Kodiak Owen Stweart rounds the corner of the 1,000 metre race at the Butterdome during the Championship track meet. Stewart fights to get to the front of the pack in the race on Saturday, March 18. Photo by Chase Chambers
The Kodiaks men’s indoor track season concluded after the Kodiaks won the Alberta College Athletic Conference championship meet thanks to strong individual efforts fostered by a positive team atmosphere.
The Kodiaks competed at the two-day track meet on March 18 and 19 at the Butterdome in Edmonton where collectively they scored 83 points leading to their dominant victory over the competition including second place team, the SAIT Trojans who scored 58 points. Head coach Simon Schaerz says he is happy with the team’s work all season and the weekend’s efforts that secured this win.
“I think it’s been a wonderful season. There’s been lots of hard work, lots of individual performances and sacrifices. This weekend everybody came together and fought hard,” said Schaerz. Numerous athletes scored points for the team including the 4×200 m relay group consisting of Gunnarr Gibb, Orin May, Ethan Lizotte and Jonah Henning.
This team secured gold and broke the school and ACAC record. Lizotte says the entire team worked hard to ensure they were doing everything they could to come together and give them the best odds of securing this victory. For him, this meant dropping one event from his meet to ensure he was ready for his other races.
Schaerz says standout individual performances that come to mind for him include races from Cooper Williams, who placed second in the 3,000 metre race and Owen Stewart, who collapsed at the finish line of the 1,000 metre event where he took bronze and fractured his elbow in the fall.
Schaerz and the rest of the coaching staff agree these exceptional displays of dedication and effort stem from the team’s dynamic.
“One of the things that we talked about earlier as coaches between me, Taryn and Aaron was just the fantastic team culture here. Everyone is pushing each other along and challenging each other to do better while having a great time,” says Schaerz. Lizotte agrees this dynamic has created an environment where he was encouraged to perform well.
“The atmosphere alone is the best I’ve ever been a part of. I was a multi-sport athlete in high school and honestly coming into college and running on this track team was probably the best team and atmosphere. Everyone is just positive and supporting. I think having everyone on the sidelines and being loud made a strong impact on the way I ran. I pushed myself to not only do better for myself, but to do better for the team,” says Lizotte. Schaerz feels this sense of community amongst the team members is the most important takeaway from the season. Read more at LethbridgeCampusMedia.ca
