KING CITY, Ont. - On a cold and snowy final day of the season the Sheridan Bruins cross country team turned in the two best performances at a national championship in school history, with the women finishing eigth, while the men were six points shy of a podium spot in fourth.
"I'm extremely happy with both men and women, I couldn't have asked for anything better for this season," head coach Danny Webster said. "Both teams were the second-placed OCAA team, they put it together at the right time, and it's all because of their hard work. They worked their butts off all year, it's all their work ethic. They're just an amazing, fantastic group to work with and I can't wait for more next year."
Led by Cole Bond (12th team, 14th individual - 29:10) and Cameron Ross (17th team, 20th individual - 29:15) who were both inside the top 20, the Double Blue finished with 117 points, six back of Champlain for the bronze medal position and three clear of OCAA counterparts Mohawk. Matthew Reeve (37th team, 45th individual - 30:32) and Alex Ball (51st team, 60th individual - 30:51) also scored for the Bruins while Andrew Convery (53rd team, 62nd individual - 30:58) and Quinn Middleton (70th team, 79th indivudal - 31:49) rounded out the Sheridan lineup.
The result was a big jump up the leaderboard, as the Bruins placed ninth a year ago and were the fourth-ranked OCAA team. That improvement wasn't nearly as big as the one made by the women, however, who made massive gains as a team - improving by 12 positions from last year - and as individuals, with the three members who ran in both seasons - Erin Kinninmont, Marla Brown, and Lexy Pakenham-Troth - finishing an average of 24.7 places higher than last year. Kinninmont saw the biggest improvement by moving up 34 spots.
Olivia Sidock (11th team, 16th individual - 25:12) was the top finisher for Sheridan, followed by Kinninmont (38th team, 51st individual - 26:50), Yonta Gillespie (42nd team, 56th individual - 27:06), Brown (58th team, 74th individual - 27:39), Pakenham-Troth (76th team, 94th individual - 29:08), and Isabel Catalli (78th team, 96th individual - 29:25).
Their 149 points put them six back of Trois-Rivières for seventh, and ahead of Mohawk (154 points), Concordia (159), and Humber (162).