QUEBEC CITY – UBC Okanagan Heat rookie cross country runner Lauren McNeil capped off a remarkable season as she won the silver medal at the 2021 U SPORTS Championships, hosted by the Laval Rouge et Or, on Saturday afternoon at the Plains of Abraham.
McNeil, an exchange student from the University of Nottingham and originally from Buxton, England, led for much of the race as she went head-to-head with not only Laval's Jessy Lacourse, but also the hometown crowd cheering on Lacrouse, throughout the eight-kilometer course.
In the end, McNeil, affectionately known as the Buxton Bullet, was passed on the final lap by Lacourse and finished in a time of 28 minutes, 28.2 seconds, just three second behind the top runner from the Rouge et Or.
"Lauren is a gutsy, gritty racer," said Heat head coach Malindi Elmore following the race. "She put her nose right in there and dug really deep through the last kilometer, changing off leads a few times with Jessy. She doesn't give up, she's relentless and she earned herself that medal with an amazing, inspiring run."
McNeil's performance marks the first time a member of the cross country program has won an individual medal at the U SPORTS Championship and caps an incredible season in which McNeil finished first or second in every race she competed in.
"I don't think it's quite sunk in, it's all been a bit of a blur," said McNeil on her incredible season. "Me being here, it took a while to settle in and get used to a new environment. I probably need to go home and reflect a bit on what's happened but it feels amazing."
Fourth-year runner and 2020 Olympian Joanna Brown of Carp, Ont., fresh off her gold medal at the Canada West Championships, finished not far behind her teammate as she conquered the hilly course in a time of 28:47.6, finishing sixth overall. Competing at her fourth national championship, after competing for the Guelph Gryphons previously, Brown recorded her best-ever finish, topping her eighth-place showing at the 2012 U SPORTS Championships in London, Ont.
"That race was tough," commented Brown on the conditions the team faced. "I don't think cross country is ever easy and this race was really different from anything we've tackled this year. There was no momentum anywhere and you had to keep fighting the whole time."
UBCO fifth-year runner Camille Galloway of Whitehorse, Y.T., competing at her first U SPORTS Championship in her final year as a member of the Heat, went out with a bang as she earned a Top 40 result, finishing 39th in 30:45.54.
"It was really good feeling," said Galloway on what it meant to her to earn her placing in the final race of her career. "It was just exciting to be running with that much talent out there so I was just happy to be there and to end on a good note was a cherry on top."
Capping off the Heat's top five runners were Eliyah Brawdy of Smithers, B.C., and Kate Milne of Salmon Arm, B.C. Brawdy posted a time of 31:59.4 to finish in 81st while Milne was 96th in 32:42.9. Those results helped the Heat to an eight-place finish in the team standings, an incredible accomplishment for a program that was competing as a team at the U SPORTS Championships for the first time ever.
"It was a solid day," said Elmore of her team's showing. "It is the first time our program has ever sent a women's team so to be in the top 10 in our first appearance at U SPORTS is very impressive. To put someone on the podium and in sixth place is a really great start to what we're hoping to build here in the next few years."
Following the race, the accolades continued to pour in for the Heat. McNeil took home U SPORTS Rookie of the Year honours as the top rookie finisher at the meet and also earned U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian recognition. She was joined as a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian by Brown, who earned the recognition for the first time in her career after finishing as a Second Team All-Canadian at her previous three national championships.
For McNeil, she becomes just the second UBCO student-athlete to take home a U SPORTS major award, joining women's volleyball's Amaya Perry, who was also the U SPORTS Rookie of the Year back in 2019-20.
McNeil and Brown also become just the second and third Heat athletes to be named First Team All-Canadians, following in the footsteps of women's volleyball's Katie Wuttunee for earned the recognition back in 2015-16.
U SPORTS Championships Team Standings
1. Laval Rouge et Or – 35
2. Western Mustangs – 106
3. Guelph Gryphons – 119
4. UBC Thunderbirds – 124
5. Saskatchewan Huskies – 147
6. McMaster Marauders – 206
7. StFX X-Women – 224*
8. UBCO Heat – 224
9. Montreal Carabins – 269
10. Queen's Gaels – 289
11. Toronto Varsity Blues – 304
12. Victoria Vikes – 323
13. Calgary Dinos – 333
14. Waterloo Warriors – 443
15. Sherbrooke Vert et Or – 454
16. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks – 577
*Won tiebreak
UBCO Heat Individual Results
2. Lauren McNeil – 28:28.2 - U SPORTS Silver Medal; U SPORTS Rookie of the Year; U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian
6. Joanna Brown – 28:47.6 - U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian
39. Camille Galloway – 30:45.54
81. Eliyah Brawdy – 31:59.4
96. Kate Milne – 32:42.9
102. Lys Milne – 32:59.2
