A pair of first year runners showed the way for Laurentian this weekend at the Don Mills Open in Waterloo as the Voyageurs produced their best showing at this particular race since 2019.

Lockerby graduate Misaki Diavolitsis (12th - 23:16) and Hamilton native Natnael Mulugeta (9th - 18:40) were tops on their respective teams as both the L.U. men and women managed to pack their teams in quite nicely.

Following on the heels of Diavolitsis who posted the fastest time ever on the course by a Laurentian freshman were Charli Borak (16th - 23:29), Georgia Lepage (20th - 23:51), Chloe Casselman (23rd - 23:58) and Makenzie Bailey (30th - 24:12) while Kylee Fowler (33rd - 24:15) and Charlotte Grenier (46th - 24:46) served as displacers.

The Laurentian men also managed to squeeze no less than seven runners in a 1:20 window over the six kilometre course with Braeden Estabrooks (20th - 19:03), Christian Myers (30th - 19:23), Owen McDougall (33rd - 19:25) and Brandon Radey (37th - 19:32) joining Mulugeta as point-scoring runners.

Rounding out the L.U. contingent were TJ Green (39th - 19:44) and Raphael Belzile (55th - 19:58). "Today was a true testament to the team aspect of cross country", noted Vees head coach Darren Jermyn.

"Knowing we need five solid performances to garner a low score, the goal is always to pack our runners as close together as possible and ride that wave to the finish," he added. "Some of our top runners were a bit off their game today, but the improved depth in our lineup led us to our best team finish at this meet since 2019."

Team Results - Women
1. McMaster University – 39 points
2. University of Toronto – 41 points
3. Laurentian University – 87 points
4. York University – 93 points
5. Brock University – 113 points
6. Nipissing University – 161 points
7. University of Waterloo – 169 points
8. Wilfrid Laurier University – 182 points

Team Results - Men
1. University of Toronto – 30 points
2. University of Waterloo – 61 points
3. Brock University – 83 points
4. Laurentian University – 96 points
5. McMaster University – 105 points
6. York University – 160 points
7. Wilfrid Laurier University – 190 points
8. Nipissing University – 233 points
9. Toronto Metropolitan University – 244 points