BOTH HAWK TEAMS SECURE TOP FIVE FINISH AT NATIONALS
By: Natalie Stoberman
BROCKVILLE, ON: Humber has left another mark on the CCAA as one of the most consistent and team oriented cross-country programs in the nation. The Hawks picked up a women's fifth place and men's fourth place finish after sweeping the OCAA Provincial titles two weeks ago.
Fifth place by the women's squad was the best finish out of all OCAA schools. The Hawks were led by Coby Phillips and her time of 00:20:26.9, with Katherine White nearby to cross the finish line at 00:20:35.7 for both to finish in 27th and 33rd out of 113 runners. Ivon Jaimes, Hannah Carley and Cara Coutts remained close throughout the race to finish within four to 30 seconds of the other for 44th, 48th and 62nd place respectively. Claire Brown rounded out the pack with a strong final kick to finish with a time of 00:22:12.1.
The men's team came into the race as the reigning national champions but couldn't keep up with running powerhouses Cegep de Sherbrooke and Fanshawe College despite incredible jockeying to move through the ranks. Simon Wells was the first to cross the finish line for the Hawks for a 17th place finish at a time of 00:27:37.6. Sam Kirwin was ten seconds behind Wells and Ali Ghadghoni rounded out the Big Three by crossing the finish line at 00:27:57.8 to put the trio in the Top 30 in the nation. Jacob Campbell's 40th place led Humber's next trio through the finish line. Luke Deighan was four places away while finishing just under 29 minutes and last but not least Their Nunguwenimana kept the Hawks under the 30 minute mark with a final time of 00:29:09.1.
Despite losing out on a medal, Humber joins Lethbridge College as the only two teams to have both men's and women's squads finish in the Top Five in the Nation.
All that remains of a phenomenal season is the CCAA Awards Banquet taking place tonight at 6 p.m. before the Hawks return to Rexdale early Sunday morning.
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