The Gee-Gees cross country team competed at the Rouge et Or Invitational in Quebec City on Saturday. Strong runs on a clear day from several younger members of the Gee-Gees team powered uOttawa to sixth place finishes in both the men's and women's standings.
The women's 8km event saw first-year Gee-Gee Keili Shepard as the top finisher in Garnet and Grey. Shepard, who hails from Ottawa originally, was also uOttawa's top finisher at the first meet of the year back on Sept. 16. On Saturday she turned in a time of 32:35.85 to place 29th overall. Team mates Samantha Klus and Jenna Rossi followed shortly behind at 32:49.69 and 32:54.02, respectively, to finish in the top 35.
"The course conditions were ideal," said Rossi, who is also a first-year Gee-Gee and studying Biochemistry. "The weather was beautiful and the temperature was just right - not too cold, but not terribly hot either. The course itself was dry, which made running around those turns and up and down the hills pretty clean - and quick!"
Nicolas Roberts, another team member originally from Ottawa, was the top finisher on the men's team. The second-year Human Kinetics student placed 23rd with a time of 33:44.83. Roberts was slightly ahead of team mates Alex Berhe (33:52.45) and Ziyad El Hankoouri (33:55.04), who placed 27th and 28th, respectively.
Full results will be available on the Laval Rouge et Or website.
