Brendan Currie (LaSalle, ON/St. Thomas of Villanova) became the third St. Clair College Men's Cross-Country runner in school history to win the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) individual gold medal after besting the Provincial Championship field in a time of 25:00 over the 8km course, hosted by Fanshawe College at London's Fanshawe Conservation Area.
Currie was dominant throughout Saturday morning's race, finishing nearly 52 seconds ahead of his nearest rival and remains undefeated this season. He's won all three of his previous invitational events against OCAA competition this fall, equaling the feat accomplished by St. Clair's Carter Free in 2019.
The St. Clair men made it consecutive provincial silver medals in the team competition as OCAA Rookie of the Year John Ding (Windsor, ON/Westview Freedom) came in 8th place for the Saints with a time of 26:50, followed closely by teammate Luke Nelson (Windsor, ON/St. Thomas of Villanova) in 9th place, crossing the line in 26:52. Currie was named a First-Team All-Ontario member with Ding and Nelson earning Second-Team selections in a field of 58 racers and 10 schools.
Marcos Dos Santos (Barrie, ON/St. Joseph's) was the final counting runner for St. Clair with a time of 29:30, good for 27th place. Other finishers for the Saints included Aiden Pillon (Windsor, ON/W.F. Herman) in 41st place (31:37) and Tariq Sghaier (Windsor, ON/Tecumseh Vista) in 42nd place (31:43).
The St. Clair women were 6th Place as a team out of the ten schools, led by Second-Team All-Ontario performer Ana-Maria Fodor (Windsor, ON/Vincent Massey) who turned in an 11th-place finish over the 6km layout in a time of 25:23. Rookie teammate Kacie Gelinas (Windsor, ON/Holy Names) was right behind in 12th place with a time of 25:51 and joined Fodor as a Second-Team selection. Cara Cozad (Tecumseh, ON/St. Anne) was 24th for the Saints in a time of 27:48 and Ana Bonilla (Ibague, Colombia) rounded out the women's team complement with a time of 31:58 in 40th position against the field of 51 runners.
The St. Clair Men's team as well as Fodor and Gelinas, qualified for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship, which will be held on Nov. 14 and hosted by Concordia University (Edmonton) at Kinsmen Park in Alberta's capital city.
