SHERBROOKE, QUE – Rookie
Luca Messenger-Jones just missed the podium but his fourth-place finish led McGill to capture the men's division at the Sherbrooke Invitational, on Saturday, in an RSEQ university cross-country meet.
It was the first race victory for the McGill men since winning the Sherbrooke meet almost exactly a year ago, on Oct. 14, 2023. Over the first three races of the current season, the Redbirds had been knocking at the door, collecting three second-place finishes.
Carabins distance runner
Thomas Laviolette was first of 97 runners, completing the eight-kilometre course in 25 minutes, seven seconds. Rounding out the podium spots was
Julien Marion of ETS (25:12) and Sherbrooke's
Felix Quirion (25:19).
Messenger-Jones, a 20-year-old exchange student from the UK, finished five seconds shy of a spot on the podium, crossing the finish line in 25:24.
Other McGillians in the scoring included
Devin Chapple (sixth, 25:26),
Jack Stanley (ninth, 25:59),
Samuel Hepworth (10th, 26:03) and
Sacha Dernoncourt (14th, 26:39).
The Redbirds tallied 43 points – based upon placing runners in fourth, sixth, ninth, 19th and 14th – to finish first of nine universities. McGill easily outdistanced the second-place Montreal Carabins (65). The host squad from Sherbrooke was third (67), followed by UQAM (121), ETS (170), UQTR (199), UQAC (229), Ottawa (279) and College Militaire Royale de St. Jean (409).
The next meet will be the RSEQ conference championships, an 8k race slated for Oct. 26 at Parc Saint-Lazare in Vaudreuil, Que.
WOMEN'S RACE RECAP
MEN'S RESULTS
RSEQ SCHEDULE & RESULTS
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
