Four-Time Olympian Runs Canadian Cross Champs For First Time In 13 Years, Beats Men's Field By 16 Seconds; McCabe Dominates Women's Race

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Images by RunnerSpace

RESULTS/VIDEOS

A late entry by Moh Ahmed added a jolt of excitement to the Canadian Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Fanshawe Golf Course in London, Ontario. 

Canada's greatest distance runner on the track, Ahmed competed in his first cross country race on home soil since 2012. 

The 34-year-old made his breakaway move at the start of the fourth 2.5-kilometer loop and won the 10-kilometer race in 29:30.4 in some light snow and muddy footing. 

"This is the first race of the year that I've finished," Ahmed said. "I was very, very much determined and adamant that I wanted to finish that."

Ahmed dealt with a calf injury through much of the year and he was unable to finish his races at the Canadian Track and Field Championships (5,000) and the World Athletics Championships (10,000).

A top-10 finish Saturday made Canadian runners eligible for the 46th World Athletics Cross Country Championships on Jan. 10 in Tallahassee, Fla. Athletics Canada will select up to six athletes to compete for the senior team. 

Xavier Perras-Phaneuf, the Canadian U20 champion last year, finished second in 29:46.1. Santiago Gaitan, Canada's second-fastest half-marathoner, was third in 29:48.2. 

Matt Tablot finished fourth, Evan Burke was fifth and Philippe Morneau-Cartier was sixth. 

An American, Andy Wacker, led the early part of the race and finished seventh. (He is not eligible for the team selection). 

Yemane Mulugeta, Jack Lehto, Robert Kanko and Jack O'Farrell are the next in line, placing eigth through 11th. 

McCabe Wins Women's Race By 64 Seconds

Former University of West Virginia star Ceili McCabe delivered a performance that not only won the Canadian title but may portend big things coming in January in Tallahassee. 

She won her second national cross country title in 32:57.3 and pushed herself through the ups and downs of the course. Regan Yee was with her for the first half of the race, but McCabe pulled away after that. Yee finished 11th. 

By the end, the race was for second place. 

Chloe Thomas, a Washington senior who transferred from UConn, got to the finish line first and finished in 33:53.4. 

Florence Caron, who placed 14th at last week's NCAA Cross Country Championships for Penn State, stepped up the distance to 10k and finished third in 33:55.6. 

Grace Fetherstonhaugh, the Canadian steeplechase champion who ran for Oregon State, was fourth in 34:00.8. 

Makenna Fitzgerald was fifth in 34:10.2 and Glynis Sim was sixth in 34:19.4. 

St-Onge, Buitelaar Win U20 Races

Xavier St-Onge of Laval won the men's 8-kilometer U20 race in a time of 24:55.3, fending off Robin Lefebvre (24:58.1) and Chase Capes (24:59.0), who finished third and fourth. 

Brody Clark, William Scharf and Oliver Crowe completed the top six. 

Adrianna Buitelaar, one of the rising stars on Canada's high school scene, won the women's U20 8-kilometer race in 28:14.6 and won by seven seconds. She gained separation in the final kilometer. 

Buitelaar is the Canadian U20 champion in the 3,000 meters on the track. 

Kayley Torrie was second in 28:21.2 and Eleanor Voykin was third in 28:33.2. 

Fourth was Ava Dyck, fifth was Zoe Mosher and sixth was Maria Linton.