Two Tigers teammates Colleen Wilson and Jenna MacDonald were honoured at the 2016 Cross Country U Sports banquet on Saturday November 12.
Colleen Wilson finished the 6km race in 11th place with a time of 22:10. Named a U Sports second team all-Canadian, she led the women’s cross country team to a tenth place finish. Sarah Myatt and Abby Llewellyn were the next finishers for the Tigers placing 45 and 54, respectively.
Third-year runner Jenna MacDonald is this year’s U Sports women’s cross country student-athlete community service award winner. MacDonald is the second athlete from Dalhousie to win this award. Gwendolyn Muir received the award in 2009.
MacDonald is a key member of the Tigers women’s cross country team, helping the Tigers to their fourth-consecutive AUS championship win October 29. A two-time AUS all-star, she finished fourth in the race.
Currently in her fourth-year of a neuroscience degree, she is a two-time academic all-Canadian and has received several scholarships and prizes. She has maintained a perfect GPA and scored in the 95th percentile of the MCat.
In addition to excelling in the classroom and on the course se is also dedicating a tremendous amount of time to community work.
She spent most of the summer working as an inclusion councillor with children with autism and Down ’s syndrome. She also volunteers with several labs on campus in the areas of personality research, early social development and the Dalhousie Genetics lab. MacDonald also spends countless hours working with adults with intellectual disabilities through the Prescott Group Society.
A native of New Glasgow, N.S., MacDonald is also very active with the Special Tigers Day program at Dalhousie, providing sporting activities for youth with cognitive disabilities.
“Jenna’s ability to excel in the classroom, on the cross country course and in the community is incredible,” says Dalhousie head coach Rich Lehman. “She does all of that without ever missing a practice or loosing focus on her athletic goals. She is a great example of an exemplary U Sports student-athlete.”