Lancers Shine at U Sports: Bronze for One, Strong Runs for All

By: Teri Reid

A bronze medal and two stellar performances made the U Sports cross country championships a season finale to remember for the University of Windsor Lancers.

The team was represented by Madelyn Eybergen, Luke Mawhinney, and Jacob Fitzpatrick at the event in Kelowna, BC, on November 9.

Lancer Madelyn Eybergen placed third, claiming the bronze medal after a phenomenal season. She is the first Lancer to finish on the U Sports podium since Stephanie Smith, who also finished with bronze in 2015. Eybergen began training as a distance runner just last year, previously a high jumper, making this medal as surprising as it was impressive.

“It was quite a wild season debut, I haven’t seen anybody jump into running and really just figure it out the way she has so quickly,” head coach Jordan Collison stated. “It was honestly just really fun to be a part of.”

Eybergen spoke to the Lance previously about her past struggles with mental health and the long road it took for her to get to this point of fitness, noting the support from coaches and family being a major motivator.

Madelyn Eybergen stands on the podium with her U Sports bronze medal. Photo Credit: Sydney Patterson

“It’s a big deal to get a medal at U Sports,” says Eybergen. “It’s a bigger deal for me and my history that I’ve been able to get myself to a healthy point and be able to now perform at a national level, its bigger than just a medal.”

The rest of the team was just as thrilled that she was finishing at the front of the pack.

“She came around the corner and you can see that she’s third, and fourth (place) is nowhere to be seen,” says team captain Luke Mawhinney. “We ran the last 800 meters with her, seeing her happy at the end knowing how much work she put in to get it, it’s all we wanted.”

For Mawhinney, U Sports was the last cross-country race of his competitive university career. He had a fast race and fought for an impressive 34^th place finish, just five spots behind teammate, Jacob Fitzpatrick in 29^th.

Mawhinney felt the season’s finish was on a positive note.

“It’s like everything I’ve ever wanted out of this sport. I do this seven days a week, most weeks of the year. I’ve had a lot of years where I’ve not finished happy with how it’s gone,” Mawhinney reflected. “It’s the biggest relief and the biggest dopamine rush. It felt like I actually clicked everything together. Success in this sport is very subjective, but I won all of my battles this year which is really really cool.”

But more than that, there was a sense of comradery among the trio, bolstering each other as they competed in the Okanagan Valley.

“I’m so proud of the whole team this year, we only sent 3 people to U Sports but between me Madelyn and Jacob we had great days all around.” Mawhinney said. “Seeing Madelyn do what she did, seeing Jacob have another good year where he’s gone crazy and done really really well. I love it. I’m happy I get to be in this position with a team this good.”

Getting to the highest level of university competition in Canada is no easy feat. It takes hard work and tons of kilometres in training in order to be successful on the national stage.

Photo credit: Sydney Patterson

“They’re all very hard workers,” said Collison. “They’re all veteran athletes that expect to be there.”

Collison expressed the faith he had in his athlete’s abilities and his expectations for their last race of the season.

“For all of them, it wasn’t anything that we knew that they couldn’t do, it was fun to see them put it all together, that’s always the goal, to put it together at the biggest stage for our sport,” Collison stated. “It was exciting to see them perform the way they hoped they’d perform; it was a good way to cap off the season.”

When Eybergen was asked about what allowed her to stay motivated and keep pushing for that third place finish she said, “I’ve gotten attached to this quote, ‘we don’t know our limitations, if you do know them, you’re limiting yourself.’ I kept on telling myself that there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to be up at the front there’s no reason you can’t be here.”

Lancer Cross Country runners stand by the finish line at U Sports Championships