The cross-country course in Sherbrooke might be five kilometers in distance, but it took the last few metres to decide the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women's cross-country championship last Saturday.

In what was one of the most exciting finishes in recent years, the top three finishers were separated by a mere three seconds. McGill's Sarah Ali-Khan captured the silver medal, just behind Beth Wightman of Queen's University. Ali-Khan passed the Ontario University Athletics champion Michaela McLure from Guelph University in the dying seconds.

For her efforts, Ali-Khan was named a first team All-Canadian. Her teammate, Nicole Portley, finished tenth overall and won a berth as a second team All-Canadian.

Cross-country coach Dennis Barrett was especially impressed with the two runners.

"We had some very tough runners this year who placed very high on a regular basis," said Barrett of Portley and Ali-Khan.

Because Ali-Khan finished in the top four, she earned the opportunity to compete at the World University Cross Country Championships this coming April in Spain. Barrett is not sure whether she will cash that ticket.

In the team portion of the women's event, the Martlets took home the bronze. Beside the strong races from Portley and Ali-Khan, Nadia Morin finished in 28th place. Equally important for the team's bronze accomplishment was Zein Odeh's 49th place finish and Leslie Marcott's 61st place finish. Their strong showings were vital as the Martlets came in third by only a point over the University of Guelph.

"We had a good crack at second on the day, but we are happy to come home with a medal," said Barrett.

In the men's race that followed, Benoit Lebeau was the top McGill runner with a placing of 33rd. Brant Carson, who according to Barrett showed marked improvement throughout the season, followed just a few seconds back, coming in 42nd. Other notable runners for the Redmen team were Danny Lennox in 64th and Yohsuke Hayashi, perhaps starting a little too strong, in 80th.

Despite showing some improvement from last year's Nationals, coach Barrett felt that the men's team did not put in a consistent effort over the entire season.

"We were up and down all season long," said Barrett. "We never seemed to get on a track as a team. Holding your position is very important. No one seemed to hold their position on the team."

Looking ahead to the next season of cross-country competition, Barrett said the outcome will depend solely on off-season work.

"As for next season, the team's success will depend on the effort put in on the off-season."