ACAC Cross Country Championships Preview 2019
Records are made to be broken.
It was 2008 that legendary Lethbridge Kodiaks cross country icon, Willy Kimosop, clocked an incredible 25.04 for an 8 kilometre run during Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Grand Prix competition. A year later, he would lower the standard to 25.03.
There is a new ACAC legend on the course as following in his fast footsteps is Leonard Chesoo of the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder.
The 2nd year Bachelor of Science student/athlete from Iten, Kenya, established an ACAC regular season all-time best of 25.01 for the 8 kilometre distance. He set the record pace on September 7, 2019, on his home course. He now looks to improve on his silver place finish at last year's ACAC championships in which he ran a 25:46.
The 2019 ACAC Cross-Country Running Championship runs Saturday, October 26, 2019, at noon at Calgary's Confederation Park, hosted by the SAIT Trojans.
Last year, Chesoo admitted he had yet to see now. Since then, he has seen plenty. It has not slowed him down any. It's only made him faster. Chesoo captured all four of the ACAC Grand Prix events he entered this fall.
On the women's side and just as dominant, the one to beat is defending ACAC champion Sophia Nowicki of the Kodiaks. Nowicki has crossed the finish line first in three of the five Grand Prix trips.
Nowicki is also the defending Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross Country women's champion. She clocked an outstanding 23.32 in Toronto, Ontario, which was an impressive four seconds ahead of Simone Plourde of Collège André-Grasset.
Nowicki also has a CCAA Bronze Medal from the 2017 cross country championships held in Ste-Thérèse, Quebec. She also holds the ACAC record time for a 6 kilometre run with 23.53 set on September 15, 2018.
The Trojans are also looking to set a record as the men's team strides for their fourth consecutive ACAC crown. No men's team has done such since 1964, although three-peats came to Mount Royal University Cougars (1988-91) and University of Alberta Augustana Vikings (1973-76).
"We are definitely confident going into the championships," says Trojans co-head coach Bre MacEachern in a SAIT feature posted on the Trojans' website.
"We have a really deep team, which is awesome. Our top six guys are all right there, which is great because if someone doesn't have a great race, there's someone else right there to pick him up. We'll rely on everyone to step up and do well."
Here are thumbnail sketches of the respective teams with the best times of some of the critical runners who participated in the Grand Prix events this year.
Past ACAC medalists trying to return to the podium are:
In women's competition: Lethbridge College Kodiaks' Sophia Nowicki (Gold 2018, Bronze 2017) and SAIT Trojans' Emilie Mann (Silver 2018).
In men's competition: Trojans' Daryl Ross (Bronze 2017) and Jacques Saayman (Gold 2016, Silver 2017).
University of Alberta Augustana Vikings
Men: Michio Green 26:17, Nathanael Tabert 28.50, Noah Day 29.33, Ben Nawrot 31.14
Women: Reese Bendiksen 24.40, Catherine Alcorn 25.32, Anne Mirejovsky 26.33
Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder
Men: Leonard Chesoo 25.01, Keith Spruyt 32.49, Brandon Morris 33.17, Brad Agnew 34.01,
Women: Anna Zulic 24.08, Bailey Troccoli-Hughes 26.03, Taylor Chamberlin 27.02
Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves
Men: Hayden Hollowell 29.18, Chris Nelissen 29.22, Jordan Lundstrom 31.02
Women: Maria Houle 24.59, Anna van der Giessen 25.00, Taryn Kokesch 27.29
Lakeland College Rustlers
Men: Josh Lang 32.29, Greg Bendick 33.53
Women: Katherine Oeggerli 29.12, Nikki Ylioja 30.25
Lethbridge College Kodiaks
Men: Connor Jackson 27.57, Cooper Cheshire 27.59, Justin Fisher 29.23, Tyler Larkin 29.28
Women: Sophia Nowicki 23.40, Rosie Bouchard 24.35, Brooklyn Vogel 25.46, Rebecca Sweeney 26.47
Red Deer College Kings/Queens
Men: Daniel Szucs 28.30, Will Cebuliak 28.49, Devin Saunders 28.57
Women: Shayla Sklaruk 24.52, Jenna Sahulka 26.26, Caitlin Debree 26.31
St. Mary's University Lightning
Men: Isaac Duperreault 34.07, Carter Gilkyson 34.11
Women: Bethany Topping 29.57, Julie Boyce 32.37
SAIT Trojans
Men: Brant Lauweryssen 27.08, Jacques Saayman 27.25, Michael Stewart 28.59, Daryl Ross 29.03, Jakob Vollmerhaus 29.24, Reilly Singleton 29.36
Women: Ann Danard 25.08, Emilie Mann 25.10 Ashley Tremblay 27.57
The 2019 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Cross Country Running Championships are slated for November 8-9, 2019 and will be hosted in Grande Prairie, Alberta by the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves with runners challenged by the Muskoseepi Park Course.