MacDougall, Black named IG Wealth Management Athletes of the Week, powered by Planters
Burlington, Ont. – Brogan MacDougall and Connor Black have been named IG Wealth Management Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week, powered by Planters, for the period ending November 11, 2018.
Female Athlete of the Week – Brogan MacDougall (Kingston, Ont.) – 1st Year – Queen’s Gaels
What a debut season for Brogan MacDougall, as the Queen’s runner penned the final chapter of her unparalleled campaign this past weekend at the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships.
MacDougall put on a show in front of her hometown fans, pushing through the cold and windy conditions to win the individual gold medal at Fort Henry. The first-year runner finished with a time of 27:48.6 while building a 14-second gap over second place finisher Aurélie Dubé-Lavoie of Laval, a dominant final showing from her first foyer onto the university scene.
For her efforts, MacDougall was named the U SPORTS Cross Country Female Athlete of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and a First Team All-Canadian, matching the same accomplishments she earned at the provincial level at the OUA Cross Country Championships. Her winning ways also helped the Gaels secure a silver medal in the team standings while finishing first among all OUA competition.
Male Athlete of the Week – Connor Black (Forest, Ont.) – 5th Year – Guelph Gryphons
Athletes dream of being able to end their careers as a winner; something that Guelph’s Connor Black was able to play out on a frigid, gusty afternoon in Kingston.
The fifth-year captain, in his final cross-country race wearing Gryphon red, black, and gold, won the gold medal at the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships to fulfill a goal he envisioned as an incoming rookie. Black ran like it was his final performance, expending everything he had to finish the 10k race in 31:13.0, just .6 seconds ahead of Laval's Jean-Simon Desgagnes.
It was a seemingly unlikely victory for Black, who took silver at nationals a year ago. The veteran was unable to defend his OUA individual gold medal in 2017 after missing the recent conference championships with a foot injury. Black didn't run for three weeks, but got in the necessary training for his final race in Kingston. And the team leader cemented his status as a Gryphon legend with a huge kick at the end of the race to edge out the pursuing Desgagnes.
Black was named the U SPORTS Male Athlete of the Year and is the ninth Gryphon male to win a gold medal at the national championship.
