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, based on performances at collegiate cross-country meets across the country, Canadian Running selected the top athlete as the Under Armour Athlete of the Week.
This week we are covering the pinnacle meet of the season: the 2024 U Sports Cross-Country Championships that took place in Kelowna, B.C., last Saturday. We are highlighting Lauren McNeil of UBC Okanagan and Jared Howse of the University of New Brunswick for their standout performances at the national level. These athletes will be featured on Canadian Running and awarded an Under Armour prize pack featuring the new UA Infinite Pro Trail shoe.
Lauren McNeil, UBC Okanagan (CanWest)
Coming into the championships as the clear hometown favourite, UBCO’s Lauren McNeil was uninterested in a tactical race. The Buxton, U.K., native took the lead after the first quarter of the 8K event, accelerating the fast pace even more. Despite falling while taking a tight corner on the third lap, McNeil broke away from her fellow B.C. contender, Constance Nankivell of Trinity Western University, who had bested McNeil at the CanWest Championships in October.
McNeil’s time of 26:31 shattered the course record and led her to become the first UBCO athlete in history to earn U Sports athlete-of-the-year honours. “It was great to have some healthy competition with those around me and Constance Nankivell, who pushed me the whole way,” McNeil told Canadian Running. “I didn’t have the best start and was quite far back initially, but tried to remain calm and work my way to the front when the course widened.”
The 24-year-old holds a Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Nottingham, in England. She competed for UBCO during an international study year in 2021, where she earned the individual silver medal at the U Sports (runner-up to Laval’s Jessy Lacourse) and was named U Sports Rookie of the Year.
McNeil will turn to road racing in the coming months. “I would like to concentrate on running the half-marathon, 10K and 5K road races,” she revealed. She ran her impressive half-marathon personal best of 1:10:10 in April at the Berlin Half Marathon, and represented Great Britain at the European Half Marathon Cup in June, where her team won gold.
Jared Howse, University of New Brunswick (AUS)
AUS champion Jared Howse‘s gutsy race in Kelowna paid off–the 22-year-old earned the U Sports silver medal, finishing just six seconds behind back-to-back champ Philippe Morneau-Cartier of Université Laval. Howse was the only athlete to respond to Morneau-Cartier’s injection of pace heading into the final lap of the race.
“My key mistake last year at U Sports last year was not covering a critical move in the back half of the race,” Howse, who placed seventh at the 2023 championships, told Canadian Running. “My only objective at this point was to wait for someone to make a move and follow them. As soon as I saw Morneau-Cartier make a move, I knew that was my ticket to the podium.” His result marks the highest finish in UNB program history.
The Red Deer, Alta., native admitted that he’s pleased with his quick time of 23:25, a perk of having to run four flat loops around Mission Recreation Park. Howse and his UNB Reds squad took home a fifth-place team finish, but will be looking for a spot on the podium at next year’s championships.
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The weekend capped off Howse’s cross-country season; he’s already turned his focus to track. “I will [start] preparing for a 3,000m at Boston University in December,” the computer science major said. “My goals for the track season include shaving down some of my personal bests and going for a medal at U Sports in the 3,000m or 1,500m.”
