Tommies see strongest cross country season in years, send three runners to nationals

STU runner Kensea Aaron participated in a cross country meet on Sept. 27. (Credit: STU Athletics)

Both the St. Thomas University (STU) men’s and women’s cross country teams had their best Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) season in nearly a decade.

The men’s team finished in third overall, while the women’s team came in fifth. This is the first time the women’s Tommies have placed as a team in years, after several seasons affected by injuries.

“Everybody put together good races this year. We had some performances that I think surprised even some of our runners themselves and how well they did, so we had a sense after the first meet that we might do better than we have in past years,” said Coach Nicholas Larade.

This season had three meets, followed by the championship run hosted by Dalhousie University in Truro. 

Third-year runner Kensea Aaron came in fourth at the men’s championship race. Before he started running for STU, he played on the men’s volleyball team.

He decided to switch sports after finding the volleyball season too long. Having run competitively in high school, he was familiar with the shorter cross country schedule.

“During the winter, one of my friends convinced me to run a race and as soon as I did that, I was hooked and knew I wanted to get back into running,” he said. “Those first couple months were definitely rough, because I was trying to get the fitness back … but as soon as I started to kind of get a couple miles under my belt, I started to feel really good, really fast and I can't imagine not running now.”

Aaron was awarded the Men’s Rookie of the Year and was the only STU runner to make the Men’s Cross Country All-Conference Team.

He also participated in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship on Nov. 8 in P.E.I., along with runners Arjun Godara and Elisabeth Vigneau. 

This was the first time STU sent runners to nationals since Larade started coaching in 2018.

“I think it's going to be a really awesome experience,” he said. “The field is going to be so deep out there, with all the runners coming from out west— I think that the atmosphere at the race is going to be completely electric.”

Fourth-year runner Warren McArthur is happy with this year’s results.

He said that as one of the seniors on the team, he can mentor newer runners with his experience of the courses and help build a community.

“This has been STU cross country's best season, certainly within my memory and to my knowledge,” he said.

Third-year runner Katie Hamming said she’s also satisfied with how STU performed.

Hamming said that the team’s drive was their biggest strength this season, along with their dedication.

“If someone couldn't make it to a practice, they'd still do the workout on their own, because they were driven to get better,” she said. “The sense of community is also a huge strength, because when we encourage each other, cheer on each other and push each other, you run better as a singular person.”