Thunderbirds make noise at Nationals

Several Thunderbird distance runners were in action at the Canadian Cross Country Championships on November 24th at Jericho. The course was muddy but the runners, coaches, and spectators were treated to a beautiful, sunny day!

In the junior women's race, Kansas Mackenzie finished in 13th position. This performance put her very close to landing a spot on the Canadian National Team. Kansas is now competing for the Simon Fraser University team. Katrina Allison also had a strong race finishing in 40th. Katrina is now running for the powerhouse University of Guelph team.

Our Thunderbird junior men's team finished 3rd in the club division. The team was led by Christian Gravel who finished in an impressive 7th place. This performance earned him a spot on the Canadian National team that will be competing at the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Jamaica on January 26th and the World Cross Country Championships in Poland on March 24th. Like Katrina, Christian also runs for the University of Guelph. Will Cliff ran a strong race to finish in 14th. Will is now running for the University of British Columbia and has made significant progress this fall. Rounding out the team was Braeden Charlton (54th), Trevor Knechtel (62nd), and Matthew So (94th).

The senior women were led by Rachel Cliff and Erica Digby. Rachel ran with the lead pack and raced brilliantly to come home in 4th place. This earns Rachel a spot on the Canadian National Team traveling to the NACAC and World Cross Country Championships. Rachel has re-joined Thunderbirds after a successful university career at the University of Guelph. Erica ran a strong race to finish in 18th position. Erica has also re-joined Thunderbirds after a successful university career at the University of Idaho.

Congratulations to all Thunderbird athletes that competed and thank you to the meet organizers for hosting such a successful Nationals!