If McMaster held a contest for one of the most accomplished students to represent the Maroon and Grey’s athletics, then Maddy McDonald would definitely be in the running - if not take the whole prize.

McDonald, a second-year kinesiology student, has just finished a season that saw her qualify for the CIS track championships where she was ranked fifth overall in the 3000 m after an incredible races at McGill and Boston University. At the race in Boston, she ran to a ridiculously fast time of 9:34 - two seconds off of her personal best time of 9:32 that she ran this summer at the Junior National Track Championships.

She finished second overall at the Junior National Track Championships, which solidified her spot on the Junior National Canadian team, and to the Junior Pan Am Games. She finished with a silver in this race - and after winding down her summer track season, she immediately had to begin training for cross country.

“I took a little break after Pan Ams, but I think I raced on august 25th, and the first cross country race was in October so it was pretty quick,” said McDonald.

After a successful summer of extremely intense training and competition, McDonald had little time to rest before transitioning her training from shorter track intervals, to longer cross country intervals.

The incredibly intense training throughout the summer was hard for McDonald to bounce back from this season after minimal rest and recovery - but she still managed to perform incredibly well despite this, and she ran to some exceptionally fast times.

On top of her back-to-back seasons both in cross country and track, McDonald is extremely involved in the community. She was recently awarded the OUA community service award in cross country for her contributions as an executive for McMaster Athletes Care.

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“I’m the coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club, so that includes weekly visits on Tuesday nights, and we bring volunteer student-athletes to hang out with the kids,” said McDonald.

One of the events McDonald organized included the Boys and Girls cheerleading club performing their cheer routine during half-time at the Marauders women’s basketball game.

McDonald became interested in becoming more involved with the Boys and Girls club after volunteering there in first-year for McMaster Athletes Care.

“Some of the coordinators suggested that I apply for an exec position, and I wasn’t sure that I was going to get it, but I did get on, so that was pretty exciting. So now I’m in charge of that, and I really enjoy it,” said McDonald.

Along with her accomplishments on the track and within the community, McDonald is also an exceptional student, maintaining a stunning 11.3 average with a full course load.

Coach Schnurr describes McDonald as a “type A personality” and as a student athlete that excels from being really busy.

“She’s extremely committed and very, very, driven, and that translates in everything she does,” said Schnurr.

The hard-working, determined and self-driven qualities of individual sport athletes also tends to show in their performance in the class room, and McDonald is the perfect example of that.

“In individual sport, it takes a certain individual to excel and commit to doing what it takes, and I think you need to be a certain type of person that’s willing to take that on, and as a result, those people take on the same approach with everything they tend to do, and that’s why they’re so successful,” said Coach Schnurr.

Although McDonald is extremely successful in a range of different areas, she is still working on finding that perfect balance of athletics, academics and community service work.

This year has been a huge adjustment for the young athlete, especially after having a very long and extremely competitive first year, that saw her compete at the World Junior Cross country Championships in Poland just five months before she sported the Canadian singlet once again at Junior Pan Ams on the track.

“Coach Schnurr always nags me about over-committing myself in too many things, so I’m just working on finding the right balance so I could maximize each,” said McDonald.

“I think that’s just who Maddy Mcdonald is. When she takes something on, she does it 100 percent, she’s very committed, so when someone is like that, doing a lot of things, and trying to do them well, sometimes one of them might suffer a bit,” said Coach Schnurr.

In the latter part of the track season, McDonald’s time in the 3000 m got slower. But Schnurr believes that she still did well, especially given her other commitments outside of track.

“She was trying to do a lot and fit everything in, and sometimes things don’t go the way you want in all of them, she’s definitely worked through it, and I’m really impressed with how she did run despite all the other things she is involved in,” said Schnurr.

As of right now, the plan for McDonald is to go into the cross country season differently this year, with taking a bit of a rest so that she can be at her best shape in the fall.

“I think she’ll take a long break from competition, and I think once she takes her down-time and re-charges her battery, we’ll talk about what the best plan will be,” said Coach Schnurr.

