1. Guelph – DST is the Thomas Sutpen of the CIS, ruthless ambitious in his quest to construct a great dynasty. That ambition was on display at Paul Short, where a strong team effort re-established the Gryphons as Canada’s top XC team. That title was put in doubt by a second place finish at UWO, but remember that key runners Laurie and Lalonde were absent that race. With these two ruenning, the Gryphons are the favourites for the win, and DST will be adding another banner (or two) to his Welfenschatz[1]. Cliff and Pearo are likely going to have some battles at the championship meets, and the winner of that battle could end up deciding the team winner as well, given how closely these two squads appear to be matched. Guelph has the big names; proven veterans who will undoubtedly get it done on the big day. Conversely, Mac has some young upstarts who are clearly capable of big things. Are they up to the challenge of ending the Gryphons 5 year win streak? As Mr. Mottram would say that all depends on the size of their balls….
2. McMaster – An upset at UWO over the Gryphs and a strong team run in Chicago solidify this team as the number 2 in the nation. They also inch closer to the might Gryphon, providing some excitement at the top heading into the championship season. Pearo is a contender, possibly even a favourite for the individual title at OUAs and CIS (if you can win Western, you must be a contender for the CIS win, right?). Coates, Anderson and MacNeil are running fast and all look like top 20 threats. Solid depth makes the Marauders a lethal team, ready to strike on any weaknesses the Gryphons offer up. This is clearly a two-team race for the National title. A betting man would take Guelph, but a man with a soul would pick the underdawgs from Steel-city. I have a gambling problem, so I’m sticking with Guelph.
3. Victoria – Julia “Take a Tschanz on me” Tschanz won the Charles Bowles Invite in 17:26, proving she hasn’t lost a step since indoors when she won multiple medals in the distance events at the CIS meet. Moron, Mitic, Roske and Jean are again in shape and rolling for Coach Butler and Coach Fougner. When your 7th woman hits 18:33 for 5km, you know you are in business, no matter how fast the course is. So long as things continue for the Vikettes, this team is putting up a strong case as to why they are the most likely one to get on the podium in November. They have the low-stick at the front and fantastic depth to back it up. Getting another runner or two a bit closer to Tschanz and Moran would be helpful, but Fougner can’t always get what he wants (though we think that, for a podium finish, he’s got what he needs).
4. Calgary – Stenning, MacDonald, Querengesser, Kary, Kanuka. These are the 5 that led Calgary to victory at the U of S open, beating many of their western Canadian rivals. Now, this is a similar team to last year’s that we hyped as the CanWest favourites. That team fell short of our expectations, and likely their own. However, the 2010 edition has a lot of carryover from that team. And we are no fickle, fairweather fans. If we learned anything in our years in the CIS, it’s that a team that chokes once at CIS likely will not come back the following year and make the same mistake. Calgary is too good to not make some noise in the top 4 or 5 this year, and perhaps they are good enough to take the bronze. The last time CIS were in Quebec City, 2008, the Dinettes won bronze led by a solid run out of Querengesser. Can she repeat her heroics of 2008 and carry her teammates on to the podium? We believe.
5. Alberta – Findley has been a no-show so far this fall, but that’ll likely change when the big meets come along. Deguast lead Da Pandas in Quebec City with a solid 15:20 on a hilly course. Soderberg and Bergeron also ran capably in the 2-3 helping Alberta to a narrow win over McGill. It’s great to see some head-to-head competition pre-championship season in the CIS. Not only does it make our job easier, it likely creates some additional rivalries that will do nothing but make CIS even more exciting. The Martlets will be thirsty for Panda blood at CIS. And why shouldn’t they be? Alberta went all the way to Quebec to steal the team title away from perennial Quebec champs McGill. The only way to get revenge is to take it to Da Pands at the most important race of the year, in the most savage way possible.
6. Mcgill – Sarah McCuaig ran very well in Quebec City last weekend on the Plaines to take the individual title. She looks like an AC threat and gives the Martlets a low-stick that they desperately need to climb up the team ranks. Behind her, Barrett is relying on Puel, Cummings and Drouin-Audet to pack up. This group ran well against the Pandas last weekend, and a collective effort to get ahead of their main opposition such as Alberta will pay off in a big way at Nationals. This may mean more hill repeats of Mount Royal, or perhaps less orders of the great Montreal Poutine. Not sure what Barrett’s training methods are, but these girls need to get serious if they want any chance of being something other than an also ran in 2010.
