ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – For the second consecutive season, the UBC Okanagan Heat women's cross country team is coming back from the Canada West Championships with a team silver medal after a strong performance on Saturday afternoon at Clearbook Park.
The Heat, who won their first-ever conference medal a year ago in Saskatoon, duplicated the feat thanks to a team score of 72. The UBC Thunderbirds claimed gold with 32 points while the Saskatchewan Huskies finished with 88 points to round out the podium spots.
"Our team ran very well today and I am so proud of how the women worked together as a team," commented head coach Malindi Elmore on her team's performance. "There were a lot of excellent races today and I saw a lot of grit out there."
UBCO was led once again by fifth-year senior
Joanna Brown of Carp, Ont. Last year's Canada West individual champion wasn't quite able to replicate her performance from 2021 but still found the podium, earning the silver medal thanks to a time of 27 minutes, 32.4 seconds.
Brown battled all afternoon with a pair of Thunderbirds in Kiana Gibson and Holly MacGillivray. The three runners pushed the pace early on and after Brown fell to third midway through the race, she stormed back to add a silver medal to her collection in her final university conference championship race.
"I was so excited to lead the team to another silver medal this year.," said Brown, who was also named a Canada West First Team All-Star for her efforts. "We have been working so well as a team and we all came together in the past few weeks for this collective goal. I was so struck by how every member of the team, men and women, helped to build energy and excitement leading into Can West. We had so much momentum leading into the weekend and all of them women have made big gains in workouts in the past few weeks. This race was definitely confirmation that we are ready for great performances at nationals and that we have so much more ahead of us."
Joining Brown in the Top 10 was fifth-year transfer
Emily Simpson of Creston, B.C. Also competing in her final Canada West Championship, Simpson finished 10
th overall thanks to a time of 28:29.6. That was good enough to earn a nod as a second team all-star.
The three other members of the Heat to count in the team standings were Elliyah Brawdy of Smithers, B.C.,
Kristen Smith of Georgetown, Ont., and
Kate Milne of Salmon Arm, B.C. Brawdy produced her best-ever showing at the Canada West Championship, finishing 18
th in a time of 29:03.5 while Smith was 22
nd in 29:20.8.
Milne rounded out the scorers finishing 27
th in 29:32.8.
"I am proud of how everyone ran," added Elmore. "Joanna dug deep for her silver medal and had a great kick finish. Emily moved up very well to finish in the Top 10. Eliyah and Kristen worked very well together and pushed each other through the whole race."
Following the race, Brown was also recognized as the Canada West Student-Athlete Community service award recipient for her athletic excellence, community service and academic success.
UBCO will now begin preparations for their final race of the year, the U SPORTS Championships, in two weeks' time in Halifax, N.S. The national championship will be run at The Links at Brunello Golf Course on Saturday, November 12 with the women's race getting underway at 1 p.m. local time (9 a.m. PT).
TEAM STANDINGS
1. UBC Thunderbirds – 32
2. UBCO Heat – 72
3. Saskatchewan Huskies – 88
4. Victoria Vikes – 94
5. Alberta Pandas – 109
6. Calgary Dinos – 136
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS – UBCO
2.
Joanna Brown – 27:32.4
10.
Emily Simpson – 28:29.6
18.
Eliyah Brawdy – 29:03.5
22.
Kristen Smith – 29:20.8
27.
Kate Milne – 29:32.8
28.
Brooke Lawlor – 29:38.9
46.
Abigail Yakemchuk – 30:55.3
59.
Lys Milne – 32:12.7
60.
Ella Wigmore – 32:17.3
61.
Sophia Ruckle – 32:21.9
65.
Julia Kuipers – 33:06.5
67. Kate VanderBerg – 33:36.6
68.
Grace Fulton – 33:57.9
