2024 Women's Cross Country Season Preview

Written by Wells Mayes

Heading into 2024, the Dalhousie Tigers are looking to see progress from their third place showing at last year’s AUS championships at home in Halifax.

Last year’s team had an up-and-down season, starting with a fourth-place finish at the STFX Invitational before a win up in Wolfville. Standout performances from Danielle Keefe (Fredericton, NB), Maisyn Battams (Tottenham, ON) and Waverley Mulligan (Kingston, ON) saw them in second, fourth and sixth positions respectively. The regular season closed with a strong fifth place showing at the combined RSEQ/AUS UNB Invitational in Fredericton. Mulligan finished 10^th with Keefe just back in 13^th to lead the Dalhousie team.

At the AUS championships, Waverley Mulligan was named an all-star after her fifth-place finish in the 8km race. Danielle Keefe and Mackenzie Kitchen followed in 15^th and 18^th positions, while Juliet Pulfrey (North Vancouver, BC), Renata Kingston (Ottawa, ON), Maisyn Battams and Kristen Ross (Westville, NS) rounded out the Dalhousie contingent in 22^nd, 23^rd, 27^th, and 32^nd places respectively.

To finish the season, Dal runners Waverley Mulligan and Mackenzie Kitchen traveled to London, ON to compete in the U SPORTS championships. The nationals saw Mulligan place 23^rd and Kitchen place 105^th among the 147 runners.

Now after another year of experience for Dalhousie’s young runners, there is a lot of hope and promise for the season ahead. Keefe, Mulligan, Battams and Kitchen are all returning for another year, which can only be a good thing for the team’s fortunes.

“Last year we had four athletes in our top seven in their first year of eligibility,” says head coach Rich Lehman. “Being a year more experienced and mature should help us challenge for a top two position in the AUS. We're excited to be adding graduate school transfers Breanna Sandluck (StFX), Zoe Doorenspleet (UBC), and Laura O'Keefe (Memorial) this year. All three of them bring tons of conference and national level experience and should help us immediately.”

This year, the Tigers will return to begin their season when they make the journey to Wolfville for the Acadia Invitational on Saturday, September 7^th. They will follow that up with a trek up to Antigonish two weeks later for the STFX Invitational, scheduled for September 21^st. The last chance to make an impression before championship season will come in Moncton on October 5^th at the Moncton Invitational. The AUS Championships will be held this fall at Memorial University in Newfoundland on October 26^th.