7. Queen’s – Hate to say it, but this squad is starting to scare us. They had what appeared to be an outside chance at a medal in the pre-season, but the loss of Sexton and not a whole lot of improvement from some of their key members from 2009 mean Queen’s will drop down our rankings list. Larocque is steady and proving to be a strong leader in her 4th year. Hulse is running like the thoroughbred she was expected to be when Coach Bulak made his recruiting pitch to her a way back in 2009. Beyound these two, Boyd has an arsenal of strong, but not top of the line talent to keep the Gaels in the top 10. He’ll need to take a break from message board bickering and peak this team with great care and skill if they’re to improve on last year’s 10th place edition. It’s a far cry from the pre-season hype, where we thought the Gaels might be returning to the level of their Beth-Wightman-led golden years.
8. Western – Pieterson and Desjardins had solid runs in Chicago, giving UWO a good 1-2 punch. This team has had a lot of turnover from last year and the new faces are doing a good job of upholding the rich tradition of UWO women’s cross-country. Hambleton, Bays and Savill also ran well and give UWO a good shot at taking down Queen’s and U of T in the OUA. This would put them into the bronze at Provincials, meaning they are a sure-bet at this point for a top 10 in the CIS (provided that the course is clearly marked).
9. St. FX - They had a solid run in Fredericton, just squeeking out the victory over Dal. Kennanberg led in 18:06 with all other X scorers coming in under 19:35. Not a bad day at the office for Coach Chisholm, although he's probably getting worried about the battle ahead at AUS. This group of X women have been together for a few years now and are probably hoping to leave Antigonish with another AUS team title. MacNeil and Bates have started the season well and need to continue to progress. Now that the male Czech cross-country stallions from X have graduated (as has John Corbit, the colt who can never be tamed), these ladies have no distractions at practice, and can focus solely on the running.
2. McMaster – An upset at UWO over the Gryphs and a strong team run in Chicago solidify this team as the number 2 in the nation. They also inch closer to the might Gryphon, providing some excitement at the top heading into the championship season. Pearo is a contender, possibly even a favourite for the individual title at OUAs and CIS (if you can win Western, you must be a contender for the CIS win, right?). Coates, Anderson and MacNeil are running fast and all look like top 20 threats. Solid depth makes the Marauders a lethal team, ready to strike on any weaknesses the Gryphons offer up. This is clearly a two-team race for the National title. A betting man would take Guelph, but a man with a soul would pick the underdawgs from Steel-city. I have a gambling problem, so I’m sticking with Guelph.
3. Victoria – Julia “Take a Tschanz on me” Tschanz won the Charles Bowles Invite in 17:26, proving she hasn’t lost a step since indoors when she won multiple medals in the distance events at the CIS meet. Moron, Mitic, Roske and Jean are again in shape and rolling for Coach Butler and Coach Fougner. When your 7th woman hits 18:33 for 5km, you know you are in business, no matter how fast the course is. So long as things continue for the Vikettes, this team is putting up a strong case as to why they are the most likely one to get on the podium in November. They have the low-stick at the front and fantastic depth to back it up. Getting another runner or two a bit closer to Tschanz and Moran would be helpful, but Fougner can’t always get what he wants (though we think that, for a podium finish, he’s got what he needs).
4. Calgary – Stenning, MacDonald, Querengesser, Kary, Kanuka. These are the 5 that led Calgary to victory at the U of S open, beating many of their western Canadian rivals. Now, this is a similar team to last year’s that we hyped as the CanWest favourites. That team fell short of our expectations, and likely their own. However, the 2010 edition has a lot of carryover from that team. And we are no fickle, fairweather fans. If we learned anything in our years in the CIS, it’s that a team that chokes once at CIS likely will not come back the following year and make the same mistake. Calgary is too good to not make some noise in the top 4 or 5 this year, and perhaps they are good enough to take the bronze. The last time CIS were in Quebec City, 2008, the Dinettes won bronze led by a solid run out of Querengesser. Can she repeat her heroics of 2008 and carry her teammates on to the podium? We believe.
