Cross country head coach received national honours after first victory at U Sports championship since 1963
McMaster cross country head coach Paula Schnurr was named the U Sports men’s Fox 40 Coach of the Year following this year’s national championships on Nov. 12. Winning their first title since 1963, the men placed first in the country while the women finished seventh overall.
Before leading the cross country staff, Schnurr was a decorated athlete for the Marauders, earning 28 provincial medals in the Ontario Women’s Interuniversity Athletic Association.
In 1988, Schnurr set the national record for the women’s 1,500 metre race with her time of 4:16:41. That same year, Schnurr was named the top performer at the Canadian Inter-university Athletic Union championships, she was given her fourth Thérèse Quigley award for McMaster’s best female athlete of the year and was inducted into the McMaster athletics hall of fame.
Schnurr’s talents brought her to the international stage, making two appearances for Canada’s Summer Olympics team in 1992 and 1996. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Schnurr collected a silver medal in the 1,500 metre event.
In 2010, Schnurr assumed the role of head coach for McMaster’s cross country program. Over the last few years, Schnurr and the men’s cross-country team have developed into household names atop the national leaderboards.
The men recorded their first Ontario University Athletics gold under Schnurr’s tenure in 2018, led by a gold medal outing from then-sophomore runner Max Turek. Following their performance, Schnurr received the OUA award for the men’s cross country coach of the year, making history as the award’s first-ever female recipient.
That season, the men earned bronze at the national U Sports championships, missing second place by a five point margin to the Guelph Gryphons. Most recently, the men captured provincial silver and national bronze in 2021 to continue an illustrious stretch of seasons for the team.
Prior to this year’s championships, Schnurr brought the men and women’s teams to OUA excellence, winning gold and silver respectively before heading into nationals. Coming in as the top team in the national power rankings, the men closed out a phenomenal season by securing the U Sports title.
On route to his third U Sports athlete of the week award, Turek completed an exceptional year after finishing the race in first with a time of 24:21. His run marks a perfect season for the Marauders, who also received gold medals in the Western Invitational, the Marauder Bayfront Open and the OUA championships.
Andrew Davies and Alex Drover placed third and fifth respectively to give the Marauders three runners in the top five. Dylan Alick finished the race in thirteenth place with a time of 25:10, while Sam Nusselder’s showing of 25:14 was good for fifteenth overall. Self-titled “The Flying V”, the five’s total of 37 was good for 78 points above the second-placed Laval Rouge et Or.
“It’s been a four, five year process for this group because they’ve come through the team together. Each year they were improving and getting so close . . . so [winning nationals] was really the focus all season,” said Schnurr.
It’s been a four, five year process for this group because they’ve come through the team together. Each year they were improving and getting so close. . . so [winning nationals] was really the focus all season.
Paula Schnurr, Head Coach
On the women’s side, OUA bronze medalist Rosalyn Barrett was the top runner for McMaster, coming in thirtieth with a time of 30:20. Hannah Goodjohn and Sarah Nolan recorded thirty-sixth and fifty-first finishes on the way to a seventh place team performance with 222 points. The Rouge et Or scored 49 points to win the women’s title.
After the races, Turek, Davies and Drover were named First Team All-Canadians, while Alick was awarded Second Team honours. Schnurr was given the Fox 40 Coach of the Year award for helping the Marauders to their first national title in 59 years.
“The goal is to help my athletes get better and the team get better. If I get recognized for the little part I play because they were the ones out running, then it’s a nice honour . . . When you have talented athletes, they make any coach look good,” said Schnurr.
The goal is to help my athletes get better and the team get better. If I get recognized for the little part I play because they were the ones out running, then it’s a nice honour. . . When you have talented athletes, they make any coach look good.
Paula Schnurr, Head Coach
With their top five runners graduating this year, the men’s team successfully capitalized on their immense wealth of talent with a championship banner. Going forward, the program looks to continue its dominance and develop its youth under Schnurr’s expertise and mentorship.
C/O McMaster Sports, Muad Shoots
Gold and bronze performances at Bayfront Open have McMaster’s cross-country teams ready to take on playoffs
McMaster’s cross country teams completed their regular season on Oct. 14 at the Marauder Bayfront Open in Hamilton. Competing on home territory, both the men and women’s teams had exceptional outings at their eight kilometre races, coming in first and third place respectively.
