Women’s cross country run into gold rush at OUA Championships

The women’s and men’s cross country teams both earned medals at the OUA Championships on Saturday, proving they’re one of the strongest combined programs in Canada.

With sisters Brogan and Branna MacDougall leading the charge, the women’s team swept the competition for the Gaels’ second consecutive team banner. Brogan—who would win OUA MVP and Rookie of the Year after the race—finished first with an eight-kilometre time of 28:03, 31 seconds ahead of second-place Branna. Close behind was rookie Makenna Fitzgerald and second-year Kara Blair, who finished in fourth and seventh place.

Results just in from OUA Women’s XC – Brogan MacDougall places first, Branna MacDougall in second as the Gaels land four women in the top 10, winning gold for the second straight year #ygk #ouaxc pic.twitter.com/Nt2qYNhWm9

— Queen’s Journal Sports (@QJsports) October 27, 2018

Meanwhile, the men came away with one of the day’s biggest upsets. They placed second behind McMaster and ahead of Guelph, who won last year’s championships. Second-years Mitch de Lange, Mitch Kirby, and Matt Flood finished fourth, six and 13th, respectively.

The Gaels will have two weeks of rest until they host the U Sports Championships at Fort Henry, which will take place on Nov. 10.

— Matt Scace, Sports Editor

Rowing grabs 11 medals at OUA Championships

Queen’s rowing had a gold rush at the OUA Championships in St. Catherine’s this past weekend. Overall, the Gaels collected 11 medals—nine gold and two silver.

The women’s team achieved a second place OUA finish, collecting five gold medals and one silver.  The men’s team, finishing third overall, won five medals, four of which were gold. The men’s lightweight 2x additionally reached silver in their race.

Gavin Stone, who won gold in both the men’s 2x and 1x, was named OUA rowing male Athlete of the Year for his performances. Stone followed in the footsteps of teammate Alex Bernst, who earned the title last year. Bernst rowed to two gold medals at this year’s championship in the men’s lightweight 2x and men’s lightweight 4+ this weekend.

ROW – Gavin Stone has been named the OUA Rowing Male Athlete of the Year

Stone finished the OUA championships with✌️

He becomes the third Queen’s men’s rower to receive the honour joining Alex Bernst (2017) and Matt Christie (2013) #LeadTheWay pic.twitter.com/itFHKlwZrX

— Queen’s Gaels (@queensgaels) October 27, 2018

Up next, the Gaels will race at the Canadian University Rowing Championships the weekend of Nov. 3-4, hosted again in St. Catherine’s.

— Maggie Gowland, Assistant Sports Editor

Men’s hockey sweeps weekend series

Queen’s found success on the road this past weekend, beating the Waterloo Warriors 6-2 on Friday and the Laurier Golden Hawks 6-2 on Saturday.

Captain Spencer Abraham claimed his first hat-trick of the season against the Warriors, starting off the game with an early goal, giving the Gaels a 2-1 lead after the first.

Queen’s would go on to score four more goals in the third period, with starting goaltender Justin Fazio making 29 saves for the night—allowing only two goals for the Warriors.

On Saturday, the Gaels remained in Waterloo to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks with starting goaltender Jack Flinn in net.  

Going into the second period down by one, the Gaels shifted momentum. Pivotal goals from forwards Slater Dogget and Spencer Abraham gave the team a 2-1 advantage. Queen’s went on to score four more with Flinn giving up only one more goal for the night.

This weekend, the Gaels (6-1-0) will gear up for another road trip—this time to Ottawa—to take on the Carleton Ravens (4-3-0) on Friday and the UOttawa Gee-Gees (5-1-0) on Saturday.

— Jasnit Pabla, Copy Editor

Women’s basketball start season off on strong foot

The Gaels kicked off their season against York on Friday, downing the Toronto-based squad 66-57.

Entering her final season, guard Marieanne Alarie dropped 26 points in the opener, going 11-27 from the field in 37 minutes. On the defensive end, fourth-year Maddie Morris had 11 defensive rebounds.

Following head coach Dave Wilson’s early-season predictions, the Gaels came out strong offensively—they had a 42 per cent success rate from three point range and shot 40 per cent from the field.

Queen’s is on the road again next weekend, when Western and Windsor play host to the Gaels. Western and Windsor both went 1-1 in their opening weekends.

— Matt Scace, Sports Editor

Men’s basketball win season opener

Men’s basketball opened their 2018-19 campaign on a high note, defeating the York Lions 89-76 away from home. 

Queen’s dominated York from the outset, leading 20-5 in the early minutes. They’d be able to keep their distance from the Lions throughout the game, with fifth-year guard Jaz Bains piling on 37 points in 34 minutes on the floor.

The Gaels will hit the road again next weekend against Western and Windsor. They won’t get their first home game until Nov. 9 and 10, when Guelph and Algoma visit the ARC for a pair of weekend games.

— Matt Scace, Sports Editor