5. Alberta – Findley has been a no-show so far this fall, but that’ll likely change when the big meets come along. Deguast lead Da Pandas in Quebec City with a solid 15:20 on a hilly course. Soderberg and Bergeron also ran capably in the 2-3 helping Alberta to a narrow win over McGill. It’s great to see some head-to-head competition pre-championship season in the CIS. Not only does it make our job easier, it likely creates some additional rivalries that will do nothing but make CIS even more exciting. The Martlets will be thirsty for Panda blood at CIS. And why shouldn’t they be? Alberta went all the way to Quebec to steal the team title away from perennial Quebec champs McGill. The only way to get revenge is to take it to Da Pands at the most important race of the year, in the most savage way possible.
6. Mcgill – Sarah McCuaig ran very well in Quebec City last weekend on the Plaines to take the individual title. She looks like an AC threat and gives the Martlets a low-stick that they desperately need to climb up the team ranks. Behind her, Barrett is relying on Puel, Cummings and Drouin-Audet to pack up. This group ran well against the Pandas last weekend, and a collective effort to get ahead of their main opposition such as Alberta will pay off in a big way at Nationals. This may mean more hill repeats of Mount Royal, or perhaps less orders of the great Montreal Poutine. Not sure what Barrett’s training methods are, but these girls need to get serious if they want any chance of being something other than an also ran in 2010.
7. Queen’s – Hate to say it, but this squad is starting to scare us. They had what appeared to be an outside chance at a medal in the pre-season, but the loss of Sexton and not a whole lot of improvement from some of their key members from 2009 mean Queen’s will drop down our rankings list. Larocque is steady and proving to be a strong leader in her 4th year. Hulse is running like the thoroughbred she was expected to be when Coach Bulak made his recruiting pitch to her a way back in 2009. Beyound these two, Boyd has an arsenal of strong, but not top of the line talent to keep the Gaels in the top 10. He’ll need to take a break from message board bickering and peak this team with great care and skill if they’re to improve on last year’s 10th place edition. It’s a far cry from the pre-season hype, where we thought the Gaels might be returning to the level of their Beth-Wightman-led golden years.
8. Western – Pieterson and Desjardins had solid runs in Chicago, giving UWO a good 1-2 punch. This team has had a lot of turnover from last year and the new faces are doing a good job of upholding the rich tradition of UWO women’s cross-country. Hambleton, Bays and Savill also ran well and give UWO a good shot at taking down Queen’s and U of T in the OUA. This would put them into the bronze at Provincials, meaning they are a sure-bet at this point for a top 10 in the CIS (provided that the course is clearly marked).
9. St. FX - They had a solid run in Fredericton, just squeeking out the victory over Dal. Kennanberg led in 18:06 with all other X scorers coming in under 19:35. Not a bad day at the office for Coach Chisholm, although he's probably getting worried about the battle ahead at AUS. This group of X women have been together for a few years now and are probably hoping to leave Antigonish with another AUS team title. MacNeil and Bates have started the season well and need to continue to progress. Now that the male Czech cross-country stallions from X have graduated (as has John Corbit, the colt who can never be tamed), these ladies have no distractions at practice, and can focus solely on the running.
10. Windsor - With Toronto's subpar run in Chicago, Windsor has moved into the 10th position in the country. Given they averaged 19:07 (albeit on a fast course), they probably deserve to be ranked. This is a legit team with a legit spread between 1-5, but given the way the CIS have improved in recent years, a 19:07 average doesn't get you very far. Not long ago a team like this would have a shot at a top 4 or 5, but in 2010 this team will be stretched to get into the top 10. Kellam appears to be the leader of this squad on the course and is followed by the Gill sisters. This squad, much like Queen's, is one that has very good depth, but no really established front-runners to rely on. Some resourceful mid-season recruiting would do wonders for Fairall's Lancers.. hint hint.. Coach.
[1] The Welfenschatz, or “Guelph Treasure,” is a collection of Medieval relics founded by the Duke Henry the Lion, from the Brunswick Province of Bavaria, in 1195. The collection grew to include hundreds of items, dating from the 9th Century through to the 15th Century. Until 1929, these items remained in the hands of the Dukes of Brunswick, but finally economic pressures forced the family to sell the collection, and the various pieces have since been scattered amongst various museum collection across the world. Since the disintegration of the Dukes of Brunswick’s collection, the collection of CIS banners at Guelph University
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