LONDON, Ont. – One of the most decorated programs in U SPORTS history continued to add even more allure to its name Saturday afternoon (Nov. 6) in London. In what was an incredible day of racing full of strong individual runs, the Guelph Gryphons claimed a conference banner sweep of both men's and women's cross country gold.
FULL RESULTS
"It was a very special day for us to come home with two championship banners," Gryphon's Head Coach
Terry Radchenko said. "We talked about each athlete setting themselves up for success, to be the best they could be on the day."
"If we could do that as individuals we believed that our teams would be very tough to beat."
Starting the day with the women's 8km race, the Gryphons could hardly have scripted a better result. Winning their first OUA championship since 2016, while also setting a new OUA team scoring record, Guelph had five runners finish in the top seven of the race, with two of those five being the first ones to cross the finish line. Claiming the top two spots on the podium, 4th-year
Kiana Gibson (29:40) continued her dominant 2021 season winning gold, while teammate
Olivia Roussel (29:47) followed in behind her just seven seconds later to win OUA silver.
Nearly completing a podium sweep,
Sadie-Jane Hickson ran to a 4th place finish with a time of 29:58.
Annika Ariano (30:04) came in 5th, meaning the top five featured four different Guelph runners.
Nina Whitford (30:19) came in just two positions later in 7th, while
Sandra Guga (31:09) and
Laura Kuszaj (32:39) rounded out the Gryphon's team placing 19th and 38th respectively.
"To have our entire scoring team achieve 1st-Team OUA All-Star status is an unbelievable performance from our ladies," Radchenko said. "We talked about being our best at the championships and these Gryphs really brought it today."
On the men's side, the Gryphons ran to a second straight OUA banner, and their 18th in the last 22 seasons. Much like their female counterparts, the men's team also dominated the top 10 of their race. With 2019-20 OUA MVP and U SPORTS 1st-Team All-Canadian,
Mitchell Ubene (24:48) leading the way with an individual silver medal performance, the Gryphons ultimately had five of their male student-athletes finish in the top nine of the competition. Coming in one after the other, Guelph had four runners cross the finish line in a row with
John Perrier (25:15),
Nicholas Bannon (25:16),
Gavin Hughes (25:20) and Alex Purnell (25:24) finishing 6th through 9th. Just a short 23 seconds later,
Kyle Madden (25:47) crossed the finish line in 15th, with teammate
Adam Schmidt (25:48) just one second behind him in 16th.
"It was another hard fought battle with McMaster," Radchenko said. "Their team is extremely strong and it took every last spot for us to come away with a narrow victory."
"Fantastic leadership and a group that cares for and supports one another in every way is the key to this championship team."
Having to sit out all of last year because of the pandemic cancelled season, the Gryphons were able to return to the OUA Championship with a bang, sweeping the men's and women's race for the first time since 2015. 2015 was the final year of an unthinkable eleven year run that saw the Gryphons win both the men's and women's OUA title every season from 2005 - 2015.
"I'm just so proud of this group," Radchenko said. "Our student-athletes have been through a lot over the the past couple of years and I am amazed by their resiliency and determination to come back stronger than ever before."
From an individual perspective, a large number of Gyrphons made big improvements from their 2019 OUA Championship finishes. 2019-20 2nd-Team OUA All-Star and Community Service Award winner,
Kiana Gibson moved all the way up the leader board from her 10th place finish at the 2019 conference championships to claim gold in 2021.
Olivia Roussel's silver medal performance on Saturday was a 14 spot improvement from her 16th place finish in 2019. After both finishing outside of the top 10 in 2019, 2019-20 2nd-Team OUA All-Star,
Sadie-Jane Hickson went from 14th place to 4th, while
Annika Ariano also made a ten spot jump from 15th to 5th. On the men's side,
Gavin Hughes improved his position from last season by an impressive 27 spots going from 35th to 8th. A 2nd-Team OUA All-Star in 2019,
John Perrier went from just outside of the top 10 (12th) to nearly cracking the top five (6th). Meanwhile,
Nicholas Bannon, who finished 20th in 2019, moved all the way up to 7th in 2021.
With their OUA double-banner now secured, the Gryphons will adjust their sights to the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships. With beautiful Quebec City, serving as the setting, the national championship will take place on November 20th.
Gryphons Men's Results:
2nd - Mitchell Ubene (24:48)
6th -
John Perrier (25:15)
7th. -
Nicholas Bannon (25:16)
8th. -
Gavin Hughes (25:20)
9th - Alex Purnell (25:24)
15th -
Kyle Madden (25:47)
16th -
Adam Schmidt (25:48)
2021 OUA Men's Cross Country Championship Team Standings
1 Guelph Gryphons 32 points
2 McMaster Marauders 34 points
3 Western Mustangs 100 points
4 Queen's Gaels 113 points
5 Toronto Varsity Blues 117 points
6 Windsor Lancers 156 points
7 Lakehead Thderwolves 227 points
8 Ottawa Gee Gees 245 points
9 Laurier Golden Hawks 248 points
10 Laurentian Voyageurs 249 points
11 Brock Badgers 305 points
12 Waterloo Warriors 331 points
13 York Lions 352 points
14 Nipissing Lakers 394 points
15 Trent Excalibur 488 points
Gryphon Women's Results:
1st -
Kiana Gibson (29:40)
2nd -
Olivia Roussel (29:47)
4th -
Sadie-Jane Hickson (29:58)
5th -
Annika Ariano (30:04)
7th -
Nina Whitford (30:19)
19th -
Sandra Guga (31:09)
38th -
Laura Kuszaj (32:38)
2021 OUA Women's Cross Country Team Standings
1 Guelph Gryphons 19 points
2 Western Mustangs 60 points
3 McMaster Marauders 73 points
4 Queen's Gaels 109 points
5 Toronto Varsity Blues 133 points
6 Waterloo Warriors 166 points
7 Windsor Lancers 181 points
8 Laurier Golden Hawks 273 points
9 Laurentian Voyageurs 282 points
10 Ottawa Gee Gees 312 points
11 Nipissing Lakers 331 points
12 Brock Badgers 356 points
2021 OUA Men's Cross Country All-Stars
First Team
Andrew Davies - McMaster Marauders
Mitchell Ubene - Guelph Gryphons
Max Turek - McMaster Marauders
Marcel Scheele - Western Mustangs
Alex Drover - McMaster Marauders
John Perrier - Guelph Gryphons
Nicholas Bannon - Guelph Gryphons
Second Team
Gavin Hughes - Guelph Gryphons
Alec Purnell - Guelph Gryphons
Chris Taylor - Toronto Varsity Blues
Josh Zillies - Windsor Lancers
Ryan Tyrrell - McMaster Marauders
Sam Nusselder - McMaster Marauders
Mitch De Lange - Western Mustangs
2021 OUA Women's Cross Country All-Stars
First Team
Kiana Gibson - Guelph Gryphons
Olivia Roussel - Guelph Gryphons
Erin Mawhinney - McMaster Marauders
Sadie-Jane Hickson - Guelph Gryphons
Annika Ariano - Guelph Gryphons
Jazz Shukla - Toronto Varsity Blues
Nina Whitford - Guelph Gryphons
Second Team
Heidi Ohrling - Western Mustangs
Chloe Coutts - Western Mustangs
Samara Quanz - Windsor Lancers
Caroline Forbes - McMaster Marauders
Tori Bouck - Queen's Gaels
Chloe Hewitt - Western Mustangs
Zoe Burke - Western Mustangs
