Kings Cross Country Running team earns silver, Queens win bronze at ACAC Championships

Brent Forster – Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics

Camrose, AB – The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens Cross Country Running teams are heading back to nationals.

With the Kings earning silver and the Queens capturing bronze at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championships, both squads will look to add to their hardware on the national stage in November.

"We hit our number one goal of running in the top three to qualify for nationals," said Kari Elliott, Red Deer Polytechnic Cross Country Running Head Coach.

The SAIT Trojans men won gold, accumulating 29 points. The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings had 46 team points and the Lethbridge College Kodiaks trailed closely behind with 47 points, earning bronze. 

Jayden Wildcat (29:15) led the Kings over 8 km, placing eighth among ACAC male participants and narrowly missing a spot on the All-Conference team. The top seven racers in each division make their respective All-Conference squads.

Devin Saunders (29:27), a Bachelor of Business Administration General Management student, was close behind in ninth. Ethan Duret (29:37) was next in 10th. Red Deer's Axsivier Lawrence (32:31) finished 19th. Dan Szucs was unavailable for the championships. 

Wildcat

"There were some bright moments. Jayden had a great race. Ethan had a fantastic race – his best of the season by far, shaving off a minute and a half," said Elliott. "Devin was hurting today but did well enough to help us get second. The men just barely snagged second spot and it came down to a sprint finish between Axsivier Lawrence and Lethbridge College's fourth runner to clinch that spot."

The Kodiaks' fourth runner Jack Bentley (32:32) trailed RDP's Lawrence by only a second. 

Concordia University's Leonard Chesoo (26:18) won gold for his outstanding individual performance. Chesoo's teammate Brandon Toal (27:38) took silver and SAIT's Keiran Marchand (27:52) won bronze. 

The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens had 56 teams points. The Concordia University Thunder Women's team (24 points) won ACAC gold. The host University of Alberta Augustana Vikings received silver after totaling 30 points. 

Strathmore's Justine Larson (26:54) paced the Queens over 6 km, finishing ninth among ACAC female runners. Lacombe's Jenica Swartz (27:35) was 12th overall. Captain Lauren Pasiuk (28:35), a Bachelor of Science Nursing student, placed 17th and teammate Myah Cota (28:43) was only eight seconds behind in 18th spot.

Larson

"Things didn't go quite as planned but the Queens held on to third place," said Elliott. "It was a really strong run from Lauren, Myah and Justine. Jen was in a lot of pain but didn't quit."

SAIT's Makenna Fitzgerald (22:20) led the ACAC female participants over 6 km, achieving gold. Augustana's Reese Bendiksen (24:20) finished two minutes later which won silver. Emma Derbyshire (25:32), from Concordia University, captured conference bronze. 

The racers were challenged with a variety of conditions in the cross country running trails beside the University of Alberta Augustana campus. Approximately one-third of the course was uphill, one-third was downhill, and one-third was flat.

St. Mary's University will host the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross Country Running National Championships on Saturday, November 13 in Calgary.

"We will take some time to rest before nationals and aim to be sharper and faster," said Elliott.