Lauren McNeil made UBC Okanagan history on Saturday afternoon at Mission Recreation Park as she captured the individual gold medal in the women's eight-kilometer race at the 2024 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships.
UBCO Heat Athletics report for November 9th and 10th
McNeil, who was running in the event for the second time after winning the silver medal at the 2021 U SPORTS Championship in Quebec City, took the lead on the second lap of the two-kilometer course and never looked back. She would post a time of 26 minutes and 31 seconds, shattering the course record of 28:12 set by Katie Newlove at the 2023 Canada West Championship to take home the first U SPORTS individual gold medal in Heat history.
"It's incredible," said McNeil after the race. "I think it's not really quite sunk in. Still a bit delusional. It was amazing out there today, just with the home crowd and everyone out there supporting. Honestly, I couldn't have done it without them, like the crowd kept me going when I was feeling the pain."
The race was anything but smooth sailing for McNeil, a European Championship gold medalist in the women's half marathon with Team Great Britain earlier this summer. The 5-1 native of Buxton, England found herself well back of the lead runners after the opening kilometer. However, after making her move in the second kilometer, she took the lead with a blazing time of 3:07 on the third kilometer and never looked back, winning by 11 seconds over Trinity Western's Constance Nankivell.
"Lauren had a phenomenal race today and I think she just ran controlled and she was poised through the whole race," commented Heat head coach Malindi Elmore following race. "She had a tough start and was way back in the pack as [the leaders] got off the line really fast. She just gradually moved her way through the field and then took control in the last couple of kilometers and brought it home really strong."
The victory also earned McNeil the title of U SPORTS Outstanding Athlete of the Year, an accolade which has never been achieved by another Heat athlete in school history, as well as the honour of being named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian.
Joining McNeil is picking up additional awards on Saturday was Heat rookie Sophie Hamilton of Salmon Arm, B.C. Competing in her first national championship, the Canada West Rookie of the Year repeated her feat from the conference championship and took home U SPORTS Rookie of the Year honours after placing 44th in a time of 28:47. She earned the recognition, as well as a spot on the U SPORTS All-Rookie team, after edging out Poppy Moon from the St. FX X-Women by one second.
"Sophie's been a little bit of a secret weapon for us because she was injured her first two years and so she's seemingly come of out of the blue this year," added Elmore. "She was actually part of our Jr. Heat program in grade 11 and 12 so she showed promise for a lot of years. I think through the season she started to really build her confidence and that's really helped because her fitness has been there but it took her a few races to realize that she actually belongs where she's running."
Another notable Heat finish came from fourth-year Kristen Smith of Georgetown, Ont., who had her best-ever result at a national championship, finishing 23rd in 27:56.
Joining Smith in contributing to the Heat's team score was Brooke Lawlor of Vernon, B.C., who finished 78th in 29:35 while Lys Milne of Salmon Arm, B.C., crossed the line in 86th in 29:49.
Thanks to those five runners, the Heat earned a sixth-place result in the team standings, the second-best result for the program at a U SPORTS Championship following their fifth-place showing in Halifax two years ago.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Western Mustangs - 60 points
2. UBC Thunderbirds - 85
3. Victoria Vikes - 94
4. St. FX X-Women - 120
5. Queen's Gaels - 164
6. UBCO Heat - 193
7. McMaster Marauders - 220
8. Waterloo Warriors - 255
9. Guelph Gryphons - 257
10. Laval Rouge et Or - 269
11. Sherbrooke Vert et Or - 283
12. Toronto Varsity Blues - 301
13. Saskatchewan Huskies - 305
14. Montreal Carabins - 307
15. McGill Martlets - 312
HEAT INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Lauren McNeil - 26:31 - U SPORTS Gold Medalist, U SPORTS Outstanding Athlete of the Year, U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian
23. Kristen Smith - 27:56
44. Sophie Hamilton - 28:47 - U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, U SPORTS All-Rookie Team
78. Brooke Lawlor - 29:35
86. Lys Milne - 29:49
93. Ella Wigmore - 29:55
120. Madelyn Kaban - 30:57
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Baker leads men's cross country at U SPORTS Championships
Third-year runner Isaac Baker posted the third-best individual finish by a UBC Okanagan Heat men's cross country runner at the U SPORTS Championships on Saturday as the
Heat hosted the 2024 championships at Mission Recreation Park.
Baker, a native of Surrey, B.C., finished the very fast eight-kilometer course in a time of 24 minutes, 55 seconds to claim 76th in the field of 152 runners.
That result trails only the 60th place finish posted by Connor Baerg in 2021 and a 74th place showing for Michael Mitchell in 2019.
The result was also an improvement of 28 places from Baker's showing at the 2023 championships held in London, Ontario last season.
For the first time in team history, the Heat fielded a full men's team at the U SPORTS Championships, which they were hosting for the first time.
As a team, UBCO finished 21st with 529 points.
Joining Baker in counting towards the Heat's team score were Owen Lloyd (101st), Kyle Porter (121st), Aidan Small (132nd) and Christopher Crowe (133rd).
