The Fanshawe men’s cross country team has triumphed, securing the OCAA Championship title in the eight-kilometre race with an impressive score of 19. Leading the flock was Matt Talbot, who crossed the finish line first place overall with a time of 26:43.

“It was super exciting,” Talbot said. “And then I know my parents were pretty excited. They kind of know everything that has gone into that. It was super exciting.”

Talbot’s coaches also shared his excitement.

“I had full faith in everybody going into provincials,” said head coach Regan Ryter. “I knew what they were capable of. So yeah, extremely proud of everybody and their individual efforts.”

The Falcons painted the scoreboard red with Ethan Roche who finished the race with a time of 27:50 to claim individual bronze. The men’s team was rounded out by Ty Breedon, Owen Wrigley, Noah Derganc and Adam Voisey whose contributions helped the Falcons fly home gold.

“We have a good team and it’s been a really fun season,” added Talbot. “It’s been awesome, like we all talk and hang out outside of practice and stuff so we all have a good relationship.”

This victory marks Talbot’s fifth consecutive win this season, having dominated all four OCAA Invitational meets leading up to the championships. However, it wasn’t without some obstacles that Talbot was able to bring home such a huge win.

“I actually was dealing with a really minor calf injury last week leading up to OCAAs. I woke up the morning of OCAAs and it was kind of tight, it ended up being okay but it definitely kind of wore on me mentally going into the race,” Talbot said.

Talbot’s outstanding performance earned him the title of 2024 OCAA Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year, as well as OCAA Athlete of the Week. Coach Ryter was also awarded Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the birds through the outstanding season.

The Falcons are looking ahead as they prepare to head to CCAA National Championships. Coach Ryter values training but also appreciates the importance of rest heading up to their big weekend.

“One thing I always say is listen to your body,” Ryter said. “That’s been really important this year. When you’re dealing with injuries it’s very hard for them to stop running but if your body’s telling you to take a break, you need to take that break.”

Nationals are being hosted in Windsor by St. Clair College on Nov. 9, and the birds are ready to keep up their momentum.