Axewomen place fourth at AUS championship

HALIFAX, N.S - Allie Sandluck led a strong St. FX pack, as the X-Women claimed their second consecutive AUS Women's Cross Country title Saturday afternoon. 

Sandluck finished the 8 km race in 30:17, 10 seconds faster than the next runner. St. FX had five of the top-10 finishers with Mairin Canning placing second, followed by Eileen Benoit in fourth, Tanna Burke in seventh, and Breanna Sandluck in ninth. 

The Dalhousie Tigers, who won seven straight banners from 2013-19, finished with silver. Lauren Lowther and Danielle Keefe completed the race in the fifth and sixth positions to lead their team. 

The third-place UNB Reds also had two runners finish in the top 10. Sierra Rodrigues reached the finish line in third place, while Hilary Bishop came in at 10th. 

Ava Stefanovich-Thomson was Acadia's strongest runner, leading the team to a fourth-place standing. The fifth-place Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues were led by Sophie Black, while Katie Richard finished eighth for the sixth-place UPEI Panthers. 

Axewomen head coach Ralph Williams was positive about the Axewomen's fourth-place finish.

"I was very pleased with the results considering 5 out of the 7 athletes were rookies. The AUS competition is very competitive this year. So not bad considering we only had two athletes returning in the spring," said Williams.

Rounding out the field were the Memorial Sea-Hawks who were led by Maria Chafe, followed by Saint Mary's with Jacqueline Moore pacing the Huskies. 

The Axewomen will head to Halifax on Sat. Nov. 12 for the U SPORTS Women's Cross Country Championship hosted by Dalhousie and Saint Mary's