Eric Gareau appears ready to lead the charge.

A second year member of the Laurentian Voyageurs men's cross-country team, Gareau is looking to improve on his 40th place finish at the 2018 OUA Championships, after enjoying a nice solid rookie season following his graduation from Ecole Secondaire Monseigneur Bruyère in London.

Gareau, who is part of a strong returning core of L.U. male runners that also features local products Liam Passi and Caleb Beland, took top spot at the Waterloo/Don Mills Open Cross-Country Meet last weekend, covering the 8.2 km course in a time of 26:13.

Gareau crossed the line comfortably ahead of Adam Clayton (unattached - 26:29), a former member of the Western Mustangs varsity team, with Laurentian also represented in the top ten in the form of Alexandre Fishbein-Ouimette (7th - 27:00) and Liam Passi (8th - 27:08).

Closely bunched behind the L.U. tandem were teammates Keon Wallingford (13th - 27:17), Caleb Beland (15th - 27:23), Maurice Graenert (16th - 27:25) and Dylan Brown (25th - 27:41), with Chase Canty held out of the race in Waterloo, but back in the mix tomorrow in Hamilton.

"Eric's hard work over the summer is really paying off," noted Voyageurs' men's coach Darren Jermyn, in a team-issued release. "He put in a hard surge at the 6km mark that gave him a 16-second lead and was a real sign of his fitness."

"The team also ran well, but we're not at full strength, so there's lots of room to improve as the season progresses." Laurentian would also secure first in the men's team competition, their 30 point total just a touch lower than the host Waterloo Warriors (39), with the Laurier Hawks (78) and Brock Badgers (111) well back of the lead pairing.

Over on the ladies side, Pascale Gendron is coming on strong, placing third among the university contingent and fifth overall, and recording a time (31:18) that more than two and a half minutes faster than second place Voyageur Meghan Sippel (15th - 33:49).

Also scoring for the local crew were Sarah Thackery (25th - 35:10), Ashley Valentini (27th - 35:22) and Kelsey Lefebvre (34th - 36:06), with Angela Mozzon serving as the displacer (38th - 36:36).

Laurentian ranked third in the female team grouping, beating the York Lions on a tie-breaker (70 pts each), with the Nipissing Lakers (59) and Waterloo Warriors (63) sliding in to the top two placements.

The Voyageurs, both men and women, are back on the trails on Friday, October 11th, competing at Marauder Bayfront Open in Hamilton, returning to the same area just over two weeks later for the OUA Championships on October 26th.