McDonald has learned a lot this year in terms of managing all that she has going on, and after a summer season of consistent training, recovery, and rest from competition, there is no telling what kind of performances she can pull off both in cross country and track.

“I think there’s more in her, and I think she feels that there is too,” said Schnurr.

“This is a year that she has learned a little bit, and I think she can apply what she’s learned in the next few years while she’s here, and help her in reaching her goals, and that may very well be a podium position.”

After a season of highs and lows, for Maddy McDonald, one thing is for sure: She is an incredibly gifted athlete, and an incredibly gifted student. For this kind of high-performance individual, the sky is the limit.

At the beginning of his second season with McMaster’s track team, Jeff Tweedle taped a piece of paper with the time “2:29.99” scrawled across it to his wall. It was the time he hoped to achieve in the 1k by the season’s end.

“After running 2:38 in the 1k last year, my goal this season was just to break 2:30. That would have been an indication that I was progressing to where I wanted to be.”

To his own astonishment, the second-year Civil Engineering student has already managed to surpass that goal.

The nineteen year-old went to high school at Stoney Creek’s Cardinal Newman where he played volleyball and badminton in addition to cross-country and track. Though he went on to win cross-country and track MVP in his final two years, Tweedle wasn’t immediately sure that running was his primary sport.

“I didn’t really consider it to be my main focus for most of high school, but I started to consider it as such during my senior year when my times started to pick up.”

The catalyst for his improvement appeared at the 2011 GHAC track championships. After a tough 3000m race in which he fought through an illness to place sixth, Tweedle was approached by Patti Moore of Hamilton Olympic Track Club to see if he was interested in joining the team.

Moore had been carefully watching his steady progress and thought he could benefit from a more intensive regime.

“Although track is an individual sport, I think almost all high school runners want to run with a group. And there are huge early benefits from organized training and running alongside other kids who run well,” said Moore.

Moore added that although training with the likes of Guelph’s Adam Rowles, Conestoga College’s Liam Smith, and McMaster’s own Paul Kolb was beneficial, Tweedle’s “successes are his own and well-earned.”

After a good preseason with HOC, 2012 was Tweedle’s best year yet. He coasted to the OFSAA cross-country finals in Ottawa and ran personal bests in the 1500 and 800 at South Regionals.

Coming to the end of his second-year at McMaster, Tweedle has been through his fair share of adversity while retaining the same work ethic he had in high school. Despite a solid tryout in 2012, Tweedle fell just short of meeting the cross-country team standard 6-kilometer time, but was allowed to train with them. Instead of wallowing in disappointment or joining in the Welcome Week debauchery, Tweedle dusted himself off and ran his way onto the track team just a few days later.

That kind of resiliency has come to define Tweedle’s athletic career, with his ability to seize opportunities quickly becoming apparent.

This year, Tweedle has been able to balance rigorous academic obligations with a busy training and racing schedule to sublime results. But Tweedle says he wouldn’t be able to keep it up without the support that his teammates and coaches offer him in maintaining a balance.

“They’re really good with working around my schedule to help me with my training. I owe a lot of credit to the other guys who have been able to push me in workouts which has been a big reason why I’ve improved quite a bit.”

Tweedle started the year off with a bang at Windsor’s Can-Am meet, running a 2:35.19 in his first 1000m race of the season on Jan 10. For some perspective, that was a three-second improvement on his previous personal best of 2:38.55.

Things only went up from there. He posted a 2:31.71 in the same distance at Western’s Don Wright meet only a week later.

Tweedle ran yet another personal best at the McGill Team Challenge the following week, almost breaking the four-minute barrier in the 1500m with a time of 4:01.71.

With the times he had been logging, Tweedle was a virtual shoo-in on the trip to Boston for the highly-competitive Valentine Invitational. With the perfect storm of a fast heat and a loud crowd, Tweedle was able to harness the adrenaline and absolutely shatter his personal best with a time of 2:27.71.

