Women's cross-country team finishes fourth in London

The Laurentian Voyageurs women's cross-country team have moved into record-breaking territory early in the season.

Attending the traditional Western Invitational last Saturday in London, the LU ladies finished fourth in a field of a dozen teams, their best cumulative finish ever at this event.

With St. Benedict graduate Emily Marcolini leading the way, placing 13th overall, Laurentian accumulated a school record of just 114 points, just three back of the McMaster Marauders.

The performance provided a noticeable improvement over the seventh place 187-point finish for the Voyageurs in 2013, despite having a runner (Samantha Edwards) crack the top 10 a year ago.

Balance across the lineup was the key this time around, with no less than five local ladies cracking the top 30: Marcolini (13th), Katie Wismer (19th), Michelle Kennedy (26th), Samantha Edwards (28th) and Maddy Bak (30th), with Sault Ste. Marie native Marissa Lobert just six seconds back of Bak.

The tightly bunched Voyageur runners finished just 26 seconds apart, from top to bottom, a critical result in a sport where the top-five placings count towards team standings.

“It’s still early in the season, and there were some fast runners from several teams who didn’t race,” acknowledged Laurentian head coach Dick Moss. “That said, this was an encouraging result. It shows that both our depth and level of individual performance are improving. I think we’ll be a very competitive team this year.”

The Laurentian crew are back in action next Saturday, racing at the Harry Anderson Invitational in Rochester, New York. Following is a breakdown of the individual results for the Voyageur athletes:

13-Emily Marcolini, 19:02
19-Katie Wismer, 19:11
26-Michelle Kennedy, 19:18
28-Samantha Edwards, 19:27
30-Maddy Bak, 19:28
33-Marissa Lobert, 19:34
53-Emily Driedger, 20:07
65-Lyndsay Greasley, 20:34
90-Jenna Thornber, 21:43
91-Kayla Gallo, 21:53
95-Charlotte van Walraven, 22:10

Team Results
1-Western, 37
2-Toronto, 47
3-McMaster, 111
4-Laurentian, 114
5-McGill, 124
6-Queens, 165
7-Windsor, 181
8-Valparaiso (Indiana), 186
9-Waterloo, 251
10-Brock, 275
11-Laurier, 330
12-Nipissing 367