March & April Recap

McMaster Athletic Awards 2016

April 5th marked the 92nd Annual McMaster Athletic Awards to celebrate the achievements of all McMaster Varsity Athletes. The Cross Country and Track Teams were among the most successful teams in terms of number of nominees and award recipients.

Captains Blair Morgan and Maddy McDonald were the Male and Female Cross Country MVPs.
Jeff Tweede and Chelsea Mackinnon were the Male and Female Track MVPs.

Our great Student Trainers were officially recognized for their hours of hard work; Trevor Rice, Leya Chung, Pat Nguyen, Sam Mahoney and Amanda Hroncok.

Plaque Awards honoured athletes who had contributed to a Varsity McMaster Team for four year. Cross Country & Track Plaque recipients include: Maddie Benjamin, Luke Charbonneau, Kaitlyn Pansegrau, Connor Darlington, Derek Van Shepen, Jeff Tweedle, Maddy McDonald and Gabe Ghiglione.

Some of the Major Award Winners
PC: Marauders.ca

Gabe Ghiglione was awarded the Les Prince Award for his leadership and outstanding community service. He was the student-athlete with the highest number of weekly visits through McMaster Athletes Care, as well as the president of the McMaster's ALS Society just to name a few of his many outreach efforts.

Maddy McDonald was awarded the Dr. Edna Guest Award for graduating athletes who demonstrate leadership on their team and within the community, noteworthy athletic ability and reflect the "Spirit of McMaster." Maddy led the Women's team to an OUA Bronze and was awarded the CIS Community Service Award for the 2015 Cross Country season.

Blair Morgan was a nominee for Ivor Wynne Male Athlete of the Year Award for his impressive year representing McMaster on the trails and track, as well as representing Canada at the FISU Cross Country Championships. He lead the Men's team to an OUA Bronze Medal and was named as a 2nd Team All-Canadian for his 8th place finish at the CIS Championships in Cross Country.

Read the beautiful Awards Program complete with articles photos HERE

Marauders.ca Article HERE

CIS vs NCAA: The Decision, a Thesis by Maxine Gravina

Maxine Gravina, multimedia student put together a documentary for her final thesis project. 

PC: Maxine Gravina and Trackie.ca

"Making a postsecondary decision can be tough, but adding in what varsity team one will compete for can make that decision harder. Some young Canadians need to determine whether the NCAA or the CIS is the right choice for their post secondary education and varsity career."

To be clear, Maxine's opinion piece was meant to cover the position of a few athletes and coaches and spark conversation. It was not meant as a comprehensive analysis, and was limited by some restraints. We encourage respectful discussion and hope you can appreciate the art and effort of this video regardless of your opinion.

Watch the video HERE

FISU Cross Country Championships 2016

Canadian Men's FISU Cross Country Team
PC: Paula Schnurr

While the rest of the team was headed to CIS Track, Blair Morgan and Coach Paula Schnurr were across the world in Cassino, Italy at the FISU World University Cross Country Championships. This was Blair's second time in the red and white singlet, having raced at the the same competition in 2014. While Coach Schnurr competed for Canada many times throughout her racing career, this was the first time as the Assistant Coach to a national team.

The course proved challenging with wind, mud and rolling hills. Blair and the Canadian men battled to 8th-place among the teams.

Read Articles and Results on Trackie.ca HERE

CIS Track Championships 2016

We had 5 Marauders compete at the CIS Track Championships at York University in March.
Jeff Tweedle ran courageously leading the Men's 1000m race, unfortunately was clipped from behind but battled his way to 7th. Connor Darlington was 8th in the Men's 3000m. The Men's 4x800m finished 11th.

Full Results HERE