Drouin-Audet and Picard-Hooper named McGill athletes of the week

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – Catherine Drouin-Audet of Repentigny, Que., and Alexandre Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., are the McGill University athletes of the week.

Drouin-Audet, a 20-year-old science sophomore majoring in nutrition & dietetics, won three gold medals at the Quebec university track and field championships in Quebec City over the weekend. She was clocked in one minute, 39.75 seconds to reign as provincial champion of the 600-metre race. The 5-foot-3 middle-distance runner also ran the lead-off leg of the winning 4x800 relay – which finished in 10:18.66 – and anchored the winning 4x400 (4:10.15). Prior to enrolling at McGill, she graduated from Collège de Lanaudière.

Picard-Hooper, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound rookie forward with the Redmen hockey team, scored twice and added a pair of assists as McGill swept their best-of-three semifinal playoff series with Toronto. The 21-year-old finance freshman set up the first goal and scored the second in a 3-2 Game 1 victory over Toronto on Feb. 25. In the deciding game last Saturday, a 6-3 win, Picard-Hooper set up the second marker and tallied the third goal directly from a faceoff. Prior to joining the Redmen last fall, he played for St. John and Baie Comeau in the QMJHL and attended Collège de Baie Comeau.