With that time putting him at second on McMaster’s all-time list and propelling him to 11 in the provincial rankings, Tweedle appeared to be on the verge of making a splash at the OUA’s at York University on Feb 21.

But being unknowingly placed into the second heat proved to fluster Tweedle. Although the group was littered with speed demons like Windsor’s Alex Ullman and Guelph’s Yves Sikubwabo, the race was a slow — by their lofty standards — tactical affair that was controlled by a large pack.

As most of the runners had already achieved the CIS standard of 2:24.99 earlier in the season, they were reluctant to risk injury.

Unable to circumvent the large throng, Tweedle attempted to bide his time at the back of the pack but unfortunately did not have the legs to make a big kick during the bell lap.

That said, his time of 2:31.14 proved to be McMaster’s best that day.

Although disappointed at being unable to improve upon his Boston time, Tweedle is looking forward to what the outdoor summer season brings as well as time to read John L. Parker’s Again To Carthage, the sequel to the cult classic Once A Runner — he had been bringing the latter to meets for good luck.

His goal for his third season at McMaster is to achieve the CIS standard time for the 1K.

Although the majority of the Marauder track team did not post personal best times, the team still did exceptionally well at the OUA Championship meet, with great results and races being posted in every distance.

In the 1000 m, women’s captain Chelsea Mackinnon ran while suffering from a minor concussion that she did not tell Coach Schnurr about.

“She probably shouldn’t have run the 1000 based on how she was feeling, and we didn’t do much all week based on some symptoms she was having but she felt she was okay to race on the Friday,” said Schnurr.

In the first three laps, Mackinnon looked great, but in the final two laps, she told Coach Schnurr after the race that she was not feeling like she could perform to her best potential.

Despite her setback, Mackinnon still ran to a great time of 2:59- 8 seconds off of her personal best time of 2:51.

Due to her symptoms, she decided to not run the 1500 m the next day.

In the men’s 1000 m race, Jeff Tweedle had great race, running in the fastest heat in the highly competitive race, and running to a time of 2:31.

“The 1000 was probably one of the toughest events to run this year, in terms of the quality of athletes. It was a great learning experience for him and I think he realized he can compete with the best,” said Schnurr.

Teammate Eric Barry ran to a personal best time of 2:32 in the same distance.

In the men’s 4x800 m relay, Eric Barry, Jeff Tweedle, Brandon Huzevka and Patrick Deane all ran well and were happy with their performance and overall time of 7:58.

In the women’s 3000 m, the Marauders lone CIS qualifier - Maddy McDonald - had an off day, running to a time of 10:04.

The Junior Pan Am Games silver medalist luckily managed to run the CIS standard at previous meets at McGill and Boston University, with her time of 9:34 at the meet in Boston getting her to be ranked fifth overall.

“She was really disappointed and she doesn’t want to end the season that way, so she’s determined to turn things around, and I think she will,” said Schnurr.

In the same race, Raquel Burgess ran to a 12-second personal best time in the event, finishing race at a time of 10:12 which was no easy task for the second-year runner.

“The last three laps she looked like she was struggling, but she was a tough competitor and she stuck with it, and it ended up working out,” said Schnurr.

Grad student Kierstin Myers also ran to a personal best time of 10:18 in the same event.

In the men’s 3000 m, captain Blair Morgan ran to a time of 8:42, while Gabe Ghiglione almost tied his personal best time, finishing the race with a time of 8:46.

“Gabe ran really tough, he’s a kid that just responds really well to when it gets hard and sticks with it, so I think he’s pleased, I think he was hoping to run faster, but I can’t complain in what he did,” said Schnurr.

In the men’s 600 m on the Saturday, Brandon Huzevka had an amazing performance, being in the second heat, and running to a personal best time of 1:21, which was faster than two runners in the fastest heat.

“He’s just proving to himself that he can compete with some of the best in Ontario,” said Schnurr.

Greg Hitchon also did well in the same event, finishing second overall in his section with a time of 1:23.

“He ran with confidence and he got to the front, and was willing to set the pace, and run hard, and he just got out-kicked in the end, so he was really pleased,” said Schnurr.

