Western Mustangs women’s cross country team are 2024 U SPORTS Champions after winning this year’s national championship at Mission Recreation Park in Kelowna, B.C. earlier this month.
Their victory marks the eighth team title in program history and the first since 1990. The Mustangs also won back-to-back Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships in 2023 and 2024.
“We’re very proud of this group because it has always been about the team. They all wanted to run well individually, but the ultimate goal was the team title and they did it,” said head coach Guy Schultz.
The Mustangs’ top five finishers – Ashley Maguire, Olivia Roussel, Sandra Guga, Sophie Coutts and Anna Carruthers – positioned Western atop the leader board for team standings.
Maguire ran a final time of 27:31 in the 8K race, finishing seventh at the national championships and earning her 1st Team All-Canadian honours.
“We stayed positive all year and kept our eyes on November. I knew this team was capable of greatness from the moment I came to Western,” Maguire said. “I remember talking to Sophie and Chloe (Coutts) over the summer about the potential for this year. Meeting all those goals makes the years of hard work, individually and as a team, worth it.”
Roussel is a 2nd Team All-Canadian with her results.
Schultz also received a major honour after the event when he was named U SPORTS National Coach of the Year, which follows his OUA Provincial Coach of the Year win this fall.
“He truly cares about us as not only athletes but people, supporting us both physically and mentally,” Maguire said.
“His dedication to this team and his true love for the sport is what sets him apart. I am so honoured to be coached by him.”
The men’s cross country team finished in eighth place in the team standings with 254 points. The top individual finisher was Ben Fox with a final time of 24:03.
