Oct. 26, 2024

ST. JOHN’S, NL (Oct. 26, 2024) – In a repeat of last season, the STFX X-Women and UNB REDS men’s cross country teams captured the 2024 AUS Cross Country Championships team titles Saturday afternoon at the meet hosted by Memorial University in St. John’s NL.

For the REDS, it is their second championship in a row and the 24^th overall in program history. For STFX, the banner is their fourth straight and 12^th overall.

Women’s Race Results

STFX’s Eileen Benoit (Windsor, NS) ran to an AUS gold medal in the women’s 8-kilometre race, finishing the course in a time of 30:24.0. The fourth-year runner has improved her standing every year – finishing fifth in 2021, fourth in 2022 and third in 2023.

In second place was Université de Moncton’s Sophie Black (Dieppe, NB), who finished 10 seconds back at 30:24.6 to earn her first ever individual medal. 

Benoit’s teammate, Caroline Ash (Newmarket, ON) earned the bronze medal with a time of 30:35.6. 

Rounding out the Top 7 named AUS First Team All-Stars were: STFX’S Mairin Canning (Antigonish, NS) in fourth, Dalhousie’s Molly Pert (Manotick, NS) in fifth, STFX’s Caden Lee (Richmond Hill, ON) in sixth and UNB’s Sierra Rodrigues (Bolton, ON) in seventh.

Finishers 8-14 picked up Second Team All-Star nods and were as follows: STFX’s Allie Sandluck (Thorburn, NS) and Poppy Moon (Bedford, NS) in eight and ninth, respectively, UNB’s Ivy Bialowas (Ottawa, ON) and Hilary Bishop (Milton, ON) in 10^th and 11^th, Dalhousie’s Breanna Sandluck (Thorburn, NS), Memorial’s Darcie Stapleton (Marystown, NL) in 13^th and Dal’s Zoe Doorenspleet (Toronto, ON) in 14^th spot.

Moon was the fastest first-year runner to cross the finish line, earning AUS Women’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year honours.

As a team, the X-Women earned 22 points to finish first, Dalhousie scored 68 points to earn the silver medal and UNB placed third with 72 points.

Men’s Race Results

UNB’s Jared Howse (Red Deer, AB) improved on his silver medal performance the last two seasons by being the first to cross the tape this year, finishing the 8km loop in a time of 24:53.8.

Last year’s winner, Dalhousie’s Jacob Benoit (Windsor, NS), took home this year’s silver medal after recording a time of 25:17.1.

Howse’s UNB teammate, William Boyle (Winnipeg, MB), earned the bronze medal with a time of 25:34.9.

Other Top 7 finishers to earn AUS First Team All-Star status included: UNB’s Silas Conlin-Morse (Wolfville, NS) in fourth place, Memorial’s William Pidduck (Toronto, ON) in fifth, UNB’s Brodie Pennie (Manitowagning, ON) in sixth spot and STFX’s Joel Gallant (Wellington, PE) in seventh.

Conlin-Morse earned the AUS Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year Award for being the fastest first-year runner to break the tape.

Earning Second Team All-Star selections were: STFX’s Liam McCullagh (Toronto, ON) in eighth position, UNB’s Mitchell Kean (Fredericton, NB) in ninth, STFX’s Griffin Gamble (Shad Bay, NS) and Brett King (Wolfville, NS) in 10^th and 11^th spot and Dalhousie’s Alex Rogers (Charlottetown, PE) and Aidan Goslett (Toronto, ON) in 12^th and 13^th place, respectively. STFX’s Luke MacDonald (Pictou, NS) rounded out the all-stars in 14^th place.

The REDS earned 23 points to win the men’s team title, while STFX finished in second place with 50 points. Dalhousie wound up third after combining for 63 points.

2024 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AND ALL-STARS  

Following the races, AUS all-star awards were presented to the top 14 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 Cross Country Athletes of the Year were awarded to the individual 2024 AUS champions – Eileen Benoit (Windor, NS) of STFX and Jared Howse (Red Deer, AB) of UNB. Both are first time winners of the award.

