Loyalist Lancers cross-country team does well in Brighton

The Loyalist Lancers hosted their first Loyalist Cross Country Invitational on Friday.

The event last week was at Dunnett Orchards in Brighton and included nine other OCAA programs. There were a total of 84 runners for the event that serves as a test, ahead of the OCAA Provincial Championships on Halloween in London, Ontario.

 

Here’s the race report from the Lancers:

The Lancers were represented by August Down (Campbellford, ON) in the women’s competition, and the lone Loyalist runner delivered an impressive result against a strong field of 36 athletes.

Down completed the course in 29:17, good for 23rd overall, while averaging a pace of 4:53 per kilometre. Competing in a highly competitive race, she finished just over two minutes outside the top 15 and continued what has been a strong season so far.

On the men’s side, the Lancers produced a tightly-grouped performance led by Andrew Francioni (Wasaga Beach, ON) and Michael Griepsma (Lindsay, ON), who crossed the finish line in consecutive positions.

Francioni led the team with a time of 32:54, finishing 29th overall, while Griepsma was immediately behind in 30th place with a time of 32:55.

Jaxen Fluke (Stirling, ON) was close behind the pair, continuing his strong rookie season with a 32nd-place finish in 33:10 after looking particularly strong through the opening half of the race.

Rounding out the Loyalist men’s squad were Ian Quilty (Belleville, ON), who finished 43rd in 35:39, and Christopher Menard (Uxbride, ON), who crossed the line 44th in 37:10.