Axewomen finish sixth at AUS championship

WOLFVILLE, N.S. — Acadia placed sixth in the women's team standings at the AUS Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Hennigar's Farm, led by Clementine MacLeod. The Axewomen finished with 174 points behind counters MacLeod (31:59, 28th), Paris Buchanan (32:04, 30th), Anne-Sophie Le Rudulier (33:07, 36th), Ava Joseph (33:57, 39th) and Grace Earl (34:43, 41st). Maggie Graves (35:39, 45th) and Jillian Hope (37:28, 48th) rounded out Acadia's seven.

StFX won the women's banner with 27 points after placing all five scorers inside the top 11. UNB took silver with 62 points and Dalhousie earned bronze with 67. Memorial, UPEI, Acadia, Saint Mary's and Moncton completed the order. Individually, Saint Mary's Frances MacLeod won in 28:44, followed by StFX's Caroline Ash in 28:46 and Poppy Moon in 28:54.

Acadia opened cleanly and held position through the first lap, with MacLeod and Buchanan running just off the top-25 pack. Le Rudulier and Joseph worked together through the middle kilometres to stabilize the team score, and Earl's closing kilometre secured the fifth scoring spot. The Axewomen's spread from first to fifth was 2:44.

The course rewarded patient pacing and pack running. StFX controlled the race with tight placement and depth, UNB secured silver by grouping four runners inside the top 16, and Dalhousie locked down third with consistent finishes across the top 25. At the front, the individual podium separated in the final kilometre, with Frances MacLeod holding off Ash by two seconds and Moon eight seconds back. For Acadia, the performance underscored balanced scoring and late-race composure, highlighted by MacLeod's top-30 finish and steady contributions from Buchanan and Le Rudulier. The Axewomen will look to build on that depth as training shifts to winter and preparations begin for the next campaign.