LONDON, Ont. - The host Fanshawe Falcons made it a clean sweep of the gold medals at the 2017 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Cross Country Championships presented by belairdirect.
Fanshawe College hosted the event at the Fanshawe Conservation Area in London, Ont.
In the women's six kilometre race, Janelle Hanna (Peterborough) dethroned defending champion Mary Strain (Fort Frances) of Cambrian by over eight seconds in a time of 22:11.4, become the first Fanshawe runner to win OCAA gold since Liliane Sparkes in 2010. Strain became a two-time OCAA medalist with her silver medal time of 22:19.8. The 2015 OCAA champion, Cambrian's Emily Marcolini (Sudbury), claimed bronze in a time of 22:37.5.
In the women's team competition, Fanshawe collected 33 points, almost double that of three-time reigning champion Humber to win the OCAA banner for the first time since 2010. The top four individual placements contribute to the team rankings. Along with Hanna, Sammi-Jo Burch (Strathroy), Breah Gordon (St. Thomas) and Hannah Carley (Newmarket) contributed to the Fanshawe team championship. Humber placed second with 62 points, while George Brown finished third with 73.
The top three times of the men's eight kilometre race was a lot narrower, with Fanshawe's Jordan Kadlecik (Grand Bend) claiming gold in a time of 26:37.5, almost three whole seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Jones (LaSalle) of St. Clair (26:40.4). St. Lawrence-Kingston's Andrew Brown (Carrying Place) finished just a hair over two seconds behind Jones to take the bronze medal in a time of 26:42.5.
Kadlecik and his teammates made it quadruple gold, as the men's team earned 20 points, well ahead of runner-up St. Clair and its 54 points. Along with Kadlecik, Chris Caddey (Dorchester), Alastair Thompson (London) and Zach Buchan (Northern) contributed to Fanshawe's eighth OCAA men's team banner in nine years. Sheridan finished third with 76 points.
Runners represented 22 Ontario post-secondary campuses, including Cambrian, Centennial, Conestoga, Confederation, host Fanshawe, Fleming, George Brown, Georgian, Humber, Laurier Brantford, Loyalist, Mohawk, Niagara, Redeemer, St. Clair, St. Lawrence (Brockville, Cornwall, Kingston), Sault, Seneca, Sheridan and Toronto Mississauga.
The top OCAA individuals and teams advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Cross Country National Championships in Sainte-Thérèse, Que., on Nov. 11.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/xc/2017-18/index
Individual Results: speedrivertiming.com/res/ocaa17.htm
Women's Team Results: speedrivertiming.com/res/ocaawt17.htm
Men's Team Results: speedrivertiming.com/res/ocaamt17.htm
- OCAA -
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