New faces, big goals shape UPEI Cross Country Panthers’ season

A new-look women’s team and a men’s group with its sights set on the podium will give UPEI Cross Country two very different storylines to follow in 2026.

On the women’s side, change is impossible to ignore.

For the first time in several years, the women’s team will compete without graduates Katie and Grace Richard, two runners who became fixtures near the front of UPEI’s lineup. Their departures leave a younger group looking to establish its own identity.

Head coach Mike Peterson sees that transition as an opportunity.

“This will be a rebuilding year, but I’m happy with how everyone is developing so far,” Peterson said. “We have a nice mix of veterans who are doing a great job bringing along the younger athletes.”

Veterans Stefania Angona and Katie Gautreau will be central to that process, while newcomer Lauren Doyle, who previously ran at Acadia University, adds another experienced voice.

Angona continues to set the tone both in workouts and away from competition, while a strong summer of training has Gautreau entering the season in the best form of her UPEI career.

Behind them, second-year runners Lucy Power and Sarah Irwin will look to take another step, while rookies Claire Breau and Abbie Carter have already impressed the coaching staff.

For Angona, the youth movement has brought renewed energy to the group.

“This year is really exciting because our team is so young,” she said. “It gives us an opportunity to build something together and show what hard work, motivation, and resilience can accomplish.”

The men’s team enters the season at a different stage, with an experienced core and medal aspirations.

Luc Doucette and Joel Gallant give UPEI two proven runners capable of finishing near the front of the field, but Peterson believes their influence extends beyond race day.

“Having two low sticks like Luc and Joel obviously helps us score, but they also bring a lot of leadership,” Peterson said. “The younger athletes see the work they put in every day.”

Doucette believes this year’s group has the potential to do something UPEI Cross Country has only done once before.

“We’re undoubtedly in medal contention,” Doucette said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we take home both individual and team medals at AUS. This is easily our strongest team we’ve had, and I expect our best result will follow.”

Much of that will depend on the runners behind Doucette and Gallant.

Baleyon Wolfe and Mathew Young are expected to play important roles, while rookies Denver LeBlanc, Jacob Pozins, Isaac Boudreau, Adrian Sunderland, and Cédrick Provencher are already pushing for spots on the AUS championship roster.

The Panthers will get their first opportunity to see where they stand on September 19, when UPEI hosts its first cross country meet since the 2022 AUS Championships at Fullerton’s Creek Conservation Park.

For the women, it’s a first glimpse at what a young group can become. For the men, it’s an early chance to prove the expectations are justified.

Either way, Peterson is less concerned with where the Panthers start than where they finish.

“We’re trying very hard not to get too excited about results and to just put the work in every day,” he said. “I really like where the team is at, and the future continues to get brighter at the start of every season.”

The UPEI Cross Country Panthers host the UPEI Invitational at Fullerton’s Creek Conservation Park in Stratford, PEI, on Saturday, September 19. The women race at 12:00 pm, and the men at 1:00 pm.