Cross country
This weekend, the McGill Martlets’ Cross Country squad travelled to London, Ontario for the CIS National Championships. Junior Jessica Porfilio led the way for the team, finishing 27th overall among the athletes that ran. Although no Martlets were able to finish in the top 25, the team as a whole was buoyed by its solid depth and finished seventh out of 20 teams that competed on the women’s side. Ali Barwick, Jullien Flynn, and Madeleine Williams all placed within the top 50 competitors, while Georgia Hamilton finished 62nd to round out the scoring for the squad.
This has been a successful year for the Martlets, who captured their fourth straight RSEQ Championships and their 24th championship in 25 years. Head Coach Dennis Barrett was named conference Coach-of-the-Year for the 24th time, and all five of the runners that placed at Nationals were named to the All-RSEQ squad. McGill should be in contention for another league championship next year as all five return to once again dominate the landscape of Quebec cross country.
Swimming
It is safe to say that senior swimmer Pierre-Alexandre Renaud has cemented his status as the best university-level individual swimmer in Quebec as he garnered two gold and two silver medals during the third leg of the Coupe De Quebec this weekend. In addition to adding to his medal tally, Renaud was named Swimmer-of-the-Meet for the second time in three opportunities. However, the Redmen collectively fell back into third, following a second-place finish at their last meet. The Martlets once again solidified their position as the no. 2 ranked team on the women’s side as 13 different swimmers took to the podium. At this point in the season, the most important indicator of success is how many athletes have qualified for the National Championships. By this standard, McGill had a successful weekend as five swimmers—Valerie De Broux, Jeong-Wan Hong, Rayven Snodgrass, Christine Aglot, and Marc Andre-Benoit—made the cut, pushing the teams’ combined total to eight athletes—one more than they had achieved in the two previous years. The rest of the season looks promising for both squads, and they should once again bring a deep and talented roster of swimmers to the National Championships.
Martlet Hockey
The no. 1 ranked McGill Martlets (6-0) posted a pair of tight victories this weekend to continue their reign as the best hockey team in the country. The program has enjoyed multiple undefeated regular seasons in past years, but repeating such a tremendous feat is becoming tougher with the emergence of the no. 2 ranked Montreal Carabins team that won last year’s CIS Championships. The Martlets needed to come back from an early two goal deficit to beat the Carabins 3-2 in this matchup. McGill’s other game of the weekend against the Carleton Ravens proved to be an ever stiffer challenge as the team narrowly escaped defeat. Forward Gabrielle Davidson was able to score the game winner in overtime. The goal was the third of the weekend for Davidson, while Stefanie Pohlod, Adrienne Crampton, and Katia Clement-Heydra also found the net. Next up for the hockey juggernauts is a game against the Concordia Stingers on Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. at McConnell Arena.
