StFX X-Women and Dalhousie Tigers win 2021 AUS women’s and men's cross country banners

StFX’s Siona Chisholm and SMU’s Andrew Peverill claim individual gold medals

(HALIFAX, N.S.) The StFX X-Women and Dalhousie Tigers raced to first-place for the women’s and men’s team finishes at the 2021 Subway AUS Cross Country Championships presented by Bell. Today’s wins mark StFX’s ninth AUS women’s cross country banner and Dalhousie’s 21st AUS men’s cross country banner.

The championships were hosted by the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus at U de M’s campus in Moncton, N.B.

WOMEN’S RACE RESULTS
In the women’s 8km race, the X-Women claimed one individual medal and had six of the top 10 finishers to earn their first AUS women’s cross country title since 2012.The X-Women’s Siona Chisholm captured gold with a time of 29.19.

The Dalhousie Tigers earned a second-place team finish with two finishers in the top 10. The Tigers’ Kelsey Hogan took the silver medal with a time of 30.37.

The UNB Reds took home team bronze, led by Ivy Bialowas, who finished 12^th with a time of 32.14, while the UPEI Panthers finished fourth, with Paige Chisholm earning an individual bronze with a time of 30.41. The Memorial Sea-Hawks finished fifth, with Jade Roberts earning a 6^th place with a time of 31.00.

StFX’s women’s team finished with a score of 25, followed by Dalhousie with 53 and UNB with 102.

MEN’S RACE RESULTS
In the men’s 8km race, the Tigers edged out the X-Men to claim their 21^st AUS men’s cross country title. The individual champion was Saint Mary's Huskies' Andrew Peverill, who finished the race with a time of 25.22. This was his second consecutive AUS championship gold.

The Tigers had four runners finish in the top 10—Will Cox in third (25.53), Nick Robertson (26.08) in sixth, Hudson Grimshaw-Surette (26.21) in seventh and Daniel Rosen (26.23) in eighth.

The X-Men claimed a second-place team finish and one spot on the podium. Jacob Benoit (25:30) took home a silver medal while Graydon Staples (25.57) finished fourth and Luc Gallant (26.26) finished eighth.

The UNB Reds earned team bronze, with rookie of the year Jared Howse (26.02) finishing fifth while the Saint Mary’s Huskies men’s team finished in fourth place, led by Peverill. The Memorial Sea-Hawks finished in fifth, with Levi Moulton (26.45) being the team’s top finisher in 11^th.

The Tigers finished with 36 team points. The X-Men followed with 52 and UNB claimed third with 60 points.

CLICK HERE for the Subway AUS Cross Country Championship Results

2021 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AND ALL-STARS

Following the races, AUS all-star awards were presented to the top seven finishers in each race, and individual medals, team medals and the AUS championship banners and trophies were handed out.

AUS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
The AUS athletes of the year were awarded to the individual AUS champions, Siona Chisholm (Antigonish, N.S.) from StFX and Andrew Peverill (Sackville, N.S.) from Saint Mary’s. This marked the third first-place finish of the 2021 season for both runners, and a second consecutive AUS championship individual win for Peverill.

AUS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
The winners of the AUS rookie of the year awards were StFX’s Siona Chisholm (Antigonish, N.S.) who finished in first with a time of 29.19 and UNB’s Jared Howse (Red Deer, AB) with a time of 26.02.

AUS STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS
UNB’s Natasha Vatcher and Memorial’s Levi Moulton were honoured as the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service award winners for 2021.

A second-year medicinal chemistry student from Oromocto, New Brunswick, Vatcher has been a Dean’s List honouree from 2019 through 2021. her recent academic achievements include being awarded the C. W. Argue Prize for fourth-year science students with high academic standings and a silver medal from the Canadian Society for Chemistry, which is presented to the top students entering their final year of chemistry at a Canadian university.

Vatcher volunteers her time with many organizations, including the Horizon Health Network, OPAL Family Services and the Oromocto Public Library. She’s also the founder and president of both the UNBCares Club and Hats for the Homeless, the president of the UNB Health Society and a UNB Science Peer Mentor for the Faculty of Science.

Moulton, a third-year human kinetics student from Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador, has had both academic and athletic success this season and throughout his AUS career. An Academic All-Canadian, he currently boasts a 4.0 GPA and has been named Memorial’s Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Outside of school, Moulton volunteers as a swimming instructor with the Easter Seals program, as a track coach with Pearlgate Track and Field and as an assistant coach with the FUNdamentals Special Olympics program. He has also recently completed the gold level of the Duke of Edinburgh program, which requires 52 weeks of community service.

AUS COACH OF THE YEAR
On the women's side, StFX’s Eric Gillis was named AUS Coach of the Year while Saint Mary's Kevin Heisler was named AUS Coach of the Year on the men's side, marking the first time a coach from Saint Mary's has won the award.

2021 AUS CROSS COUNTRY ALL-STARS:

WOMEN
Siona Chisholm, StFX (1^st year֫—Antigonish, N.S.)
Kelsey Hogan, Dalhousie (2^nd year—Halifax, N.S.)
Paige Chisholm, UPEI (5^th year—Port Williams, N.S.)
Mairin Canning, StFX (1^st year—Antigonish, N.S.)
Eileen Benoit, StFX (1^st year—Windsor, N.S.)
Jade Roberts, Memorial (3rd year—Twillingate, N.L.)
Julia Cameron, StFX (1^st year—Etobicoke, ON) 

MEN

Andrew Peverill, Saint Mary’s (4th year—Sackville, N.S.)
Jacob Benoit, StFX (2^nd year—Windsor, N.S.)
Will Cox, Dalhousie (2^nd year—Ottawa, ON.)
Graydon Staples, StFX (3rd year—Shanty Bay, ON)
Jared Howse, UNB (1^st year—Red Deer, AB)
Nick Robertson, Dalhousie (3rd year—Charlottetown P.E.I.)
Hudson Grimshaw-Surette, Dalhousie (4th year—Yarmouth, N.S.)

2021 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS:

AUS Women’s Cross Country

• Athlete of the Year:  Siona Chisholm, StFX (1^st year֫—Antigonish, N.S.)
• Rookie of the Year: Siona Chisholm, StFX (1^st year֫—Antigonish, N.S.)
• Student-Athlete Community Service Award:  Natasha Vatcher, UNB (2^nd year—Oromocto, N.B.)
• Coach of the Year: Eric Gillis, StFX
   

AUS Men’s Cross Country

• Athlete of the Year: Andrew Peverill, Saint Mary’s (4th year – Sackville, N.S.)
• Rookie of the Year: Jared Howse, UNB (1st year – Red Deer, AB)
• Student-Athlete Community Service Award:  Levi Moulton, Memorial (3^rd year—Paradise, NFLD)
• Bernie Chisholm Award for Coach of the Year: Kevin Heisler, Saint Mary's

The U SPORTS national championship meet will take place November 20, 2021, at Université Laval in Québec City, QC.