AUS Rookie of the Year Awards

The winners of the AUS Rookie of the Year awards were UNB’s Silas Conlin-Morse (Wolfville, NS), who finished fourth in a time of 25:56.1 and STFX’s Poppy Moon (Bedford, NS), who finished ninth in a time of 31:02.3.

AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Awards

(VERSION FRANÇAISE CI-DESSOUS)

Moncton’s Yannick Dupuis and Sophie Black were honoured as the 2024 AUS Cross Country Student-Athlete Community Service Award recipients.

A fifth-year runner from Dieppe, N.B., Black has excelled on and off the trails this season, earning first-place finishes in the first two races of the year held at Acadia and STFX.

In the classroom, Black completed the 2023-24 academic year with a 3.75/4.3 cumulative GPA and was named a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian while studying for her Master of Science in Nutrition.

For three seasons she has acted as team captain, providing leadership as well as nutrition education to her teammates through group presentations and individual consultations.

Black also serves as a student representative on the student council for the “École des sciences des aliments, de nutrition et d’études familiales” at Université de Moncton, as well as a member for the focus group for “Prevention of Eating Disorders” in the New Brunswick school system.

“Sophie is an extremely dedicated athlete as well as being a natural leader,” said Moncton head coach Steve LeBlanc. “Her success in the classroom is due to her work ethic and commitment to excellence. She is also very engaged in her faculty and in the community, providing knowledge and experience to help others.”

Dupuis, a third-year student from Notre-Dame, N.B. started the season off with a personal best time in the men’s 8-kilometre event, and ended the season by breaking that previous record by just over a minute.

As an Accounting student, Dupuis finished the 2023-24 academic year with an impressive 3.95/4.3 cumulative GPA.

Dupuis volunteers regularly with ‘Projet impôts’ – an initiative to help low-income individuals in the community and people in nursing homes to file their income taxes. On top of that, he also serves as the VP-Finance for the Faculty of Business annual gala at Université de Moncton.

“Yannick has shown great commitment to his training, his education and his community,” said LeBlanc. “As well as running for the Moncton cross country and track and field teams, he is a highly competitive high performance triathlete.”

Prix de SUA pour le service communautaire des athlètes-étudiants et athlètes-étudiantes

Yannick Dupuis et Sophie Black, de Moncton, ont été honorés en tant que récipiendaires du Prix du service communautaire des athlètes-étudiants et athlètes-étudiantes de cross-country de SUA pour 2024.

Coureuse de cinquième année originaire de Dieppe, au Nouveau-Brunswick, Sophie Black a excellé sur les pistes et en dehors de celles-ci cette saison, obtenant des premières places lors des deux premières courses de l'année tenues à Acadia et à STFX.

En classe, Mme Black a terminé l'année universitaire 2023-24 avec une moyenne cumulative de 3,75/4,3 et a été nommée étoile académique canadienne de U SPORTS alors qu'elle étudiait en vue de l'obtention d'une maîtrise en sciences de la nutrition.

Pendant trois saisons, elle a agi comme capitaine d'équipe, assurant le leadership ainsi que l'éducation nutritionnelle de ses coéquipiers et de ses coéquipières par l'entremise de présentations de groupe et de consultations individuelles.

Mme Black est également représentante des étudiants et des étudiantes au conseil étudiant de l'École des sciences des aliments, de nutrition et d'études familiales de l'Université de Moncton, ainsi que membre du groupe de discussion sur la prévention des troubles de l'alimentation dans le système scolaire du Nouveau-Brunswick.

« Sophie est une athlète extrêmement dévouée et un leader naturel, a déclaré l'entraîneur en chef de Moncton, Steve LeBlanc. Son succès en classe est attribuable à son éthique de travail et à son engagement envers l'excellence. Elle est également très engagée au sein de sa faculté et de la communauté, mettant ses connaissances et son expérience au service des autres. »

Yannick Dupuis, un étudiant de troisième année originaire de Notre-Dame, au Nouveau-Brunswick, a commencé la saison avec un record personnel dans l'épreuve masculine de 8 kilomètres, et a terminé la saison en battant ce record par un peu plus d'une minute.

