Recreation. "We look forward to working with U SPORTS and Tourism London to create an engaging event experience, as we welcome student athletes and their families to London."
The Mustangs home course is at Thames Valley Golf Course which has been utilized 36 times for the Western Invitational, 4 times for the OUA Championship, and 7 times for the CIAU/CIS/U SPORTS National Championships [1986, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2012, 2013].
"The team is really excited to be hosting the U SPORTS Championship this fall." said
Guy Schultz, Mustangs Cross Country Head Coach "With the strength of our women's and men's teams, we look forward to putting on a show for all those supporters decked out in purple, spurring our athletes on to great finishes against the best in the country."
The home course for the Mustangs is run along the 1
st hole on the classic course at Thames Valley and weaves through the entire property, finishing near the 18
th green and presents a unique challenge for the competitors.
"The race course is challenging for the runners but spectator friendly which gives the athletes lots of support throughout the races." said
Bob Vigars, former Mustangs Cross Country Head Coach who continues to serve as Meet Director "Western Cross Country is very fortunate to have a wealth of volunteers from the London community to help with the management and officiating of the meets held at TVGC."
The anticipation of potentially competing for a national championship on home soil already has the energy and attention of the Mustangs student athletes.
"It definitely motivates me more." said
Sophie Coutts of the Mustangs Women's team "It would be amazing to place well individually and as a team in front of a home crowd. Our team is looking very strong for next year so I'm excited to try and defend home turf.
Western finished 4
th in women's team standings at the 2022 U SPORTS Championship with Coutts as the top individual finisher at 7
th, while on the men's side the Mustangs finished 7
th in team standings with Marcel Scheele as the top individual finisher at 17
th.
"Being able to race a national championship in front of a home crowd is something not many have the opportunity to do," said
Scheele. "We're thrilled, It's an opportunity of a lifetime and we're looking to make the most of it."
U SPORTS also announced a number of other championship hosts on Thursday including the 2024 U SPORTS Cross Country Championship going to UBCO, while the 2023 U SPORTS Track & Field Championship will be hosted by the
University of Manitoba, while the 2024 Track & Field Championship will be hosted by the University of Windsor.
Full details can be found at: https://usports.ca/en/news/2023/03/1675709334/23-and-24-championship-hosting-announcement
