THE SILHOUETTE • S3
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011
Cross-Country
Women’s Rugby
Mac reaches podium in Chicago
Mac ekes out narrow win in Kingston
Fraser Caldwell Sports Editor
They’re still working out the kinks, but the Marauders are beginning to look very promising as their young season unfolds. The McMaster cross-country squads travelled to Chicago for the Loyola Lakefront Invitational meet on Oct. 1, and each group enjoyed considerable success south of the border. The no. 2 women’s team in Canada placed second in the Illinois capital, losing out to one of the best squads in the NCAA’s Division 1 in the form of no. 27 Iowa. In her second race as a Marauder, veteran racer Lindsay Carson finished as the runner-up in the women’s 5k event with a time of 17:26. She was followed by teammates Victoria Coates and Jillian Wyman in 7th and 8th respectively, with the two members of the Maroon and Grey clocking in within a second of one another. Sarah Haliburton (15th) and Stephanie MacNeill (17th) completed the scoring for the Marauder women. On the men’s side, CIS no. 10 McMaster rounded out the top three at Loyola thanks in large part to a third-placed finish from Andrew Yorke. The fifth-year senior completed the 8k race in 24:55 to climb the podium in Chicago, only five days removed from finishing fourth in a pro-level triathlon in Buffalo, NY. Also scoring for McMaster were Taylor Reid (15th), Graham Bowes (16th), team captain Cory McCurry (68th), and rookie Zac Brown (71st). While they entered the Chicago event as the tenth-ranked men’s team in Canada, the Marauders outperformed the thirdranked Western Mustangs, who finished two places back in fifth. McMaster’s impressive showing translated to an improved ranking of sixth in the CIS poll published on Oct. 4. For her part, Carson is relieved to be back on the competitive circuit, after a disastrous series of injuries kept her from running in any form for the better part of a year. “It was very frustrating,” stressed the veteran Marauder. “I had to sit out for a year initially because I transferred [from Guelph], but I at least wanted to train with the team. But in my very first run in Hamilton, I rolled my ankle and ended up breaking
Ben Orr
Silhouette Staff
PHOTO C/O PETER SELF
McMaster’s Andrew Yorke (left) finished third in the men’s 10k race. it. That put me out for most of cross-country season. “In the winter, I ran into some back problems. It was one injury after another. So I’m very thankful and counting my blessings that I’m injury-free now, and I’m taking things very cautiously because while I’m running for the team I don’t want to blow it and hit another setback.” The opening race of McMaster’s 2011 season saw Carson return to the trails in a competitive fashion for the first time in roughly two years, and she admits that sixthplaced finish in London exposed some expected rust on her part. “It was probably one of the worst races of my life,” declared Carson of her Sept. 24 effort. “I was totally out of it, and I’d forgotten how to hurt. I was running well but about halfway through I really forgot what it meant to dig in for that little bit extra. “Everything comes easily to you when you’re in the shape of your life and winning everything. But I’m more of an underdog this year because of my injuries, and
I’m probably not as fit as I was. So I need to approach my races and my running a little differently.” While her result in Chicago encourages Carson, she still maintains that there is work to be done as she strives to regain the position she once held atop the CIS hierarchy. But the second-placed finish provides a much-needed boost of confidence for a runner reacquainting herself with the rigours of competition. “I was still in eighth place or so with a kilometer to go, which really shouldn’t be the case,” Carson pointed out with regards to her Oct. 1 run. “Going from Western to Chicago, I probably lacked a little bit of confidence because I ran so terribly in London. So the race was a big confidence boost for me, and I’m very happy with the secondplaced finish there.” With performances steadily improving across the board, Carson and her teammates will look to continue their progression when they next compete at the Mustang Open in London on Oct. 6.
A single score, some cold weather and a generous missed kicked proved to be everything the Marauders needed to beat one of their closest rivals. The McMaster women’s rugby team remained undefeated on a cold Saturday afternoon, eking out a 5-3 win over the previously unbeaten Queen’s Gaels on Oct. 1. Alex Fairgrieve scored the lone score for the Marauders in the low-scoring nail-biter. The win gives the Maroon and Grey a 4-0 record and sole possession of first place in the OUA’s Russell Division. The Gaels drop to 3-1, forcing them into a tie with the Trent Excalibur for second place. The low-scoring affair bucks the previous trend of blowout wins on the part of the Maroon and Grey, as Mac had scored over 30 points in all of their games before the match in Kingston. The Marauders had had outscored their opponents 179-39 through three games, and the two-point margin had coach Cam Mitchell pacing the sidelines on Oct. 1. “Obviously we’re happy with the win but I think I almost had a heart attack,” said Mitchell. “You don’t see too many 5-3 games in rugby anymore, and we could have lost it even up to the last play. They had a kick to win it at the end that they missed.” Mitchell acknowledged that his team couldn’t simply be happy with squeaking out a victory on the road, despite the undefeated record the win brought with it. “While we’re happy with the win obviously, we played just well enough to win and no more than that. So going forward to win the big games we’ll have to improve our game.” Mitchell praised the effort of Varsha Tripathi, who shined in the defensive stalemate. “She would be my woman of the match. She was making cover tackles all over the field, holding onto the ball, and • PLEASE SEE WIN, S7