Gryphons sweep OUA Cross Country Championship banners in Waterloo

Waterloo, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons swept the championship banners at the OUA Cross Country Championship on Saturday at the lower CIF fields hosted by the University of Waterloo.

On the women's side Guelph cruised to the team gold medal with six of their seven runners finishing in the top 14, earning a team score of 38.  It was the 12^th consecutive team title for the Guelph women.  The Queen's Gaels would come in second with 82 points while McMaster claimed the bronze medal with 103 points.

On the men's side, it was the closest OUA finish in years as Guelph was narrowly dethroned by the Windsor Lancers but Guelph would hold on winning by just one point.  Overall Guelph won with 53 points while the Lancers finished second with 54.  Like their women's team, the McMaster men also won bronze with 66 points.

Individually, it was a one-woman show as Gabriela Stafford of the Toronto Varsity Blues cruised to the finish line in a time of 19:54.7, the only racer in the field to break the 20 minute mark in the 6km race.  Stafford was named the women's MVP for her outstanding race.

Coming in second was Julie-Anne Staehli of Queen's with a time of 20:08.3 while Stefanie Smith of Windsor grabbed the bronze medal with her race time of 20:10.4. 

Three of the next four finishers would be Gryphons' with Katelyn Ayers crossing the line in fourth (20:13.2) while teammates Katrina Allison and Sophie Watts finished sixth and seventh respectively to round out the first-team all-stars on the women's side. 

The OUA rookie of the year would go to Danielle Jossinet of Guelph with her time of 21:05.2 good for 10^th overall.

Individually on the men's side, Alex Wilkie of Queen's won a tight 10km race in a time of 30:43.3, just one second better than Paul Janikowski of Windsor.  Coming in third spot was Kevin Tree of Lakehead in a time of 30:46.0. 

The next two finishers were Aaron Hendrikx (30:56.2) and Tristan Woodfine (30:45.2) who were a big reason for Guelph's overall team gold. 

Rounding out the top seven on the men's side was Blair Morgan of McMaster and Connor Bellemore of Windsor. 

The OUA rookie of the year went to 12^th place finisher Benjamin Workman of Guelph with his time of 31:25.9.

OUA MAJOR AWARDS

Women's MVP
Gabriela Stafford (Toronto)

Women's Rookie of the Year
Danielle Jossinet (Guelph)

Women's Community Service Award
TBA

Women's Coach of the Year
TBA

Men's MVP
Alex Wilkie (Queen's)

Men's Rookie of the Year
Benjamin Workman (Guelph)

Men's Community Service Award
TBA

Men's Coach of the Year
TBA

WOMEN'S OUA ALL-STARS

First Team
Gabriela Stafford (Toronto)
Julie-Anne Staehli (Queen's)
Stefanie Smith (Windsor)
Katelyn Ayers (Guelph)
Claire Sumner (Queen's)
Katrina Allison (Guelph)
Sophie Watts (Guelph)

Second Team
Allie Parks (Windsor)
Madeleine Kelly (Toronto)
Danielle Jossinet (Guelph)
Cheryse Mitton (Guelph)
Sarah Wismer (Guelph)
Charlotte Dunlap (Queen's)
Ruth Burrowes (Ottawa)

MEN'S OUA ALL-STARS

First Team
Alex Wilkie (Queen's)
Paul Janikowski (Windsor)
Kevin Tree (Lakehead)
Aaron Hendrikx (Guelph)
Tristan Woodfine (Guelph)
Blair Morgan (McMaster)
Corey Bellemore (Windsor)

Second Team
Connor Darlington (McMaster)
Taylor Forbes (McMaster)
Christian Gravel (Guelph)
Christopher Balestrini (Western)
Benjamin Workman (Guelph)
Joe Kagumba (Windsor)
Alex Berhe (Ottawa)

Women's Final Team Standings
1) Guelph Gryphons, 38 points
2) Queen's Gaels, 82 points
3) McMaster Marauders, 103 points
4) Toronto Varsity Blues, 114 points
5) Laurentian Voyageurs, 121 points
6) Western Mustangs, 152 points
7) Ottawa Gee Gees, 161 points
8) Windsor Lancers, 188 points
9) Lakehead Thunderwolves, 242 points
10) Waterloo Warriors, 270 points
11) York Lions, 324 points
12) Brock Badgers, 351 points
13) Ryerson Rams, 392 points
14) Trent Excalibur, 404 points
15) Laurier Golden Hawks, 423 points
16) Nipissing Lakers, 447 points
17) Algoma Thunderbirds

Men's Final Team Standings
1) Guelph Gryphons, 53 points
2) Windsor Lancers, 54 points
3) McMaster Marauders, 64 points
4) Queen's Gaels, 117 points
5) Lakehead Thunderwolves, 127 points
6) Toronto Varsity Blues, 156 points
6) Western Mustangs, 156 points
8) Waterloo Warriors, 264 points
9) Laurier Golden Hawks, 271 points
10) Ottawa Gee Gees, 296 points
11) York Lions, 300 points
12) Laurentian Voyageurs, 355 points
13) Brock Badgers, 409 points
14) Nipissing Lakers, 419 points
15) Ryerson Rams, 425 points
16) Algoma Thunderbirds
17) Trent Excalibur