Banner Season: Western women, Guelph men pace the pack to score conference titles

October 28, 2023

Waterloo, Ont. (via Waterloo Warriors) – At the 2023 OUA Cross Country Championships, the Western Mustangs women and Guelph Gryphons men put up impressive performances to emerge as this year's champions.

It was 25 years in the making for the Western Mustangs. For the first time since 1998, the Mustangs Women's Cross Country team are OUA Champions. Coming in as the No. 3 nationally ranked women's team, the Mustangs showed their value as five runners finished in the top seven positions individually. Chloe Coutts led the pack for the Mustangs, finishing at 29:08.8 to earn an individual bronze medal.

The Gryphons, defending OUA Champions, finished second in the team standings on the women's side, with Western claiming the 2023 title. Julia Agostinelli led the Gryphon’s team with a time of 29:06.4. She secured the top individual spot for the Gryphons at the championships for the third consecutive season.

On the men’s side, the Guelph Gryphons clinched their 31st program title and first since the 2021 season. Their victory was underscored by their impressive performance, with seven runners finishing in the top 20. Of note were Nicholas Bannon and Max Davies' 1-2 finish, with Bannon completing the 8km race in 24:24.6, who was the highest finisher for the Gryphons at nationals last season. Davies finished just under four seconds later with a time of 24:28.2.

The Queen's men's team secured a team silver medal and finished just 21 points behind the first-place finishers, Guelph Gryphons, with a team score of 55 points. The bronze medal finish of veteran Ben Shore propelled the Toronto men's team to a podium result. Blues runner Brandon Raftis placed 13th with a time of 24:54.1, delivering a top-15 result, while the Varsity Blues team scored three more top-40 results. The team's strong outing secured them a team bronze medal.

The Gaels clinched both the Men's and Women's Rookie of the Year accolades for this season. Angus Skinner secured the Men's Rookie of the Year award by completing the race in 25:01.8 and finishing 17th overall. Similarly, Alyshia Alkerton was declared the Women's Rookie of the Year by completing the race in 30:28.7 and finishing 26th overall.

The top seven finishers in each race are named OUA first-team all-stars while the eighth through 14^th-place finishers are named second-team all-stars.

Team Results

Women’s

Standings	Team	Score	Scoring Order	Total
1	Western Mustangs	25	3-4-5-6-7(13)(31)	2:26:33
2	Guelph Gryphons	70	1-8-19-20-22(27)(43)	2:29:34
3	McMaster Marauders	76	2-10-11-25-28(30)(32)	2:29:53
4	Queens Gaels	94	14-15-16-23-26(33)(40)	2:31:04
5	Windsor Lancers	119	9-18-21-29-42(50)(51)	2:32:34
6	Waterloo Warriors	156	12-17-38-41-48(55)(56)	2:35:15
7	Toronto Varsity Blues	178	24-34-37-39-44(45)(53)	2:36:20
8	Brock Badgers	249	36-46-47-58-62(68)(70)	2:43:12
9	Laurentian Voyageurs	261	35-49-52-60-65(67)(69)	2:44:13
10	York Lions	317	57-59-64-66-71	2:50:58
11	Nipissing Lakers	350	61-63-72-76-78	3:01:40
12	Lakehead Thunderwolves	353	54-73-74-75-77	3:02:18

Men’s

Standings	Team	Score	Scoring Order	Total
1	Guelph Gryphons	34	1-2-6-10-15(16)(18)	2:03:17
2	Queens Gaels	55	4-5-9-17-20(23)	2:04:09
3	Toronto Varsity Blues	105	3-13-22-31-36(51)(75)	2:06:31
4	Western Mustangs	110	7-14-25-30-34(35)(40)	2:06:27
5	McMaster Marauders	125	12-24-28-29-32(39)(43)	2:06:56
6	Lakehead Thunderwolves	172	19-26-38-42-47(49)(62)	2:09:46
7	Windsor Lancers	211	11-45-50-52-53(66)(71)	2:11:36
8	Brock Badgers	230	33-41-46-54-56(68)(72)	2:12:50
9	York Lions	275	37-55-58-61-64(77)(84)	2:15:33
10	Laurentian Voyageurs	289	21-57-63-70-78(81)(91)	2:16:11
11	Ottawa Gee-Gees	298	8-60-73-74-83(89)	2:16:53
12	Laurier Golden Hawks	308	27-48-65-80-88(90)(92)	2:16:47
13	Waterloo Warriors	333	44-59-69-76-85(86)(87)	2:18:23
14	Nipissing Lakers	429	67-79-93-94-96(98)	2:26:48
15	Trent Excalibur	473	82-95-97-99-100	2:39:39