Posted: November 17, 2004

Athletics: CIS VIA Rail athletes of the week

OTTAWA (CIS) - National gold medallist cross country runners Kristina Rody, from the University of Guelph Gryphons, and Cristiano Mauricio, from the University of Windsor Lancers, are the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) VIA Rail female and male athletes of the week for the period ending Nov. 14, 2004.

Rody, a fifth-year veteran from Maryhill, Ont. won individual gold at the CIS cross country championship and led the Gryphons to a second-place finish.

Fellow cross country runner Janice Ashworth of Dalhousie, and soccer players Danielle Day of McGill, Sarah Barradas of Queen's, and Angela Garriott of Trinity Western were also nominated for the honour.

Mauricio, a junior from Leamington, Ont. also claimed the individual title at the CIS cross country championship while leading the Lancers to the team banner for a second consecutive season.

Cross country runner Paul Chafe of Dalhousie, soccer player Kyle Graham of McGill, and hockey goaltender Dustin Schwartz of Alberta were the other nominees on the men's side.

Kristina Rody
University of Guelph Gryphons
Cross country
5th year, Masters of science
Maryhill, Ont.

Kristina Rody, a fifth-year runner from Maryhill, Ont. became the first member of the Guelph Gryphons in over 20 years to claim the individual title at the CIS cross country championship when she crossed the finish line in 17:01.1 Saturday, at the Guelph Lakes Golf Course in Guelph, Ont. The last Gryphon to win the CIS race was Sylvia Ruegger, in 1983.

The science student, who had won the OUA title a week ago, completed the five-kilometer event with a comfortable 26-second lead over Dalhousie's Janice Ashworth (17:27.5).

Rody's performance helped the host Gryphons place second in team standings behind Dalhousie, an improvement from a sixth-place finish in 2003. Prior to this year, the 5-foot-4 Rody had her best result at the CIS championship in 2000, when she finished seventh to earn her second of four all-Canadian honours.

Female nominees:

Atlantic : Janice Ashworth (Dunrobin, Ont.), cross country, Dalhousie
Quebec: Danielle Day (Ile Bizard, Que.), soccer, McGill
Ontario: Sarah Barradas, soccer, Queen's
Canada West: Angela Garriott (Campbell River, B.C.), soccer, Trinity Western

Cristiano Mauricio
University of Windsor Lancers
Cross country
3rd year, visual arts
Leamington, Ont.

Third-year runner Cristiano Mauricio led a clean sweep for the Lancers at the CIS cross country championship held at the Guelph Lakes Golf Course, as teammates Brandon Young and James Gosselin joined him on the podium, marking the first 1-2-3 finish in CIS men's cross country since Ottawa's John Halvorsen, Bob Rice and Alain Boucher accomplished the feat in 1986.

The Leamington, Ont. native, who had claimed the OUA title a week ago, led a field of 99 runners in the 10-kilometer event stopping the clock at 31:02.9, just in front of Young (31:05.6).

The 5-foot-9, 158-pound visual arts student guided the Lancers to the team title for a second consecutive season, and one of the most dominating performances in CIS cross country history. Windsor's five scorers accumulated only 32 points, 56 less than host Guelph who placed second with 88 points.

Male nominees:

Atlantic: Paul Chafe (Kingston, Ont.), cross country, Dalhousie
Quebec: Kyle Graham (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que.), soccer, McGill
Canada West: Dustin Schwartz (Stettler, Alta.), hockey, Alberta

For all the CIS news and info, visit: www.universitysport.ca.

Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty member schools, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 19 National Championships in 11 different sports.

-CIS-