York University Lions cross country runner Suraj Sharma finished in fifth place to lead all Lions at the Don Mills Open in Waterloo, Ont., on Saturday (Oct. 1).
 
The fifth-year runner crossed the finish line of the 10km race in a time of 33:57 for the first top-five finish of his career and the first by a Lion since Esteban Clavijo finished fifth at the Queen's Invitational meet in 2013.
 
Sharma was one of four Lions competing in the 83-man field. Teammate Brandon Belan (Espanola, Ont.) also had a tremendous showing with a 13^th-place result. Rookies Colton LaFrance (Espanola, Ont.) and Abdiaziz Ali (Etobicoke, Ont.) were 35^th and 38^th, respectively.
 
In the women's 6km race, Vaishnavy Yogarajah (Brampton, Ont.) crossed the finish line in a time of 24:28 for an 18^th-place result to lead all Lions. Rookie Anna Green (Ottawa) was right behind her in 21^st place, followed by Shae Turner (Toronto) in 45^th position and Brittania Fusca (Markham, Ont.) in 60^th.
 
The Lions have one more regular season meet at the U of T Open on Sunday, Oct. 16 in Etobicoke, Ont., before the OUA championships, which will also be hosted by the Varsity Blues on Sunday, Oct. 30.