Sat., Sept. 21, 2002

Redmen finish first, Martlets second at McGill Open cross-country meet on
Mt. Royal

MONTREAL -- Charley Murphy, from the University of Western Ontario Mustangs
and Sarah Dillabaugh of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, finished first in their
respective races at the McGill open cross-country meet atop Mt. Royal on
Saturday.

But it wasn¹t enough to help their respective teams as five members of the
McGill Redmen placed among the top 12 finishers, leading McGill to place
first of six teams and capture the men¹s team title. On the women¹s side,
Western placed five runners between fifth and 11th, to finish first of five
teams overall.

Murphy, one of 96 runners on the 6k men¹s course, finished the race in
18-minutes, 45 seconds. Ismail Kassam, a 20-year-old psychology freshman
from Albuquerque, N.M., was the top Redmen performer, finishing second in
19:06. Only 38 seconds separated Kassam from his four other teammates that
finished in the scoring. Freshman Daniel Wernersson, a native of Sweden,
picked up four points by finishing fourth (19:07), followed by senior Ben
Brisebois (19:21) of Carrying Place, Ont., with six points in sixth, senior
Brant Carson (19:27) of Waterloo, Ont., in 10th and Ryan Beaton (19:44), a
fifth-year veteran from St-Bruno, Que., who was 12th.

The five top placers for the McGill men tallied a combined total of 26
points, ahead of Western (41), Sherbrooke (72), Laval (123), Ottawa (129)
and Champlain College (150).

On the women¹s side, Dillabaugh was first of 89 competitors and finished the
4k course in 13:47. McGill senior Sarah Ali-Khan, a native of Christchurch,
N.Z., who resides in Beaconsfield, Que., was second in 13:53. Teammate
Nicole Portley, a biology junior from San Mateo, California, was fourth in
14:28, followed by Sarnia, Ont., natives Laura Wakely (15:35) in 15th and
Laura Wilson (15:50) in 24th. Rounding out the scoring for McGill was
Kathryn Semcow (15:56) a sophomore from Abu Dhabi, who placed 26th.

The five top placers for the Western women combined to score 39 points,
ahead of McGill (52), Ottawa (66), McGill Olympic Club (94), and Sherbrooke
(119).

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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman, Communications Officer, McGill Athletics (514) 398-7012