Guelph tops both the men’s and women’s rankings but the real story is how tight the races seem to be throughout the top ten. The season opened last weekend in Sudbury as Samantha Edwards won the Laurentien Open 5k in 20:05, with Laurentian and Nipissing universities present, and will really kick into gear on September 15th in Montreal with the McGill Open (McGill, Western, Concordia, Sherbrooke, Laval, Université de Montréal, UQAM, South Maine, and others), and in Kingston with the Queen’s Invitational (Queens and OUA schools).
Men
Guelph takes the top spot, and Windsor surprisingly falls to 4th. Unnoticed perhaps during the Gryphon dynasty is that the Lancers have been almost untouchable themselves. With Victoria and Laval returning almost all their runners, and Windsor going through some changes, this could be the opening that’s been missing since 2008 when St. FX surprised with a young team and pushed the Blue and Gold down to 3rd.
Guelph 60 (6)
Victoria 47
Laval 44
Windsor 43
McMaster 32
Regina 30
Queens 29
St. FX 17
Calgary 11
Toronto 10
Others: Western (5), Manitoba (1), Lakehead (1),
Women
The pollsters had McMaster as low as 6th and as high as 1st, Western as high as 1st and as low as 8th, and votes for Victoria were tightly bunched from 2nd to 4th. Guelph held down the top spot again, but with all the incoming talent elsewhere, could this be the year the Gryphs are knocked from their presumptive pedastal? Distance running enthusiasts eagerly await the starting gun on the season, and the promise of answers.
Guelph 58 (4)
Victoria 50
McMaster 45 (1)
Western 41 (1)
McGill 34
Saskatchewan 24
Calgary 19
Queens 15
Toronto 12
St. FX 11
Others: Laval (8), Alberta (7), Dalhousie (4), Windsor (2)
Information about voters: Chris Moulton (Guelph, Ontario), Stephen Gersten (Regina, Saskatchewan), Jeremy Walsh (Hamilton, Ontario), Rich Lehman (Halifax, Nova Scotia), John Lofranco (Montreal, Quebec), Jeff Barr (Toronto, Ontario)