Family and friends showed up to support the Kodiaks at the provincial championships. Paula Burns, President of Lethbridge College, was also there cheering on the teams. “It was an amazing performance today,” she said. “Both the women and the men have done an incredible job and it’s amazing to see what the coaches have done with these students.”
Simon Schaerz, the team’s Co-Coach, was extremely happy with the results. “That’s just a reflection of the skill and depth of our top runners and just the depth of the entire team,” he said.
For the women’s 5 km race, Emily Lucas placed third earning a bronze medal. Rachel McKenzie was just behind her and finished in fourth place, while Dina Latrou finished in sixth. This is McKenzie’s third year with the team and says it’s been a good year for them. “Simon’s had a good training program, pushing it with the girls. We’ve had a really competitive group this year so that’s been good,” she said.
The women were ranked number one going into the ACAC finals. Sylvia Von Gunten, is running for her second year and expressed what it’s like to be on a team with the number one ranking. “It’s an honour, it’s awesome and our team works hard. We have such a strong bond, we’re like family and I think that really helps us persevere. It’s a great feeling to be ranked number one,” she said.
The men also delivered an exceptional performance at the ACAC finals in the 8 km run. Alex Harding took first place, with his teammate and brother, Andrew Harding shortly behind in third. Boaz Korir took fourth place, while Moses Cherreret was shortly behind him in sixth.
Harding says he was surprised to come in first. “That was the most challenging race I’ve ever done. I can never recall running that hard before,” he said. Although it was a difficult race, he said the team was well prepared.
So what’s next for the teams? “A couple days off, then we’ll start training for the national championships,” said Schaerz. With the big competition less than two weeks away, there is not much time for a break.”
If you would like to see the Kodiak’s cross-country teams compete in nationals, the game will be broadcast live from Brockville, Ontario. You can stream game from sportscanada.tv.