In the 4x400 m, the men’s team comprised of Richard Noel, Jeff Mah, Greg Hitchon and Brandon Huzevka finished off the meet well with a time of 3:24.

Overall, Schnurr was pleased with the performances at the OUA Championships, although the majority of the Marauders did not run their best time.

“It was a learning experience for a few athletes - so it’s always good to come away with that - although it didn’t go as well as you may have hoped, you learn from it and I think a few people did,” said Schnurr.

Next up for the Marauders track team will be a well-deserved break, for all athletes except for Maddy McDonald, who will be gearing up to run the 3000 m at the CIS Championships in Edmonton on March 7.

After the Valentine Invitational meet at Boston University, Maddy McDonald is ranked fourth overall in the CIS.

McDonald, the OUA community service award recipient, ran to a time of 9:34 in the 3000 m, just two seconds off of her personal best time of 9:32 that she ran at the Junior National Championships last summer.

“She kind of tripped up near the end coming around the last corner, she probably would’ve run under 9:34 if that didn’t happen” said head coach Paula Schnurr.

McDonald was just milliseconds off of the McMaster record, which was set two years ago at the CIS Championships by stand-out Marauder runner and alumni, Lindsay Carson.

“Hopefully she can go after the record at CIS, because it’s going to be a good race,” added Schnurr.

At championship races, it’s hard to run to a good time, as the race becomes a lot more tactical.

The athletes race to win, rather than race for time, and Schnurr believes that McDonald is sure to be a medal contender, it will just all have to come down to the last lap of the race, where the girls will try and make their final kick to get past one another.

“It’s going to be a barn burner. It’s going to be an amazing race, the girls are so close, it’s going to come down to a kick.”

Although there are girls that have more speed than McDonald over shorter distances, her strength over the 3000 m distance is extremely encouraging for her position in the 3000 m race in March.

“There are girls that are a bit faster than Maddy over 1500, they have a bit more speed, but she’s certainly strong, so I think anything can happen at championships,” added Schnurr.

In the 1000 m, Chelsea MacKinnon ran to a personal best time of 2:51, which was exciting for her and the coaches, as they expected her to run to a time of 2:55.

“We thought anywhere around 2:55, or 2:54 would be great, so when she saw 2:51, and when we all saw 2:51, that was pretty awesome,” said Schnurr.

Schnurr said that the atmosphere at the track at Boston University is one that is filled with people who thrive from the energy and the atmosphere, and are excited to run fast.

There are many sections and the track is extremely fast, so the athletes are sure to stick with the pack and get carried to a great time.

So when McDonald and Mackinnon got the meet off to a great start with their races, the men’s team was very excited to hit the track the following day when all of the men’s races were taking place.

In the 1000 m, Jeff Tweedle raced extremely well, running to a huge personal best time of 2:27, while Eric Barry also posted a personal best time of 2:32.

In Tweedle’s race, his heat went out pretty slow, so he had to make up ground and work hard in the final lap to run to an impressive time.

In the 3000 m race, Blair Morgan ran to a time of 8:30, while Jordan Bierema was not too far behind, finishing the race in a time of 8:31.

While these six athletes ran their hearts out in Boston, the rest of the track team competed in Windsor, where they also managed to run to incredibly fast times.

Taylor Forbes was extremely impressive, running the 3000 m in a time of 8:26, running the race practically by himself.

His brother Austen was 10 seconds behind him, running an 8:36, while Gabe Ghiglione finished with a personal best time of 8:46.

The Forbes twins will switch their focus to triathlon training, which will mean they will have to sit out the OUA championships next weekend.

This gives Ghiglione a chance to prove himself in the 3000 m at the OUA championships alongside Morgan and Bierema.

Other highlights in Windsor include the women’s 3000 m, where Raquel Burgess ran to a personal best time of 10:24, while Kierstin Myers finished just behind her with the exact same time.

The Marauders are now looking forward to the OUA Championships at York University on Feb. 21-22, where they will attempt to keep up their momentum and qualify individually for the CIS Championships.