Heading into the meet the Marauders boasted high positions atop the U SPORTS top ten cross country power rankings for Oct. 11. Fueled by first place efforts at the Western Invitational and Don Mills Open, the men’s team took their competition by storm, totaling 89 voting points to put McMaster ahead of the pack. Coming in third and fourth at the London and Waterloo meets respectively, the women’s team pulled into fifth with 49 points for their performance.
Backed by the Sep. 28 U SPORTS player of the week, Max Turek’s first place run and time of 23:47.2 led the men’s team to complete control of the race. Closing out the spots behind Turek, McMaster swept the podium following strong efforts from Andrew Davies and Dylan Alick. Just nine seconds off Alick’s time of 24:06.5, Alex Drover’s fourth place showing gave the Marauders the top four overall runners for the men’s event.
Coming in eighth place for his run, Sam Nusselder rounded out the team’s qualified scorers for the race. With multiple graduating players on the roster, including the top five at the Bayfront Open, Nusselder highlighted the men’s desire to make the most of the year while the current core stayed intact.
“This is kind of like the last dance in a way for us before we all graduate and move onto other things. [The team’s] just trying to finish off the season how we’d hoped for and leave behind something we can remember,” said Nusselder.
Good for 38 points ahead of the second place Queen’s Gaels, the men’s total score of 18 was yet another display of their continued season dominance.
For the women’s team, their top scorer, Rosalyn Barrett, finished the race in seventh after completing the run in 29:22.9. Three other Marauders, Hannah Goodjohn (13th), Sarah Nolan (18th) and Kaitlyn Treleaven (19th), pulled into the top twenty with impressive runs for the team. Together, their combined score of 81 helped McMaster to a third place finish.
Lead runner Sadie-Jane Hickson and her time of 28:44.3 allowed the Guelph Gryphons to secure first place in the race with an impressive 31 point total. Coming in behind Hickson, Western athletes Sophie Coutts and Anna Carruthers closed out the podium for the women’s event. Their efforts helped to lift the Mustangs into second place with 36 points.
Per Goodjohn, the women’s team will experience a roster change similar to the men next year, including the loss of Emma Waddington, Olivia Macaskill, and Nolan, the team captain. Despite the turnover, Goodjohn showed confidence in the younger members of the team to continue their development and fulfill larger roles next year.
“From the younger runners, I’ve seen a lot of them come into it and succeed within the program. There’s always that period of adjustment. . . Even through that struggle period, they still manage to succeed and excel,”
Hannah Goodjohn, McMaster Cross Country Athlete
“From the younger runners, I’ve seen a lot of them come into it and succeed within the program. There’s always that period of adjustment. . . Even through that struggle period, they still manage to succeed and excel,” explained Goodjohn.
Both teams will look to capture gold as they take on the Ontario University Athletics championships on Oct. 29 at Western’s Thames Valley Golf Course. Following the contest, they will head off to the Brunello Golf Course in Halifax to compete at the U SPORTS championships for their final event of the year.
While only seven runners will be selected for the playoff races, Nusselder applauded all of his teammates for their display of commitment and dedication throughout the season.
“It’s always just amazing to see how many people are still really involved with everything. We might only race seven, but a lot more than seven go into training with the group that races,” said Nusselder.
With three meets now in the books, both cross country teams are primed for big performances as they venture into the championships.
C/O Travis Nguyen
After over a year and a half break, the athlete of the week features are back.
For the first time since March 2020, the Athletic and Recreational committee has released the athletes of the week spotlight for the week period ending Sept. 19. First year fastpitch player Aliyah Woolcock, and veteran cross country runner Alex Drover have been selected as the week's athletes of the week, racking up impressive statistics for the Marauders over the two categories.
Woolcock impressed overall with her batting average of .875 in her first few games, whilst Drover led his runners and achieved a time of 55:32 with his partner, Caroline Forbes in their 8 km legs.
Speaking to Alex Drover about his achievement, he expressed how surprised he was, as well as how proud he is to be featured in the first athlete of the week spotlight after such a long time.
“To be honest with you, I was a little bit surprised when I got the notification on my phone. I didn't really expect it but I am very proud and honoured to be named as an athlete of the week,” said Drover.
On the subject of the COVID-19 break and how it affected him, Alex made it clear that he was not set back by the break, and that it did not cause a big downfall for him.
“The [COVID-19] break was tough for everyone, that is certain. But personally, as a runner, we were not really affected. I consider myself lucky as we consistently train outside, and practicing did not really get hindered by the break which was really good at the time. It did take some pressure off,” explained Drover.
When speaking to the fastpitch player Aliyah Woolcock, she was also rather surprised by the announcement, but was honoured to be a part of it.
“I was aware that I did really well over the weekend. I was very happy about that, but it’s like I completely forgot about it. One day I got called to the office by my coach and then I was told to go take a picture for the award. . . It was all too quick,” said Woolcock.
Aliyah also did not hide her enthusiasm with the fastpitch team and their chances for this season.
“I am so excited for this team. We are all really motivated and are looking forward to playing every game. I personally think that we have a really strong team and that we have a lot of potential that can be fulfilled. I also do hope that I will play every game and keep up the form from last week, as I want to help the team challenge for the medal this season,” said Woolcock.
The journey does not end there for Woolcock and Drover. Both still have a long season ahead, and have just begun. However, it can be said that both have gone off to perfect individual starts with the athlete of the week accoledate.
The next athlete of the week award is to be announced for the week of Sept. 26.
The McMaster cross country team had an exceptional run during the fall and they’ve shown no signs of slowing down during their track season. At the Eastern Michigan Can-Am meet on Jan. 25, the top six athletes were McMaster Marauders.
Yes. You read that right. At the top of the podium was none other than Alex Drover. Drover finished the three-kilometre race within eight minutes, 14 seconds and 60 milliseconds, four whole seconds ahead of second-place finisher Sergio Raez-Villanueva. Drover achieved the second-fastest time this season of any runner for a three-kilometre race, and his performance earned him the title of the male Pink’s athlete of the week.
In preparing for a race, not only does Drover have to focus on the physical aspects of competing such as training and eating well, but he also has to prepare mentally.
“Preparing for a race long term is about consistent training. Doing everything you can, sleeping, hydrating, eating properly. [. . .] Just getting your mind in the right place, going into a race with a lot of confidence is important and knowing you can race with a lot of the top guys who are there has been one of the biggest changes to my mental preparation,” Drover said.
Alex Drover - Cross Country/Distance Track
Alex Drover
Diet and what you eat can be huge makes a big difference in sports, as it influences not only for health, and performance and endurance but it can also help increase your longevity. Drover has some particularly interesting insight on his diet and why it helps him. While Drover pays attention to his eating habits, he does not restrict himself too heavily.
“More than specific eating habits it’s more than just eating a generally healthy diet throughout and not deviating too much from it. Not to say I won’t have a dessert, I think it’s worse for you than anything to restrict your diet too much to the point where you’re obsessing over it. A specific thing I eat before races, beets are a good one, the nitrates help open up the blood vessels supposedly. So yea, there’s your fun fact,” Drover laughs.
Whatever Drover’s doing has clearly been working for him, as he has consistently been one of the team’s top performers. Drover finished fifth at the U Sports cross country national championship earlier in the year, which put a huge test on his mental game.
“At the U sports championships in cross country this past year, I fell twice during the race. Once on the first two and a half kilometre lap and once on the last lap. The first lap I fell we were probably 800 meters in the race and at that point, there’s still a bunch of people around so falling can put you twenty or thirty spots back,” said Drover.
The ability to stand back up and continue to push through adversity has long been a defining characteristic of top athletes. Drover’s ability to pick himself back up during that race, and then finish within the top five, is part of why he’s one of Mac’s absolute best runners.
Although he placed first at the Can-Am meet, Drover is setting his sights even further. The David Hemery Valentine Invite, taking place in Boston on Feb. 8 and 9, is renowned for its extremely high level of competition. Drover noted that all of the Marauders on the track team have been preparing for a long time and are looking to set some personal bests at the meet.
The cross country/track team has been outstanding this year, and there is no indication that they’re slowing down. Nabbing the top six spots at their most recent meet is the type of dominance that is almost out of a fairytale. They’ll be facing their top competition yet at the David Hemery Valentine Invite in early February, but it wouldn’t be a long shot to expect to see at least one of our Marauders repping on the podium.
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The 2019 U Sports Championship Cross Country Tournament was held last weekend on Nov. 9. Both the men’s and women’s teams travelled to Kingston for the tournament, which is widely regarded as the most important event of the year for cross country. Both teams put as much as they could into this tournament, knowing how important it was. The men’s team managed to place second overall. The first place seat went to the University of Calgary Dinos, who were the defending champions. The women’s team finished 13th.
Team Captain Caroline Forbes led the pack for the Women’s team achieving 27th overall at the tournament. This was an astounding 47 spots ahead of where she finished last year and was awarded the Pink’s Burgers athlete of the week for her accomplishment. Forbes is only a second-year runner yet is one of the team’s most accomplished athletes, she goes to show how in a year or two the women’s team has a great chance of going the distance and medaling at the U Sports Championship. Having such a young team can certainly be challenging, but the sky is the limit for the women’s team.
Leading up to nationals, men’s team veteran runner Max Turek and head coach Paula Schnurr revealed their preparation for the tournament, as well as some team goals.
“Our goal is not to just podium, but win. We left last year hungry for more, and know we have a really good shot this year. We’re fit and ready to roll and are excited to see what we can throw down,” said Turek.
“Our goal is not to just podium, but win. We left last year hungry for more, and know we have a really good shot this year. We’re fit and ready to roll and are excited to see what we can throw down,” said Turek.
Despite not placing first overall, as the team had hoped, their second and 13th place finishes are impressive. Just a week earlier, the men’s team came second and the women’s team placed fifth at the Ontario University Athletics cross country tournament.
“We went into OUAs hoping for the win, but we just didn’t have it that day. We know what went wrong, and where our weaknesses are, and what needs to be done in the future to capitalize and win a title. We still have a lot of confidence going into [nationals], expecting to be able to improve from our third place last year,” said Turek.
The team seems to have reflected on what went wrong at the OUAs and focused on key areas for improvement going into the U Sports Championships.
“After OUAs, our main focus was to just work as a team and concentrate on bringing home a U Sports national title. We wanted to make sure we were well rested going into championships, and be able to execute better than we did at OUAs,” Turek added.
Turek stressed the importance of a U Sports title, which the team came ever so close to, eventually settling for a second place finish. The U Sports championship is the biggest stage for them, as it is the only opportunity to compete at a national level. The team was looking forward to nationals for the entire year, and their eyes had been on the prize.
The men’s team trained specifically for this event over the past year, with all other competitions acting as lead-up to the U Sports tournament. When coach Schnurr was asked about the team’s training regiment and goals, she offered a similar response to Turek.
“After OUAs, our main focus was to just work as a team and concentrate on bringing home a U Sports national title. We wanted to make sure we were well rested going into championships, and be able to execute better than we did at OUAs,” said Schnurr.
“After OUAs, our main focus was to just work as a team and concentrate on bringing home a U Sports national title. We wanted to make sure we were well rested going into championships, and be able to execute better than we did at OUAs,” said Schnurr.
As good as second place is, the team isn’t satisfied. This year was significant for cross country, as both the men’s and women’s teams improved from their last year finishes at U Sports. Last year, the men’s team placed third, and the women’s team placed 15th.
This year, Turek, Alex Drover and Andrew Davies of the men’s team managed to place in the top ten at nationals, placing fifth, sixth and ninth respectively. McMaster was the only university to have three runners in the top 12. Drover and Turek made the All-Canadian first team, and Davies made the All-Canadian second-team, being chosen out of every runner in the country which is an incredible honour. Making an All-Canadian team means that out of all the qualified runners in the country they pick the very best for the first team and then the next best for the second team and so on.
The Marauders put up a strong fight on their way to finishing second and 13th in the most important cross country tournament of the year. It will be exciting to watch the teams next year as they improve and continue to dominate the track.
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