South Bend, IND - The Mustangs Men's & Women;s Cross Country team ventured back to South Bend, Indiana for the first time in decades to challenge themselves against top notch NCAA competition at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational. 

"It was a terrific day watching our Mustang women and men re-write Western's record books over 5k and 8k respectively. We knew going in that the course was fast, and the competition would be a higher level than we have seen, but everyone rose to occasion. We wanted to be aggressive and get after it in this one and both teams embraced that challenge even though it was going to be uncomfortable. There's a different vibe with this group. They're hungry to compete and show that they are among the best in Canada. It's going to be fun to watch them keep it rolling into the Championship season in a few weeks."
 
On a beautiful Friday on a flat course at the Burke Golf course, the Mustangs seized the opportunity to run fast, recording many personal bests times in various races throughout the day.
 
Starting off the day were our top 9 women in the University Women's Blue Race, the most competitive race of the day. Dropping down in distance to a 5k (from 8k) presented its challenges as the pace was hot from the gun, and competition was fierce. As a team, they finished 19 against several of the best teams in the NCAA, but the mission of running fast was accomplished! Sandra Guga was the first Mustang on this occasion in a time of 17:20.2, but Olivia Roussel, Anna Carruthers, Chloe Coutts, Ashley Maguire, and Erika Jordan finishing less than 16 seconds after Sandra.
 
Next up was the University Women's Open Race, where first-year standouts Maria Linton and Clara Fava ran just over 18 minutes, leading a young second squad to a 3rd place Team finish behind highly ranked teams from Michigan State and Notre Dame.
 
The men competed in 8k races as usual, but the second team ran first in the University Men's Open Race. Kyle Koyanagi and Harrison Belanger ran tough, leading the team to a 6th place finish.
 
The Mustangs saved the best for last as the team highlight of the day was a 2nd place Team Finish in the University Men's Gold Race handily beating NCAA Division 1 teams from Eastern Michigan, Indiana State, and Central Michigan among others. With arguably the best individual performance of the day, Ben Fox started fast and battled throughout with an 8th place finish in 24:19.8. Rory McGarvey, Owen Parkes, and Tom Boers also broke the 25 minute barrier, with Marcel Scheele completing the scoring 5 soon after.
 
Team Member quotes

BEN FOX
"It was a good day for the lads! Finishing second as a team is a great confidence boost heading into the last regular season meet of the year!"

SANDRA GUGA
"I had a lot of fun out there. It was a fast course and a nice change of pace compared to our other races. We had a really tight spread despite not everyone feeling 100%, which is very exciting to see. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season rolls out!"

CAPTAIN Olivia Roussel
 "It was awesome to mix it up with some of the D1 runners and to run in a new environment with the team. I got to work together with a bunch of teammates throughout the race which helped to motivate me to continue to pass more people as the race went on. The team is looking ready for a big championship season, and this race only helped to sharpen us for when we need to push the pace come OUAs and U Sports!"

CAPTAIN Tom Boers 
"It was an amazing opportunity for the men's and women's teams to run at Notre Dame this past weekend. We don't often get to test ourselves against schools from the U.S., and it was great to see what we are capable of achieving against such a competitive field. Both the men's and women's teams had phenomenal races in the Women's Blue 5km, Men's Gold 8km, Women's Open 5km, and the Men's Open 8km. I look forward to seeing what the team can achieve in the coming weeks!"

RACE DETAILS

Mustangs Women's Results – Blue Team Race – 19th 

Sandra Guga – 17:20.2
Olivia Roussel – 17:23.7
Anna Carruthers – 17:28.8
Chloe Coutts – 17:33.5
Ashley Maguire – 17:35.1
Erika Jordan – 17:35.8
EJ Boston – 17:55.4
Hallee Knelsen – 18:26.5
Pascale Gendron – 18:34.5
 
Mustangs Women's Results – Open Race – 3rd 

Maria Linton – 18:03.2
Clara Fava – 18:15.5
Brooke Power – 18:45.0
Claire Hickey – 19:09.6
Juliana Hendrikx – 19:12.1
Lauren Alexander – 19:16.5

Mustangs Men's Results – Gold Team Race – 2nd 
 
Ben Fox – 24:19.8 (School Record)
Rory McGarvey – 24:36.8
Owen Parkes – 24:41.6
Tom Boers – 24:53.0
Marcel Scheele – 25:09.9
Mark Royce – 25:15.0
Ethan Loucks – 25:18.1
Satveer Gill – 25:20.6
Justin Sanders – 25:44.7

Mustangs Men's Results – Open Race – 6th  
 
Kyle Koyanagi – 25:53.0
Harrison Belanger – 25:55.5
Robin Faricier – 26:07.7
Ethan Cannon – 26:29.9
JT Boston – 26:35.0
Cullen McCurrach – 26:52.2
Daniel Ogilvie – 26:58.4
 
The next race for the Mustangs will be McMaster's 8-Kay Marauder Invitational at Kay Drage Park on Friday, October 11th.