On Saturday November 13^th, we had the pleasure of hosting the CCAA Cross-Country National Championships. 35 schools across Canada were represented and welcomed to our beautiful campus and made many wonderful memories.

Our Lightning athletes showed great determination and progress. We were excited to have both men’s and women’s Lightning athletes compete for the first time at Nationals! Kevin Robinson (84^th), Tanner Nordstrom Young (86^th) and Justin Cancio (87^th) ran the men’s 8km with strong performances. With great teamwork among an individual sport, the women’s team accomplished 9^th place of 14 teams. Our female athletes were led by Maria Fox (9^th) followed by Sydney Zissos (29^th). Our other runners, Elizabeth Krueger (72^nd), Sarah Foscarini (90^th), Casey Field (93^rd), and Laura Fraser (97^th) rounded out the St. Mary’s women’s team.

It is with great pride that we congratulate and share the exciting news that Maria Fox was not only named to the All-Conference team at October 30^th’s race, but also completed November 13^th’s National Championship as an All-Canadian. She took the 9^th place All-Canadian spot with an incredible time of 24:09. “It was an unexpected honour to receive this award. I am grateful and delighted to give back to my new community here at St. Mary’s,” Fox stated.

Fox began running in high school where her passion of the sport, health and wellness started. She excelled as an athlete and a student with cross-country and club track being a major factor in building her values. With this being her first year as a Lightning athlete, she has made a huge impact in her return to the cross-country sport and her achievements have made an exhilarating step forward for our cross-country program.

It takes a lot of mental preparation and practice in cross-country running and Fox seems to do this effortlessly.  “I race best when I am curious about the competition and mentally light. To remind myself to enjoy the process, I like to use little mantras, often inspired by athletes I’ve admired over the years, like- ‘stay consistent, run free & fearless.’ ”

It is no doubt that Fox will inspire many current and future St. Mary’s University students and athletes.

We look forward to seeing her and our other incredible Lightning cross-country athletes continued growth in this year’s indoor track season!