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Queen's Gaels - 94 points
2. Sherbrooke Vert et Or - 130
3. Laval Rouge et Or - 145
4. Guelph Gryphons - 160
5. UNB Reds - 161
6. UBC Thunderbirds - 196
7. McMaster Marauders - 201
8. Western Mustangs - 254
9. Victoria Vikes - 266
10. McGill Redbirds - 273
11. Trinity Western Spartans - 285
12. Alberta Golden Bears - 294
13. Saskatchewan Huskies - 318
14. Montreal Carabins - 319
15. St. FX X-Men - 335
16. Regina Cougars - 367
17. Lakehead Thunderwolves - 437
18. Manitoba Bisons - 455
19. Waterloo Warriors - 490
20. Calgary Dinos - 513
21. UBCO Heat - 529
22. UPEI Panthers - 670
HEAT INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
76. Isaac Baker - 24:55
101. Owen Lloyd - 25:14
121. Kyle Porter - 25:41
132. Aidan Small - 26:04
133. Christopher Crowe - 26:05
143. Joel Worman - 26:37
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Women's basketball drops pair of hard-fought games to Cascades
The UBC Okanagan Heat women's basketball team suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of the UFV Cascades on the road this past weekend, falling 76-63 on Friday night before losing 84-75 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
Facing a strong Cascades team that was ranked fifth in the preseason coaches poll, the Heat played UFV close on the opening night of the weekend doubleheader. After winning the second and third quarters, UBCO found themselves trailing by just two points heading to the fourth.
However, the host Cascades were able to pull away in the final 10 minutes as they hit 5-of-6 three-point attempts to come away with the victory.
Seniors Kelsey Falk of Vernon, B.C., and Lily Pink of Kelowna, B.C., led the way for the Heat in the weekend opener. Falk recorded her first double-double of the season, and 19th of her career, as she posted a team-high 13 points along with 10 rebounds.
As for Pink, she added 12 points and five rebounds while shooting an efficient 3-of-4 from the field, and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
Rookie guard Kiana Kaczur of Kamloops, B.C., chipped in with 10 points off the bench, her first time hitting double figures in her young Heat career.
On Saturday, the Heat came out strong against the Cascades and opened up a 12-point lead at halftime. However, UFV would erase that advantage in the third quarter, forcing the Heat to play catch up in the fourth.
The final frame in regulation would come down to the final play, where the Heat ran an in-bounds play for Falk, who hit a turn-around jumped at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
In the extra frame, the Cascades Deanne Tuchscherer would show her quality, hitting all four of her shots to give her team the win.
Rookie guard Tsuzki Tsuzuki of Calgary, paced the offence for the Heat, finishing with a team-high 17 points, including six in overtime, along with three rebounds and two steals.
Lauren Foullong of Orangeville, Ont., added 12 points while Pink hit double-figures for the second-straight contest, finishing with 11 points.
"Over the last two weeks, we have really grown as a team," commented head coach Bobby Mitchell after the weekend action. "We didn't get the results we wanted this weekend but played out brand of basketball showed great mental fitness in tough situations. We will take the lessons learned this weekend back with us and continue to work towards putting four quarters of basketball together."
The weekend results leave the Heat with a 2-2 record, sitting in fourth-place in the Pacific division, while the Cascades move to 3-1, tied with the Victoria Vikes for second in the division.
UBCO will return to action on Friday night, November 15, when they tipoff a weekend doubleheader against the Trinity Western Spartans (1-3). Game one will get underway at 5 p.m. and tickets to the game can be purchased at the door.
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Men's basketball suffers pair of losses to Cascades
The UBC Okanagan Heat men's basketball team suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of the UFV Cascades this weekend, dropping an 80-66 decision on Friday night before losing a narrow 66-58 contest on Saturday night.
In the opening contest on Friday night, the two Pacific division rivals were battling shot for shot early in the game but the host Cascades began to pull away in the second quarter. Trailing by 11 heading into the second half, the Heat were unable to slow down Dario Lopez, who had 28 points after three quarters, as UFV poured on the offence to put the game out of reach.
Heat forward Lamine Conde of Montreal had his best game of the young season, stepping up with his team's roster limited due to injury. The second-year dropped 19 points while connecting on 7-of-9 field goals, including 3-of-4 three-point attempts.
Leon Schenker of Vernon, B.C., would chip in with nine points and four rebounds off the bench in 17 minutes.
Saturday's contest was a much closer affair that saw UFV leading 33-32 at the half. UFV would use a 6-0 run in the middle of the third-quarter to create some separation but UBCO would push back in the fourth and cut the lead to four with under two minutes to play thanks to a three-pointer from Jalen Shirley of Brampton, Ont.
However, the Cascades would keep their nerve at the free throw line down the stretch to close out their second win of the weekend.
Three members of the Heat finished in double figures on the night, including Imoudu Ibrahim of Calgary, who just rejoined the roster after over a year away from the program. The fourth-year forward had a team-high 11 points in just 18 minutes of action while adding five rebounds.
Shirley would pour in 11 points of his own while Jas Dhudwal of Surrey, B.C., had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The two setbacks leave the Heat with a 1-3 record, good for fifth in the Pacific division standings. Meanwhile UFV moves to 2-2 with the two wins this weekend.
Up next for the Heat will be a weekend doubleheader on home court against the Trinity Western Spartans (0-4). The opening game is set for Friday, November 15 at 7 p.m. and tickets for the game can be purchased at the door.