The Marauders track team has once again continued to perform exceptionally well at their fourth meet of the season at York University.

The meet served as preparation for some of the athletes that will be heading to the Valentine Invitational this coming weekend in Boston.

Some of these athletes include Chelsea Mackinnon and Maddy McDonald, who both raced the 1000 m event.

Mackinnon came second place overall in the event, running to a time of 2:58, while teammate Kaitlyn Pansegrau finished fifth overall with a time of 3:01.

Head coach Paula Schnurr is thoroughly impressed with Mackinnon’s performance following her injury issues over the past couple of years.

“Her strength has improved since cross country and with some more speed workouts and racing she hopes to get back to where she was two years ago. She is hoping to run 2:55 in Boston,” said Schnurr.

In Boston, Mackinnon will be sure to run to a great time, as she will be head-to-head against some great competition.

“She will take advantage of some girls setting a good pace and will just hang on for the ride,” added Schnurr.

As for Pansegrau, her goal is to break three minutes in the event at the Team Challenge Meet in Windsor.

McDonald is new to the 1000 m, and used this race as a workout before her 3000 m race in Boston next weekend-- which will be her main event and focus for the season. In her first 1000 m race ever, she finished eighth overall with a time of 3:04.

In the men’s 600 m event, Brandon Huzevka lit up the track again, running to a new personal best time of 1:21.

Huzevka has managed to run to a personal best time at the last couple of meets that he has competed in, and Coach Schnurr could not be more pleased with his progress thus far.

“It’s very exciting for Brandon. He continues to get more comfortable with the strategies that go along with racing the 600 m. He didn’t have a clean race so I know he can run even faster once he runs ‘the perfect race,’” said Schnurr.

Unfortunately for Huzevka, there is not a 600 m event at the Boston Valentine Invitational. Schnurr says he will either take the weekend off, or he will join some of his other teammates and run at the team challenge meet in Windsor.

Not too far behind Huzevka was Greg Hitchon, and second-year Jeff Mah, who both had a photo-finish race, running to a time of 1:24.

Hitchon, a fourth-year student, is very impressive in what he has been able to accomplish this year.

He was a high school track runner, but decided not to take up the sport in university until his fourth year. He showed up at try-outs in September, and managed to not only make the roster, but be one of the fastest people on the team.

In the men’s 1000 m, Luke Charbonneau finished with a time of 2:35, and in the men’s 1500 m, Gabe Ghiglione finished with a personal best time of 4:04.

Now the best on the Marauders track team will gear up to head out to Boston, where they will be up against some of the fiercest competition in both Canada and the United States.

Among some of the athletes that will be looking to have great races include Chelsea Mackinnon in the 1000 m, Jeff Tweedle and Eric Barry in the 1000 m, Maddy McDonald in the 3000 m, and Blair Morgan and Jordan Bierema in the 3000 m.

The rest of the team will be competing at the Team Challenge meet in Windsor.

The Marauders track team travelled to the largest meet of the season last weekend at McGill University, where the majority of the team was able to run to some personal best times.

Among the top performances came from Maddy McDonald, whose time of 9:43 in the 3000 m has officially qualified her for the CIS track and field championships.

McDonald - who sat out the indoor season last year due to her commitment to the world junior cross country team - ran a great first race, and followed the coaches’ strategy to a tee.

“I knew once the gun went off, she’s a competitor, so she’s going to compete,” said head coach Paula Schnurr.

“I told her that you don’t need to be leading but you need to be in the pack, and just off the back of the pack if that’s more comfortable,” added Schnurr.

“The first 2 kilometres will probably be pretty comfortable and pretty relaxed and then you’ll need to do work in the last kilometre. And that’s what she did.”

The weekend served as a training weekend for McDonald, as her main focus will be the Valentine Invitational in Boston on Feb. 8, where she will try to better her time to just under 9:40.

In the men’s 3000 m, Taylor Forbes, Jordan Bierema, Austen Forbes and Taylor Reid all ran very similar times, but were split up into different heats.

