McMaster’s Schnurr makes conference history with Coach of the Year award

Hamilton, Ont. - Making conference history in the wake of her team’s first banner in over 50 years, Paula Schnurr was named as the OUA men’s cross country Coach of the Year.

Winning the first such honour of her nine-year tenure as Mac’s coach, the hall of famer became the first female coach to win the OUA’s top cross country honour in the award’s 18-year history.

Schnurr is the second McMaster coach to win the award, as her predecessor Rory Sneyd was named as the men’s Coach of the Year in 2013 and won the women’s honour in 2008.

Her recognition followed a landmark performance by the Marauders men, who won the H.R. Little Cup as the OUA champions for just the fourth time in their history, and the first since completing a three-year title run in 1964.

Second-year runner Max Turek became the third Mac man to take the individual title and the honour of OUA Most Valuable Player, a year after winning the conference’s Rookie of the Year award, by completing the 10km at London’s Thames Valley Golf and Country Club course in 32:17.

Four of McMaster’s five scorers were named OUA All-Stars, with Sergio Raez-Villanueva joining Turek on the First Team and Alex Drover and Josh McGillivray cracking the Second Team.

Moving on to the national stage, the Marauders snapped a five-year streak of fourth-placed finishes at the U SPORTS Championships dating back to 2013, and broke onto the podium with team bronze.

Despite suffering an injury in the lead-up to the event, Turek finished 11th to lead the way for the Marauders, and was named as a Second Team All-Canadian alongside Drover for his efforts.

Most recently, Schnurr saw rookie Andrew Davies excel at the Athletics Canada National Cross Country Championships and earn a berth at the NACAC and IAAF World Championships in Trinidad & Tobago and Denmark respectively in the New Year.

Source: McMaster Marauders