CARSON, GRYPHON WOMEN FINISH SECOND, MEN FIFTH AT BROOKS PALL SHORT RUN
The men were the first to go and like last year the Gryphons trio of Kyle Boorsma (Guelph, Ont.), Matt Brunsting (Stirling, Ont.) and Allan Brett (Ottawa) quickly moved to the front. They were part of a large pack as the field moved past the first mile in a quick 4:44. Three kilometres was passed in under nine minutes as there was still 25 runners in the lead group. A big pack of Iona, Indiana, North Carolina State athletes were in the group, along with the three Gryphons. Teammate John Parott (Newmarket, Ont.) was just off the lead pack in about 40th.
Over the next three kilometres the pack would gradually dwindle as the pace continued to increase. Brunsting was the first Gryphon to crack followed by Boorsma and Brett. As they came through six kilometres, Brett and Boorsma were still in the top 20; although off the lead pack, with Parrott, running the race of his life moving up on Brunsting who were both in the top 40.
The success of a cross-country team is often determined by a team's fifth man; with strong support up front, second-year athlete Rob Jackson (Guelph, Ont.), fourth-year veteran Rob Koziarski (Mississauga, Ont.) and rookie Alex Hinton (Kingston, Ont.) were trying to do their part to close out the team's scoring all on pace for lifetime bests at the six kilometre mark.
With Indiana, Iona and NC State with 10 of the first 13 between them, it was apparent the Gryphons were in a battle for fourth. Coming into the home stretch Brett and Boorsma were kicking together in no man's land just off the lead pack but in front of fast charging pack. They would wind up 16th and 19th respectively, with Brett narrowly missing dipping under the 24 minute barrier running 24:01 with Boorsma four seconds back. Parrot would be the Gryphons' next scorer, slicing over a minute off his time from last year as he finished 34th in 24:26 with Brunsting six seconds back of him in 45th. Jackson would finish as the team's crucial fifth man over 20 seconds faster than last year placing 97th, with Koziarski next 25:04 followed by Hinton in 25:16. All of the Gryphons' runners registered lifetime bests for the eight kilometre distance. The team's score of 209 placed them an outstanding fifth place as they were nipped by Navy by a scant five points. It was the Gryphons' best ever finish at the Paul Short Run and the team's average time of 24:24 was the fastest in Gryphon history.
Like the men a trio of Gryphon women also quickly established themselves at the front of the field. As the group came around through the mile which was passed in 5:26, Lindsay Carson (Cambridge, Ont.) was in the front row of a group of over 20 athletes with teammates Rachel Cliff (Vancouver, B.C.) and Courtney Laurie (Toronto) just off the back of this pack. Behind them the Gryphon pack, which has been so evident in races throughout the season, was once again forming. By three kilometres Carson had separated with a group of 10. Cliff and Laurie were sitting around 25th with five Gryphons sitting just outside of the top 50. Over the next two kilometres, Lindsay Furtado (Brampton, Ont.), Jess Vanhie (Alisa Craig, Ont.) and Samantha Beattie (Hamiton, Ont.) all moved into the top 50 and as they entered the final stretch all three gained valuable places as they gained on Laurie and Cliff.
Up front Carson once again found herself in a battle with Nelly Spence of Shippensburg, Last year the two athletes had finished second and third respectively, separated by a mere second. This year they would each move up one spot as they finished in the same order with Spence defeating Carson by two seconds running 19:58 to Carson's 20 minutes. Behind Carson, Cliff would slice nearly 30 seconds of her time for last year finishing 26th in 21:02 with Laurie right behind in 21:09. A fast closing Vanhie, showed she is back to her all-Canadian form of 2007, as she was next finishing 33rd in 21:17 with Furtado closing out the team's scoring in 37th in 21:22. Beattie would run the race of her life finishing 43rd making the Gryphons the only team to have six scorers in the top 50.
Overall every Gryphon women in the race would equal or improve on their time from last year as they would finish second overall with a team score of 127, falling only to the NCAA's fourth ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. Adding to the incredible nature of the team's run was the fact they were without the services of their freshman superstar and number two runner Geneieve Lalonde (Moncton, N.B.), who was resting after last week's race at Western.
The Gryphons will next be in action in two weeks at the Penn State National Invitational, this will be the team's final meet before the OUA championships at the end of the month at Brock University.
Women Results: http://www.paulshortxcrun.com/PaulShort/Results/2009_CW_Gold.html
Men Results: http://www.paulshortxcrun.com/PaulShort/Results/2009_CM_Gold.html
Source: Guelph Gryphons