Mud, snow, rain, wind and cold couldn’t stop the Concordia Stingers from making history last weekend at the QSSF provincial cross-country championships in Sherbrooke.

            Johanna Winters became Concordia’s first ever QSSF cross-country all-star after placing 5^th in the women’s 5-kilometre event in a time of 23:33. Her performance, along with a solid 8^th place performance by women’s captain Christina Lo Basso, led the lady Stingers to another Concordia first- a top three finish at a provincial cross-country championship- after the women just nudged out the Université Laval for 3^rd place.

         Also contributing to the women’s 3^rd place finish was rookie Amélie Marcil-Roy, in 23^rd, Paola Calderon in 33^rd and Émilie Cameron in 37^th.

         Despite the steep inclines and treacherous down hills which caused the women’s 5-kilometre times to be off by more than 4 minutes, the team felt good about their strong performances.

         “My race went really, really well,” said Lo Basso, a third year exercise science major. “I felt incredibly strong throughout the whole race.”

         “I remember finishing the race and having a smile on my face. That doesn't happen too often!” added Lo Basso. “It was the hardest race of my life.”

         Coach John Lofranco was pleased with the women’s results.

         “The ladies did what they had to do,” said Lofranco, “The women ran their best and that is all we can ask for.”

         “We were third by a point,” added Lofranco. “The women achieved what they set out to do.”

         The Stingers will get one more chance in action this season as they head to Quebec City this weekend to take on the CIS National cross-country championships on the Plains of Abraham. 

         The team doesn’t have any official expectations laid out for the race. Many of the runners are shooting for strong performances, while Lofranco is hoping his runners will be able to maintain the same paces on the 5-kilometre course they ran last time in Quebec City, which was only 4-kilometres two weeks ago.

         Lo Basso, however, has set herself the goal of finishing in the top-30 in the women’s event. Meanwhile, Stinger newcomer Paola Calderon, is hoping to finish the 5-kilometre course in under 22 minutes, a goal she has been chasing all season.

         The Stinger men will also be heading to Quebec City next weekend to take on Canada’s best cross-country runners after solid performances at the QSSF provincial championships.

         Simon Malik-Giroux, who placed 25th in the men’s 10-kilometre event with a time of 44:25, led the men. Captain Kyle Verboomen finished just one place behind, in 26^th place, followed by Jonathan Dempsey in 29^th, Flavio Vasquez in 31^st, Chris Gates in 32^nd, Kirill Kompaniets in 40^th and Matt Tamblyn in 46^th.

          The Stinger men, who have been improving steadily over the year, were pleased with their performances.

         “Personally, it was my best race yet,” said Jonathan Dempsey, a first year political science student. “I was happy. I definitely achieved my goal.”

         Overall, the final men’s times were more than 7 minutes off regular 10-kilometre race times because of the race conditions.

         Men’s captain Kyle Verboomen couldn’t believe how rough the course was under the extreme conditions.

         “It was the wildest experience ever. I can never imagine myself running on such a course ever again because those conditions were so unique. It was cold, wet, windy, and snowing,” said Verboomen.

         “We were running through mud a foot deep, puddles two feet deep, up hills where you can slip and fall onto jagged rocks, down slopes were you could slip and fall into a rock filled ditch,” added Verboomen. “It was something else.”

         Coach Lofranco was happy to see the men stick out the race in such tough conditions.

         “Now that they guys have experienced this, they will know that they are tough enough to handle whatever cross-country throws at them,” said Lofranco.

         As for Nationals, the men’s goal is similar to the women. Lofranco hopes they will be able to hold the same pace on the longer 10-kilometre course as they did on the same 8-kilometre course just a few weeks ago.

         Flavio Vasquez, a Stinger rookie, is using the race to gauge himself against his teammates.

         “My goal going to the nationals is to run a good race,” said Vasquez, a second year mechanical engineering student. “I want to feel good and fast during the race and to be able to keep up with the top guns from Concordia.”

         Whatever the outcome of next week’s race, the Concordia Stingers cross-country squad will be looking ahead to next year, when they hope to qualify for the 2007 National championship in Victoria.

         “I just want to have fun, enjoy the experience, and get motivated to earn a chance to go to Victoria next year,” added Dempsey.

         After the conditions the Stingers experienced at the QSSF championships, next weekend’s experience promises, if anything, to be a marked improvement.

         To follow the Stingers in action at the CIS National cross-county championships, check out the event website at http://cisport.ca/e/championships/cross_country/2006/index.cfm, or check back at the team’s website at http://alcor.concordia.ca/~runteam/ or on sporting Canada for regular updates.