QUEBEC CITY – Matthew Beaudet, a distance runner from the McGill University men's cross-country team, finished seventh of 130 entrants overall to earn All-Canadian status at the U SPORTS national championship on the Plains of Abraham, Saturday.

Beaudet, a 21-year-old electrical engineering sophomore from Montreal, completed the eight-kilometre course in 24 minutes, 47.5 seconds. The RSEQ individual champion, who measures 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds, finished 20 seconds behind Guelph's Mitchell Ubene, who won the men's individual title in 24:27.5. Laval teammates Thomas Fafard (24:28.6) and Jean-Simon Desgagnes (24:30.3), claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The top seven runners merited first-team honours, while the next seven made the second team.

It marks only the eighth time in McGill history that a male has qualified for All-Canadian status and the first since Alex Hutchinson made the first team in 1996 after earning a berth on the second squad in 1995. Other McGillians to accomplish that feat include David O'Hara (1st; 1994) and two-time honouree Jean-Nicolas Duval (1st in 1994; 2nd in 1993), Michael Byers (1st, 1989) and Robert Quinn (1st, 1985).

McGill finished 10th of 15 schools in the men's team scoring but didn't qualify enough runners on the women's side, to count in the standings.

It was a historic day for host Laval, which finished atop the podium in both the men's and women's races at the event, presented by Quebec Egg Producers Federation.
 
Led by individual champion Jessy Lacourse, the Laval women's team placed four runners in the Top 10 for an impressive score of 35, well ahead of Western (106) and Guelph (119). On the men's side, it was a much closer call, with Laval (62) managing to edge out Guelph (67) and McMaster (79).
 
This was the second title for Laval in both the men's and women's categories. Their ladies triumphed in 2018 in Kingston, while the men's won their only title at the same venue in 2016 on the Plains of Abraham.

Other McGill finishers behind Beaudet in the men's division included Henry Wellenstein (38th, 25:52.5) of Wauwatosa, Wisc., Tom Secheyron (66th, 26:30.9) of Bellevue, Wash., William Davalan (75th, 26:41.5), a medical student from St. Bruno de Montarville, Que., Jack Stanley (80th, 26:48.0) of Victoria, B.C., Noah El Rimawi-Fine (93rd, 27:09.7) of Keene Valley, N.Y., and Jake McClure (114th, 28:07.7) of Seaforth, Ont.

On the women's side, McGill had two members among the 128 who participated in the race.

Chloe Fleurent-Gregoire, a fifth-year veteran from Laval, Que., finished 34th in 30:33.4, while senior Maia Watson of Victoria, B.C., was 94th in 32:35.0.

Complete Results
 

MEN'S 8K RACE
 
Team Standings
1. Laval, 62 points
2. Guelph, 67
3. McMaster, 79
4. UBC, 105
5. Western, 187
6. Queen's, 196
7. Dalhousie, 223
8. Alberta, 233
9. Calgary, 244
10. McGill, 260
11. Victoria, 264
12. Toronto, 277
13. Saskatchewan, 395
14. Montreal, 434
15. StFX, 459
 
Individual Awards
Athlete of the Year: Mitchell Ubene, Guelph
Rookie of the Year: Matthew Beaudet, McGill
Community Service Student-Athlete Award: Eric Lutz, Calgary
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Félix-Antoine Lapointe, Laval
 
First Team All-Canadian (Top 7 runners)
1. Mitchell Ubene, Guelph, 24:27.5
2. Thomas Fafard, Laval, 24:28.6
3. Jean-Simon Desgagnés, Laval, 24:30.3
4. Andrew Davis, McMaster, 24:38.9
5. John Perrier, Guelph, 24:40.3
6. Thomas Nobbs, UBC, 24:41.4
7. Matthew Beaudet, McGill, 24:47.5
 
Second Team All-Canadian (Runners 8-14)
8. Eric Lutz, Calgary, 24:51.0
9. Nicholas Bannon, Guelph, 24:53.4
10. Max Turek, McMaster, 24:56.7
11. Jonathan Tedeschi, Laval, 24:59.2
12. Tyler Dozzi, UBC, 25:07.0
13. Mitchell Kirby, Queen's, 25:08.1
14. Joshua Kozelj, UBC, 25:12.4


WOMEN'S 8K RACE
 
Team Standings
 
1. Laval, 35 points
2. Western, 106
3. Guelph, 119
4. UBC, 124
5. Saskatchewan, 147
6. McMaster, 206
7. StFX, 224
8. UBCO, 224
9. Montreal, 269
10. Queen's, 289
11. Toronto, 304
12. Victoria, 323
13. Calgary, 333
14. Waterloo, 443
15. Sherbrooke, 454
16. Wilfrid Laurier, 577
 
Individual Awards
Athlete of the Year: Jessy Lacourse, Laval
Rookie of the Year: Lauren McNeil, UBC-Okanagan
Community Service Student Athlete Award: Kiana Gibson, Guelph
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Félix-Antoine Lapointe, Laval
 
First All-Canadian All-Star Team (Top 7 runners)
1. Jessy Lacourse, Laval, 28:25.5
2. Lauren McNeil, UBCO, 28:28.2
3. Catherine Beauchemin, Laval, 28:41.8
4. Anne-Marie Comeau, Laval, 28:43.2
5. Kaytlin Harrison, Saskatchewan, 28:45.6
6. Joanna Brown, UBCO, 28:47.6
7. Jazz Shukla, Toronto, 29:08.0
 
Second All-Canadian All-Star Team (Runners 8-14)
8. Kiana Gibson, Guelph, 29:09.0
9. Jade Bérubé, Laval, 29:13.3
10. Olivia Roussel, Guelph, 29:17.3
11. Heidi Ohrling, Western, 29:30.4
12. Mackenzie Campbell, UBC, 29:35.5
13. Siona Chisholm, StFX, 29:39.1
14. Zoe Burke, Western, 29:40.2


SOURCE:
U SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
and
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Off.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca