Over the weekend, the 2019 NACAC Cross Country Championships took place in Trinidad and Tobago, and Team Canada brought the heat, earning two gold and two silver medals.

The U20 Women were first of the day, and they were no disappointment. Four Canadian women took the top spots, accumulating 10 points, with an average time of 22:17.00 in the 6km run. Taryn O’Neil placed first for the second year in a row with a time of 22:08.00, with her teammates Charlotte Wood and Makenna Fitzgerald right behind her with times of 22:10.00 and 22:14.00. Margaret Smith came 7th at 22:51.00, helping the ladies collect those 10 points, earning Team Canada their first gold medal.

Similar to the U20 Women, the Men were stellar as well, taking over the podium in the 8km run with an average time of 27:34.75, accumulating 12 points. Evan Burke, who is the youngest member of Team Canada, ranked first with a time of 27:20.00. Nicolas Mota took second with 27:30.00 and Andrew Davies took third at 27:37.00. Ibrahim Kedir and Maximus Thiessen placed within the top 10, taking 6th and 9th place with times of 27:52.00 and 28:02.00.

The Senior Women put in a hard fight against team USA, ultimately taking home the silver medal with an average time of 36:53.50. Jessica O’Connell placed second in the race with a time of 36:37.00, just 3 seconds away from first place. The ladies did not give up the fight as Natasha Wodak came 4th in 36:50.00 and Geneviève Lalonde in 5th with a time of 36:51.00.

With the championships almost over, it was all up to the Senior Men to finish the day strong, which they did by collecting 31 points. The men took home the silver Medal for Team Canada with an average time of 32:32:50. Roy Linkletter took 5th place with a time of 31:13.00, his teammates were not too far behind as Mike Tate finished 7th and Evan Esselink in 9th with times of 32:29.00 and 32:49.00. 

The same teams will advance to the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March, this year being held in Denmark.