This was a result of athletes from other universities being entered in the race with unrealistic seed times, so the majority of the Marauder men had to do most of the work leading for the majority of their races.

“I think we seeded our guys with realistic seed times, unfortunately some people were seeded faster than they should have been. So, unfortunately for Forbes he was the best in his race so he ended up leading, and the same thing happened with Bierema in the next section,” said Schnurr.

Forbes led his heat with an 8:33, and Bierema led his heat right after with an 8:35. Austen Forbes finished right after Bierema with a time of 8:36, and Taylor Reid was not too far behind running to a time of 8:39.

Captain Blair Morgan was far off from his best time, running an 8:47 3000 m, compared to his 8:29 that he ran a couple weeks before. He will be looking to run extremely fast in Boston at the Valentine Invitational in a couple of weeks.

Gabe Ghiglione led his heat with an 8:50, and not too far behind was Paul Rochus who ran a personal best time of 8:54.

For the Forbes twins along with Taylor Reid, this will be one of their last track races, as they have to do some additional training for their triathlon season this summer that they do not want to be injured for.

“We focused on running a couple of indoor races and not really key on running OUA’s, it’s unfortunate for us and our team, but I think what is really important for them is that they are good for cross country and that they’re ready to go for the summer,” said Schnurr.

In the men’s 600 m race, Schnurr was very impressed with Brandon Huzevka, who finished the race with a personal best time of 1:22. Jeff Mah and fourth year Greg Hitchon also reached personal best with times of 1:23, and 1:24 respectively.

In the women’s 1500 m, Chelsea Mackinnon and Maddy McDonald finished neck and neck with a time of 4:45.

Both Mackinnon and McDonald were hoping to run faster, but Mackinnon is just getting into racing again after a year of injury problems, and McDonald was tired from her CIS-qualifying 3000 m run the night before.

Mackinnon will look to run the 1000 m at the Valentine Invitational.

Also in the 1500 m, Kaitlyn Pansegrau ran to a personal best time of 4:51, and fellow second year Raquel Burgess ran to a personal best time in the 3000 m of 10:27.

These are two huge personal best times that Schnurr credits to their consistency in training over the last year.

In the men’s 1500 m, there were a number of personal best times and great individual races from Taylor Forbes, who ran a 3:56 while once again leading the entire race.

Rookie Patrick Deane and Jeff Tweedle ran to a time of 4:01 in the same event, while Blair Morgan and Luke Charbonneau both ran to a time of 4:03.

Deane was impressive in his first 1500 m of the season, and coach Schnurr is both surprised and pleased with his performance, especially as a rookie, as he is still adjusting to the pressures of first-year university.

“I’m a little surprised, but he is very talented, he works so hard, he’s extremely committed, he seems to be making it work with school and living in res and keeping up with his training,” said Schnurr, “I’m excited for his university career because I know right now he could probably run under four minutes, that’s his goal this season.”

Every week, the Marauders hand out a “Kick of the Week” jacket to two of the athletes that had the best kick, or best performance.

Maddy McDonald won the Kick of the Week jacket for the women’s team, and Brandon Huzevka won the jacket for the men’s team.

The Marauders will look to keep the momentum rolling this coming weekend at the York Invitational, and the following weekend at the prestigious Valentine Invitational in Boston.

The Marauders track season is in full swing, and after two meets under their belt, they have already managed to throw down some impressive times.

The team traveled to the Don Wright invitational in London, and started off quickly with the 60 m dash, where Latisha Rhooms finished fourth overall in the finals with a time of 8.06.

In the men’s 60 m dash, last year’s CIS 300 m bronze medalist Scott Hutchinson also finished fourth overall with a time of 7.12.

In the men’s 1000 m race, Jeff Tweedle prevailed as the winner, running to an impressive time of 2:31, which is a personal best time for the second year engineering student.

Not too far behind Tweedle was first year Patrick Deane, who finished third overall with a time of 2:33.

In fifth place was Eric Barry, who finished the race right beside Deane, with a time of 2:33.

