Running in their first meet of the 2025 season, the University of Windsor Lancers women's and men's cross country teams both finished on the podium on Saturday, September 20 at the Vigars & Salter Western Cross Country Invitational in London, Ont., with men's runner Jacob Fitzpatrick finishing the highest among Lancers with a third-place effort.

The women's team placed second overall in the team standings, led by a fifth-place finish by Samara Quanz, followed by Natalie Fortier in seventh. The men's squad rounded out the podium in third, with Fitzpatrick and Noah Costa leading the way with third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively.
 
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Quanz's fifth-place finish paced the Lancers with a time of 29:58.4, just over a minute out of first place, while Fortier's seventh place finish was done with a time of 30:06.3. The next Lancers across the finish line were second-year runner Sian Kniaziew (30:27.4) and fourth-year runner Joelle Olla (30:30.9). Natalie Adam and Nicole Seagris rounded out the top 40.

The women's team score of 72 was the best among OUA teams, finishing short of StFX's 48, and well ahead of their OUA counterparts McMaster (82), and Guelph (96).
 
MEN'S RESULTS
Fitzpatrick finished with a time of 25:16.7, finishing just four seconds behind second place and followed closely by Costa, as the fifth-year Lancer ended with a 25:19.6 mark, five seconds ahead of fifth place. Andreas Pardalis followed in twelfth place with a 25:48.9 time, while new Lancer Abdullahi Abdullahi placed 24^th. Adam Kleinsmith and James Wheeler were the other Lancers in the top 40.

Windsor's 82 team points were just ten behind second-place Western and three ahead of Guelph in fourth, while McMaster took first place.
 
UP NEXT
The Lancers continue their season on Friday, October 3 with an exhibition meet in South Bend, Indiana at the Notre Dame Invitational. Their next OUA meet is the following week at McMaster in Hamilton, Ont.