Canadian Running and Under Armour have teamed up for the 2024 Canadian U Sports cross-country season to highlight some of the top homegrown talents across the country. Each week, leading up to the 2024 U Sports Cross-Country Championships in Kelowna, B.C., in November, Canadian Running will select the top athlete as the Under Armour Athlete of the Week.
The award will go to a U Sports cross-country athlete who achieved a standout performance at their meet. These athletes will be featured on Canadian Running and awarded an Under Armour prize pack featuring the new UA Infinite Pro Trail shoe. This week we are covering conference championship weekend, and highlighting Constance Nankivell of Trinity Western University and Philippe Morneau-Cartier of Université Laval for their performances on Oct. 26.
Constance Nankivell, Trinity Western University (CanWest)
At last Saturday’s CanWest Championships at Stoney Creek Park in Camrose, Alta., Constance Nankivell of Trinity Western University (TWU) finished her 8K race with no other athletes in sight. The 24-year-old claimed gold with a time of 28:38, winning by a margin of more than 37 seconds. She’s the first TWU athlete to win the conference title since TWU alum and now-Olympian Regan Yee won in 2017.
Nankivell told Canadian Running that she feels “so delighted,” about the result. “It was one of those races where all the hard work came together perfectly,” she says, explaining that the hilly course played to her advantage. “I just felt super strong and managed to pull away earlier than I expected.”
The race marked Nankivell’s third win of the season. In September, she won the Pacific Lutheran Invitational in Seattle and the Bill Roe Classic in Bellingham, Wash. At Calgary’s Stewart Cup on Oct. 12, the Spartan was runner-up to UBCO’s Lauren McNeil.
The second-year athlete is from Edinburgh, Scotland; she previously competed for Edinburgh University, where she excelled in national cross-country events. During her first year with the TWU Spartans, Nankivell placed 11th at the 2023 CanWest Championships.
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The Scottish athlete looks ahead to the upcoming U Sports Championships, which will be her first time racing U Sports athletes outside of the CanWest conference. “My aim is to medal,” she reveals. “I’m just excited to get stuck in and see how I can do off the back of this race!”
Philippe Morneau-Cartier, Université Laval (RSEQ)
The RSEQ Championships at Parc Saint-Lazare in Saint-Lazare, Que., saw Université Laval’s Philippe Morneau-Cartier win his third consecutive title. He clocked 24:28 over the 8K course to beat the field by almost nine seconds. The reigning U Sports champion is thus far on track to repeat his perfect season from last year, as the result marked his third win in three races this season.
The RSEQ meet doubles as the university conference championships and the Quebec provincial cross-country championship. Morneau-Cartier won against athletes in both collegiate and open divisions.
“I feel pretty good about the race,” he told Canadian Running. “I’m pretty happy to remain undefeated this season.” Morneau-Cartier also won the Laval Rouge et Or Invitational on Oct. 5 and the Capital Cross Country Challenge in Ottawa on Sept. 28.
Morneau-Cartier admits the sandy course was hard on the legs–but a commanding lead still gave him the chance to let up during the final quarter of the race. “I was able to pull away from the field with a few kilometres to go so,” the 23-year-old says. “I took the last two kilometres very easy.”
The La Pocatière, Que., native led his team to secure a silver medal at the RSEQ championships; however, the second-place result marked the end of a 12-year winning streak for the Laval men.
“For this season, I’m aiming to repeat at U Sports with a fast race on a flat course,” Morneau-Cartier says. “Then I’ll train well for a few weeks and aim for another podium at the Athletics Canada Cross-Country Championships (ACXC).” ACXC is set for Dec. 1 in London, Ont.
