TRURO, N.S. - Leonard Chesoo, of the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder won the men's individual race at the CCAA Cross-Country Running Championships for the third time.
In a near photo finish, Cheeso finished the 8km race in 24 minutes and 37 seconds, edging last year's champion Nolan Turgeon of Victoriaville by a single second. The pair have become national rivals, trading places atop the podium and earning a handful of medals. Cheeso won individual gold in 2019 and 2021 and a silver in 2018 while Turgeon earned his first silver in 2021 and gold in 2022.
Paul Lokoro of the Sheridan Bruins finished in third place with a time of 25 minutes and 11 seconds. Charles Gendron-Jetté from Champlain Lennoxville and Maximus Thiessen of the SAIT Trojans rounded out the top five.
The men's team race was also a close affair with the Dynamiques de Sainte-Foy finishing with an average runner time of 26 minutes and 09 seconds, just 10 seconds faster than third place and only two seconds faster than second. This was the second CCAA national championship for Sainte-Foy, but its first since 2011. The Dynamiques also claimed four silver medals as a team between 2008 and 2012. Sainte-Foy's gold medal runners included Ismaël Thomas, Léandre Binette, Antonin Savignac, Gabriel Bussière, Francis Bouffard and Émil Lavoie-Leullier.
Les Élans de Garneau earned the team silver medals, the first CCAA podium finish for their men's team. Garneau's team consisted of Elliot Bélanger, Mathis Turcotte, Edouard Lehoux, Pier-Olivier Beaulieu, Samuel Beaulieu, Christophe Frémont.
Rounding out the top three was the ACAC's SAIT Trojans. The Trojans' runners included Maximus Thiessen, Nathan Woyessa, Keiran Marchand, Elsami Rosa-Molina, Brian Rono, and Max Reisinger. Champlain College Lennoxville and Red Deer Polytechnic finished fourth and fifth respectively in the team event.
Makenna Fitzgerald of the SAIT Trojans won her third straight CCAA women's individual national championship, finishing 32 seconds ahead of her fellow competitors.
Makenna, with a time of 20 minutes and 59 seconds, bested Marika Couture of the Élans de Garneau for the second year in a row. Couture's time of 21 minutes and 31 seconds earned her a second individual silver medal but also contributed to her team's gold.
Léane Baril of Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue claimed the individual bronze medal with a time of 21 minutes and 47 seconds. Béatrice Filion from Saint-Jean-sur-Richielieu and Amélie Simard from Chicoutimi rounded out the top five.
In the team event, the Élans de Garneau successfully defended the women's team national championship with an impressive average team time of 22 minutes and 59 seconds. The team, led by silver medalist Couture, also included Anaïs Paradis, Raphaëlle Leblond, Marianne Alarie, Romy Sinotte and Aurélie Paradis.
Bringing home, the team silver medals were les Diablos de Trois-Rivières who had an average time of 24 minutes and 58 seconds. Trois-Rivières' team consisted of Morgane Drouin, Sarah-Maude Thibodeau, Léa Gobeil, Julianne Couture and Juliette Cormier.
Les Gaillards de Jonquière claimed the team bronze medals, while the other two teams from Quebec, les Nomades de Montmorency and les Géants de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, completed the top five. Jonquière's runners Juliette Bélanger, Laurie Fournier, Julie-Anne Bouchard and Jorane Bouchard finished with an average runner time of 24 minutes and 46 seconds.
For the first time in over a decade the CCAA Cross Country Running National Championships were contested in Atlantic Canada. Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, with the support of the town of Truro, hosted the country's best runners at one of the most picturesque outdoor facilities in Nova Scotia, Victoria Park. Athletes, Coaches and Delegates representing 38 teams were treated to Maritime Hospitality for the extent of the championship.
Source: CCAA Communications/Dalhousie AC Rams