The accolades are seemingly endless for the Lethbridge College Kodiaks cross-country running program.
On May 1, the 2005-06 Kodiaks men’s team will be inducted into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame. It’s the third trip to the hall in four years for head coach Bertil Johansson. After seeing his 2003 women’s team inducted in 2007, he was inducted the following year in the builder category.
The Kodiaks won both provincial and national championships in the 2005-06 season and duplicated the success with both titles in 2009, while the women finished second. The program’s success over recent years can be credited to the commitment of the runners, both Canadian and Kenyan, but Johansson’s passion and dedication to developing the young athletes has also played a part.
“It’s a humbling opportunity but it’s also rewarding for my athletes because it’s all about them and giving them an opportunity to grow in society,” said Johansson.
“It’s not like something we strive for but if they recognize the college kids’ performance, that’s good.”
He felt his 2005-06 team could have been inducted last year to make it three straight induction years but they just missed out.
Johansson is quick to deflect credit for the success of his teams, feeling he’s been spoiled with a calibre of Kenyan runners few schools in Canada have.
“We’ve been very fortunate. It’s almost embarrassing that we’ve won so many national championships in a sense. I’ve been fortunate to be part of it.
“It’s always a great opportunity to be a part of successful teams over the years.”
Johansson says his goal is to see his men and women’s team take home the national title for the first time in CCAA history next year. This past season, they became the first men and women’s teams to take the provincial title in the same year.
With returning runners like Willy Kimosop in the mix, it doesn’t seem like a farfetched goal. Kimosop was named the road race male athlete of the year by Athletics Alberta in 2009. Among his achievements, he had a first place finish in last summer’s Vancouver Sun Run out of about 10,000 runners.
Also being inducted this year is longtime Lethbridge sports broadcaster Bryan Jeannotte, who has been a familiar local voice since the 1970s. In addition to his long radio career, he also worked with the Kodiaks as an announcer and a publicist for several years.
The induction ceremony will be held at the Coast Hotel Banquet Centre on May 1. Tickets are available at the City of Lethbridge box office.