In the 1500 m race, women’s captain Chelsea Mackinnon ran an impressive first race of the season, finishing in third place overall with a time of 4:45.

Close behind Mackinnon was Raquel Burgess, who ran to a personal best time of 4:48 which was good enough for sixth place overall.

In the men’s 1500 m, the most impressive race was from Taylor Forbes, who won the race with a time of 3:59 - close to his personal best time, which he ran at the OUA meet in late February last year.

Forbes and teammate Connor Darlington were initially given the task of pacing his brother and teammates, but after feeling good for the majority of the race, Forbes decided to keep running and aim to break the grueling four-minute barrier in the middle-distance race.

“Just before reaching three laps to go I took a look back and realized they weren’t following pace anymore and I wasn’t feeling tired, and I was having a lot of fun being out on the track. I knew I could run under four if I wanted to, so I just said why not?” said Forbes.

Although his race in the 1500 m was great, Forbes has decided to shift his concentration to the 3000 m race, where he will attempt to run to a personal best time.

“I want to run as close to 8:20 for the 3000m as I possibly can, I would be happy with running 8:25 or faster this season,” said Forbes.

Forbes has decided to use the indoor-racing season as training for his triathlon season - which is his main event and passion.

“I’m not focusing solely on track but more towards the bigger picture which is my summer triathlon season,” added Forbes.

Three other Marauders finished closely after Taylor Forbes, with twin brother Austen Forbes finishing in third place with a time of 4:03, Jordan Bierema finishing in fourth place with a time of 4:04, and Luke Charbonneau finishing in fifth place with a time of 4:07.

In the 3000 m women’s race, grad student Kierstin Myers came in fourth place overall with a time of 10:30.

The team will now look forward to the McGill Invitational meet — the biggest meet of the season this coming weekend in Montreal, where they will be pushed to even faster times in a more competitive field.

By: Laura Sinclair

The McMaster Marauders track team raced at the largest meet in the country from Jan. 25-26 at the McGill Team Challenge in Montreal. The team came back happy, with some fast times and some new school records that have ranked some individuals within the top five in the country.

To start off the meet, veteran Jill Wyman ran a time of 2:58 and came tenth in the 1000m race.

In the 3000m, Courtney Patterson came seventh overall with a time of 10:15.

Next on the track was the women’s 4x200m, where the Marauder team was looking to finally break the school record, after just narrowly missing it two weeks before. The team comprised of the speedy Jessica Tat, Abi Shanmuguratnam, Kara McPherson and Latisha Rhooms did just that at the Tomlinson Centre, running a 1:45.15 to set a brand new school record in the 4x200m relay, and to rank them twelfth in the country.

In the 4x800m relay, the men’s team comprised of Brandon Huzevka, Taylor Fox, Eric Barry and Paul Scholl came fourth overall, running a time of 8:05 that currently sits them at eighth in the country.

On Saturday, Jan. 26,  Jessica Tat finished fourth in the 600m with a time of 1:33, which puts her in the tenth spot in Canada.

In the men’s 300m, Marauder Scott Hutchinson ran the fastest time of the entire field, running a 33.85 and breaking the school record (which he had set himself) in the process. This time currently sits Hutchinson second overall in the country. Not too far behind him was teammate Rudy Baronette, who ran to a time of 34.85 which also broke the previous record, and placed him fourth overall, and fifth in the country.

Lastly, in the 1500m, CIS Cross Country bronze medallist and recent Mary Keyes award recipient Victoria Coates finished eighth overall with a time of 4:36, putting her in the eleventh spot in the country, while teammate Jill Wyman was not too far behind in 4:37 which puts her at  twelfth  in Canada.

In the men’s 1500m, Taylor Forbes finished ninth overall in 3:56.37, which puts him in thirteenth in the country, while teammate Jeremy Walsh was extremely close to Forbes with a time of 3:56.95, a time that puts him in the fifteenth spot overall in Canada.

Next up for the Marauders is the York Invitational at York University on Feb. 2, where the team hopes to get some more fast times on the track, and to set new personal best times.