Connor McGuire is confident going into the biggest race of the university season.
The Summerside native will be running in the 1,500- and 3,000-metre races at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) track and field championships later this week at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
McGuire secured his spot at the nationals with first-place finishes at the recent Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championships in Moncton.
“Being able to win races comfortably and save energy for the bigger races is a good confidence boost,” said McGuire, a fourth-year student at St. Francis Xavier University. “At nationals, confidence comes into play in the last couple of laps.”
McGuire is currently ranked 10th in the country for both events.
His goal is to finish in the top 10 in Edmonton this weekend.
“I’m not too concerned about running at a certain time or anything, placing is the big thing. Top 10 would, of course, be the goal,” he said.
McGuire is set to run Friday evening in the 3,000 metres and Saturday afternoon in the 1,500-metre final.
“It’d be very cool to win, but I think that’s a goal for next year.”
McGuire was also named the AUS male track athlete of the year this season.
“It was a big surprise. It’s not really a goal you go in with, but it was on my mind a little bit,” he said.
He claimed a third gold as part of the 4x800m relay team. The squad of Stephen Deering, Bryden Tate and Gabe Quenneville finished in 8:13.5, ahead of Dalhousie (8:20.8) and Moncton (8:41.8).
With St. F.X. students out of class during a labour dispute at the Antigonish, N.S. university, McGuire had more time to train for previous events. Now that students are back in class, it’s been a hectic schedule leading up to the CIS championships.
“It’s been hard with all the school being crammed in since the strike ended,” he said.
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Connor McGuire
u Hometown – Summerside.
u Studying – Fourth-year bachelor of science student at St. F.X. University.
u Sport – Track and field.
u Recent Competition – Won gold at the Atlantic University Sport championships in the 1,500m (3:58.53), 3,000m (8:32.67) and the 4x800m relay (8:13.5).
u Upcoming Competition – Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship this week in Edmonton.
u Did You Know? – Also competes in cross-country running.
