Dinos cross the winning country against U of A

By Cam Cotton-O’Brien

The strongest Dinos cross-country team in recent memory made the trip to Edmonton where they stripped the host Golden Bears of the Stewart Cup Oct. 26 and 27.

Both the men’s and women’s teams won the race, trotting out a Dinos overall victory. Geoff Kerr finished first in the Stewart Cup and second in the provincial championship (the race serves twofold). Dino Matt Cloutier was at fourth and Ryan Russell at sixth. Grant Burwash, who finished ninth, also placed in the top 10 of the men’s open. The women’s performance was stellar with Jessica O’Connell coming in second and four others ranking in the top 10: Natalie Thompson in fifth, Faye Stenning in sixth, Heather Sim in seventh and Hilary Johnston in 10th.

Head Coach Doug Lamont feels that this is the strongest team the Dinos have had in a long time and it showed on the weekend.

“Geoff [Kerr] is looking as fit as he was last year when he won the national championship,” Lamont said. “On the men’s side, the biggest surprise was Ryan Russell, who has struggled all season, but then came out with a big one. The other guys basically ran what we expected of them. On the women’s side, the biggest performance was put in by rookie Jessica O’Connell. She was our top placer, [winning] second. The rest of the girls are a formidable pack. They are all in a pack together and in a nice space which makes for a strong showing.”

Lamont noted the team is enthusiastic about going to Victoria for the national championships Nov. 10.

“The team members are excited about the possibilities, given the fact that overall this is probably the strongest group of athletes we have taken to CIS in a long time,” he said. “On any given day, both the men’s and women’s teams could medal at CIS.”

Team member Neal Austin echoed this opinion.

“For the first time in the last couple years the guy’s team stepped it up as a whole,” said Austin optimistically. “Our team is super-deep relative to other years. I’m excited to see the performance at CIS.”

The Stewart Cup is named in commemoration of Gerry and Brian Stewart, two brothers who raced for the track and cross-country teams at the U of C and U of A respectively. Exemplary students, they went missing while climbing a mountain in Russia in summer 2003, and have never been located. The U of C and U of A alternate hosting duties for the race each year, adding a special feature in their memory.

“The Stewarts always wore plaid shorts for competition, so on that day we always encourage athletes to wear plaid shorts,” said Lamont.