Étudiant en comptabilité, M. Dupuis a terminé l'année universitaire 2023-24 avec une impressionnante moyenne pondérée cumulative de 3,95/4,3.

M. Dupuis fait régulièrement du bénévolat dans le cadre du Projet impôts, une initiative visant à aider les personnes à faible revenu de la collectivité et les personnes vivant dans des maisons de soins infirmiers à remplir leur déclaration de revenus. De plus, il agit à titre de vice-président aux finances pour le gala annuel de la Faculté des sciences de l'administration de l'Université de Moncton.

« Yannick a fait preuve d'un grand engagement à l'égard de son entraînement, de son éducation et de sa communauté, a déclaré M. LeBlanc. En plus de courir pour les équipes de cross-country et d'athlétisme de Moncton, il est un triathlète de haute performance très compétitif. »

AUS Coach of the Year

Eric Gillis of STFX earned his fourth consecutive AUS Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year Award. Chris Belof of UNB earned his second straight win on the men’s side.

2024 AUS CROSS COUNTRY ALL-STARS 
  
WOMEN 
First Team
Eileen Benoit, STFX (Windsor, NS)
Sophie Black, Moncton (Dieppe, NB)
Caroline Ash, STFX (Newmarket, ON)
Mairin Canning,STFX (Antigonish, NS)
Molly Pert, Dalhousie (Manotick, NS)
Caden Lee, STFX (Richmond Hill, ON)
Sierra Rodrigues, UNB (Bolton, ON)

Second Team  
Allie Sandluck, STFX (Thorburn, NS)
Poppy Moon, STFX (Bedford, NS)
Ivy Bialowas, UNB (Ottawa, ON)
Hilary Bishop, UNB (Milton, ON)
Breanna Sandluck, Dalhousie (Thorburn, NS)
Darcie Stapleton, Memorial (Marystown, NL)
Zoe Doorenspleet, Dalhousie (Toronto, ON)

MEN  

First Team  
Jared Howse, UNB (Red Deer, AB)
Jacob Benoit, Dalhousie (Windsor, NS)
William Boyle, UNB (Winnipeg, MB)
Silas Conlin-Morse, UNB (Wolfville, NS)
William Pidduck, Memorial (Toronto, ON)
Brodie Pennie, UNB (Manitowagning, NS)
Joel Gallant, STFX (Wellington, PE)

Second Team  
Liam McCullagh, STFX (Toronto, ON)
Mitchell Kean, UNB (Fredericton, NB)
Griffin Gamble, STFX (Shad Bay, NS)
Brett King, STFX (Wolfville, NS)
Alex Rogers, Dalhousie (Charlottetown, PE)
Aidan Goslett, Dalhousie (Toronto, ON)
Luke MacDonald, STFX (Pictou, NS)

2024 AUS All-Rookie Team

Women
Poppy Moon, STFX (Bedford, NS)
Claire Hamilton, UNB (Kingston, ON)
Alexandra Benevides, UNB (Antigonish, NS)

Men
Silas Conlin-Morse, UNB (Wolfville, NS)
Brodie Pennie, UNB (Manitowagning, NS)
Elijah Bayne, UNB (Virgil, ON)

2024 AUS CROSS COUNTRY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

AUS Women's Cross Country:  

• Athlete of the Year: Eileen Benoit, STFX 
• Rookie of the Year: Poppy Moon, STFX 
• Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Sophie Black, Moncton
• Coach of the Year: Eric Gillis, STFX

AUS Men's Cross Country:  

• Athlete of the Year: Jared Howse, UNB 
• Rookie of the Year: Silas Conlin-Morse, UNB 
• Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Yannick Dupuis, Moncton 
• Bernie Chisholm Award for Coach of the Year: Chris Belof, UNB

The 2024 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships will be hosted by UBC Okanagan Nov. 9 in Kelowna, BC. For more information, click here.