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Geneviève Lalonde defends her crown at the Canadian cross-country championships

CBC

Geneviève Lalonde, 28, successfully defended her title in the women's senior 10 kilometre at the Canadian cross-country championship on Saturday in Abbotsford, B.C.

The native of Moncton, N.B., dominated the field at Clearbrook Park, pulling away from the lead pack near the final stretch to clock a winning-time of 33 minutes, 22.356 seconds.

Sarah Inglis (33:31.982) of Langley, B.C. came in second, while Calgarian Maria Bernard-Galea (33:46.692) took third.

"It was a really tough race today. Our Canadian women are so great and to have Sarah Inglis jump into the race as well, it definitely pushed the pace," Lalonde told Athletics Canada. "What a great test it was for the legs and to have an event like this to run well is always so much fun."

Vancouver's Natasha Wodak was fourth after finishing second to Lalonde last year in Kingston, Ont. The 2015 national cross-country champion was this year's Pan Am champion in the 10,000 metres and winner at the Canadian 10,000 championships.

On the men's side Mike Tate edged two-time defending champion Luc Bruchet by less than two seconds.

The native of Antigonish, N.S., pulled away from 2018 U Sports cross-country champion Connor Black and Bruchet as they approached the final hill and raised his arms in celebration, posting a winning time of 29:10.34. Bruchet came in at 29:12.09 and Black of Forest, Ont., in 29:18.82.

"It was really big to get the win. The first two laps I felt really good, had a short little kick up the hill and each loop I was able to get a couple steps," said the 24-year-old Tate. "Going into the final laps, I was thinking about trying to save, trying to get ready for that last big move, knowing I wanted to make that big move on the final hill."

Athletes from this year's senior and junior races will be selected to compete for Canada at the 2020 Pan Am Cross-Country Cup in Victoria on Feb. 29.

Saturday's other medal winners

Masters women (8 km)

  • Maria Zambrano (29:21.27)

  • Jen Millar (29:21.27)

  • Robyn Poulin (29:37.01)

Masters men (8 km)

  • Andrew Russell (25:52.75)

  • Graham Cocksedge (26:26.54)

  • Aaron Holmgren (26:28.39)

Under-16 girls (4 km)

  • Erin Vringer (13:57.07)

  • Christina Peet Williams (14:17.63)

  • Mandeep Sangha (14:21.42)

U16 boys (4 km)

  • Tion McLeish (12:58.93)

  • Devon Meadows (12:58.94)

  • Abraham Makaby (13:05.47)

U18 girls (4 km)

  • Madelyn Bonikowsky (14:08.26)

  • Kendra Lewis (14:18.95)

  • Maya Kobylanksi (14:20.18)

U18 boys (6 km)

  • Jaiveer Tiwana (18:42.52)

  • Max Davies (18:46.78)

  • Ben Miske (18:48.05)

U20 girls (6 km)

  • Taryn O'Neill (20:45.76)

  • Naomi Lang (20:49.33)

  • Sadie Sigfstead (20:52.59)

U20 boys (8 km)

  • Andrew Davies (24:38.01)

  • Marc-Andre Trudeau Perron (24:59.99)

  • Kevin Robertson (25:00.87)