2023 Women's Cross Country AUS Championship Preview

In Saturday’s AUS Championship hosted by Saint Mary’s University at Point Pleasant Park at 12pm, the Dalhousie University Tigers women’s cross country team will be looking to win the AUS Championship for the first time since 2019.   

The women’s team placed first at the Acadia Invitational on September 23. Kinesiology major Danielle Keefe (Fredericton, NB) captured a second-place finish.   

Also finishing in the top 10 were Maisyn Battams (Tottenham, ON), Waverley Mulligan (Kingston, ON) and Renata Kingston (Ottawa, ON).  

Head coach Rich Lehman emphasized the youth of the women's team. In just their first years of university, Battams, Eva Kriebel (Vancouver, BC) and Juliet Pulfrey (North Vancouver, BC) will all be racing on Saturday. The youth movement is reason to be excited about the Tigers.    

“It’s the best first-year group we’ve seen at Dal for 7-8 years,” says Lehman. “This is the future. We're going to be very good. Let's go have this experience and see what we can do, but we're not just rolling over for anybody.  

Helping lead the team is Keefe, in her third year of eligibility, who finished sixth in the 2022 AUS Championship and was a first team all-star.     

“I’ll be trying my best to give the younger girls some guidance and an idea of what to expect. I want to be there for them as a leader,” says Keefe.  

The race is being hosted at Point Pleasant Park, giving the Tigers a local advantage. Keefe’s family and friends will be there to cheer her on.  

“It's definitely going to give us that extra boost,” says Keefe. 

Be sure to follow the Tigers over the weekend to find out the results of the AUS Championship.