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Dec 5 2007 - Excellent performances by NB Athletes at the Canadian Cross Country Championships
Even though our New Brunswick athletes raced over the cold, snow covered fields of Guelph, Ontario, -- something they have not had to do this year to date, it did not stop them from placing four athletes in the top 10 finishes at the Canadian Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
Hampton’s Barry Britt finished 9th in the 8km Junior Men's race in a time of 26:02.6. As a local Saint John Track Club athlete, Barry is well known for his record setting on the track, road race circuit and as 2007 NBIAA Cross Country champion. This finish at nationals gives him a great chance of being selected for the national cross country team which will compete at the World Championships in Edinburgh Scotland in March 2008. This was Barry’s first time to compete in the national cross country championships and with two more years to compete in the junior age group he has a great future ahead of him. Competing in the junior men’s race with Barry was Jean-Marc Doiron who completed the course in 29:56.6.
In the Junior Women's event Moncton’s, Geneviève Lalonde finished in 4th place, only 4 tenths of a second away from the bronze medal, with a time of 17.29.4 over the 5km course. This places Genevieve on the Junior National Cross CountryTeam to attend the World Cross country championships in Edinburgh, Scotland in march next year. Genevieve was also a 2007 NBIAA Cross Country champion and was a member of the National team that competed at the 2007 IAAF World Youth Track Championships in the Czech Republic this past summer.
Sarah MacPherson, of Fredericton competing at her first national cross country event, finished in 10th place with a time of 17:57.5 placing her in the pool of athletes for consideration to represent Canada at Worlds and NACAC Cross country Championships. With both Genevieve and Sarah having 3 more years of competition left in the junior age category, this certainly bodes well when New Brunswick host the 2010 IAAF world Junior Championships.
In the senior men’s race, Team Atlantic ran to a bronze medal in the regional team standings. They were led by New Brunswick veteran Joël Bourgeois who completed the 10km course in 30:56.9 to finish in 9th place, placing Joël in the pool for selection to either the Worlds or the NACAC Cross country Championships in 2008
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