Queen's Cross Country's Jude Wheeler-Dee captured the gold medal in the 1,500 metre at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay on Friday. 

Wheeler-Dee (Chemistry), representing Canada in the Games, captured the win with a final time of 3:45.08, edging fellow Canadian Émile Toupin by two-tenths of a second in a 1-2 finish for Canada.

Wheeler-Dee is coming off an incredible season for Queen's, and was named the Varsity Teams Men's Sports Athlete of the Year for 2024-25.

Wheeler-Dee helped Queen's Men's Cross Country program to both first place finishes in the OUA and U SPORTS Championships, with Wheeler-Dee placing 1st and 13th overall, respectively. 

The U SPORTS Championship title marked Queen's first national championship in Cross Country since 1984. The team amassed a combined score of 94 points, 36 points less than the second-place finishers – no small feat, especially during a national championship.

Racing successes were demonstrated by Wheeler-Dee at the OUA, U SPORTS and U20 Canadian levels. Amassing U SPORTS Men's Cross Country All-Canadian honors plus the OUA Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year places Wheeler-Dee the among the best the program has seen over several decades.