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DYNASTY! Windsor Lancers Men's XC wins third straight National Championship
The Windsor Lancers Men's Cross Country team cemented their place in Canadian University Sport history by winning their third straight CIS Cross Country National Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Saturday.
Despite a rash of injuries to their top runners, the Lancer Men would not be denied en route to defeating their arch rivals, the Guelph Gryphons, and claiming the title.
The victory marks the first time the Lancers have ever won three straight CIS Cross Country National Championships. Windsor finished with 54 points while Guelph placed second with 65 points and the University of Victoria finished third with 111 points.
The Lancers were again led by XC star Cristiano Mauricio, who ran away from the field for the second straight year to claim the individual title in 30:16. Mauricio's main rival, Cleve Thorson from Guelph finished well back in the pack in 26th place with a time of 31:48 and did not count in his team's top five finishers.
Windsor finished 1st (Mauricio), 5th (Andrew Coates, 30:48), 6th (Brandon Young, 30:49), 20th (Dave DePiero, 31:34) and 22nd (Jon Bodirlau, 31:37) to lock-up the title.
Heading into Saturday's Championship, the Lancers were ranked #2 in the country behind the University of Guelph. However, the Lancers proved why they are one of the greatest CIS Cross Country teams of all-time as they placed 5 runners in the top 22 to earn their third straight national championship.
The victory also marks an incredible run by Lancer Head Coach Dennis Fairall who has now won the last three Cross Country Men's National titles as well as the last Men's and Women's Track and Field Provincial Championships.
"I'm just so proud of how these guys competed and with their unbelievable will to win," commented Coach Fairall. "We used what happened at the Provincial Championships as extra motivation and as an opportunity to prove again what we can do when we run as a team."
The Lancers also got an exceptional performance from their Women's Team, who finished 7th overall to place in the top ten in Canada. Windsor was led by rising star Jackie Malette, who finished 14th individually and was named a 2nd Team All-Canadian.
In the Women's race, Windsor finished 14th (Jackie Malette 17:51), 39th (Dayna Pidhoresky 18:22), 45th (Amina Oumesrour 18:29), 47th (Tammy Dufresne 18:32), 52nd (Melanie Macchione 18:38), 63rd (Lindsay Manning 18:45), and 81st (Brittany Moran 19:05).
University of Windsor Sports Informat
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