Hamilton: ON - Last Saturday, October 25th, Laurier Brantford's Varsity Cross Country Teams headed back to Mohawk College, but this time, to compete at the 2025 OCAA Cross Country Provincials.

The Golden Hawks had trained all season for this moment, with a spot at Nationals on the line.

All in all, it was a successful day for our teams, with one runner taking home some individual hardware.

Starting off with the men's side, it was once again Kirby Blackman leading the way with a time of 28:46 on the 8K course, netting him a 27th-overall finish. David Uzosike capped off a strong rookie season with a 44th-place finish and a time of 31:31, his best time of the season, with Todd Pearson following in 53rd place with a time of 34:56.

On the women's side, rookie Ryan Johnston led the way in her OCAA debut, netting a 6th-place finish with a time of 23:55 on the 6K course, earning herself OCAA Rookie of the Year honours in the process! Her 6th-overall finish also earned her OCAA First-Team All-Star honours, becoming the first Golden Hawk representative since Faith Nieson in 2022.

Mya Baxter followed in 31st-place with her best time of the year, finishing the 6k race with a time of 28:53, and following her was Dhruti Yadav, finishing in 52nd-place with a time of 38:44.

Johnston will be Laurier Brantford's lone representative at Nationals this year, which take place November 8th in PEI.

While the 2025 season comes to and end for some our runners, the Golden Hawks are leaving the 2025 season with their heads held high.

The Hawks will rally behind Johnston as she looks to bring home more hardware on the national stage.