Trinity Western University’s Sarah Inglis made Spartans history, as she won the individual title at the CIS cross country national championships while helping TWU to a second place finish overall and its third consecutive Canada West title Saturday.
On the final lap at the University of Guelph Arboretum, Inglis pulled away from the lead pack and, from there, the result was never in doubt as she finished the six kilometre race in 19:49 and nearly 20 seconds clear of the second place runner.
Inglis’ victory marks the first time a Canada West athlete has taken the women’s individual title since 1993, when Lisa Harvey won the second of back-to-back championships.
After winning Canada West gold and finishing fifth overall at last year’s national championships, Inglis did herself one better by earning the double, capturing both the conference and national titles.
TWU’s top five runners finished with the best average time, 20:56, in the CIS, but the Spartans came up 15 points shy of Guelph, which won its 11th straight CIS title.
Beyond Inglis, the Spartans put three other athletes in the top 11 in the CIS, as Lisa Brooking was seventh, Regan Yee was 10th, and Mirelle Martens was 11th.
The Spartans top four runners were all named CIS All-Canadians, with Inglis and Brooking named to the first team and Yee and Martens named to the second team.
TWU was the only team to have more than two athletes named CIS All-Canadians.
With all four finishing amongst the top five in Canada West, they were also all named Canada West first team all-stars.
Along with their third straight conference championship, TWU has also now won the individual conference title for four straight years. The Spartans’ Fiona Benson won in 2012 while Alison Jackson won in 2013 and Inglis in 2014.
Inglis was named the CIS Athlete of the Year Spartans and endurance coach Mark Bomba was named the CIS Coach of the Year.