Brookvale, PE - The Crandall Chargers men's cross country team successfully defended their conference title at the ACAA Championships on Saturday, while the women claimed a nail-biting silver. Holland College played host to the Championships at the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park, where the grassy hills made for an authentic and challenging cross country course.

In the women's 6K race, Laura Fonseca captured the bronze medal with a time of 24:38, holding-off the fourth place finisher and last year's champion by just seven seconds. Lydia MacArthur made a commanding charge towards the finish, passing two competitors in her finishing kick to place 7^th in 26:19. Lydia Bodechon narrowly held-off an advancing challenger to place 15^th in 27:59, while Faith Benjamin passed a competitor in the final stages of the course to place 28^th in 33:25.

The Mount Allison Mounties captured the conference championship banner with a score of 17 points, while the Chargers brought home silver with a score of 37 points, finishing just one point ahead of the third place Mount Saint Vincent Mystics.

In the men's 8K race, Luke Purdy captured silver in a time of 26:47, while Jackson Culberson followed close-behind to take bronze in 27:12. Luc Blanchette placed 5^th with a time of 28:10, while Declan Andrews rounded-out the team scoring with a 7^th place finish in 28:31. Justin Reimer paced himself well, passing numerous competitors on-route to his 11^th place finish, with a clocking of 30:48. Nicholas Fletcher had a positive return back from a knee injury that kept him out for much of the regular season, placing 19^th in 33:51.

The Chargers men captured their fourth consecutive conference championship banner with a score of 17 points. The Mount Allison Mounties won silver with a score of 32 points, while third place went to the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics with 50.

Fonseca was named to the Women's All-Conference Team, while Purdy, Culberson, and Blanchette were all named to the Men's All-Conference Team. Head Coach Brandon LeBlanc was awarded Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.

"This was a challenging course, but I think our group persevered well and we peaked for the occasion just right," said Head Coach Brandon LeBlanc. "Our men had what I would consider to be their strongest all-around team result so far this season, while our women came out on top in what was anticipated to be a close race for silver. It's particularly worth highlighting that our women achieved this result by each passing or holding-off competitors in the final stages of the race – the team result couldn't have been closer, but they brought their best when it mattered most and showed great teamwork in doing so."

The Chargers will now take on Canada's best at the CCAA Cross Country Championships, set to be hosted by St. Clair College in Windsor, ON on November 9^th. Purdy, Culberson, Blanchette, Andrews, and Reimer will compete as a team entry, while Fonseca and MacArthur will compete as individual entries.