Griffins head to Victoria for key race on same course nationals will be held at
MacEwan Athletics
Eight members of MacEwan's cross-country team will get a first-hand look this weekend at the course they'll be racing on at the U Sports national championship in Victoria, B.C. next month.
Men's competitors Scott Kohlman and Aaron Boyle will race in the 8K at the Vikes Invitational on Saturday at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.
"This is going to be the course that we're running on, so this gives us a first-hand look at what we expect to see," said coach Drew Carver. "The guys should be able to run the course comfortably and really get to know what they're headed for.
"They've been steadily improving, so I expect faster times in Victoria."
Hannah Leggatt, Roxanne Skoreyko, Chanelle Gagne, Abby Ackerman, Maissa Sabourin and Jocelyn Leffers will be racing a 6K circuit on Saturday.
"The girls have had a good week of training," said Carver. "We are looking for faster times in our 6K. It all depends on the weather and terrain. If it's soft grass, that will slow us down a little bit.
"Unfortunately, we lost a couple of girls due to injuries," he added. "But the six that are going are all solid and in good shape. I expect this to be a good run for us."
The other piece to the puzzle is that the Griffins will be going against some of the top cross-country teams in the U Sports ranks. Not only will Calgary and Alberta be there, but Victoria and Trinity Western are expected to challenge for national titles, as well. Additionally, UBC will bring its NAIA squad to the race.
"They will be teams you'll have to compete against," said Carver. "We'll have our runners up against them and kind of watch the per-kilometre splits – how do our runners stack up?
"That will give us a goal to look to improve upon, keeping in mind their training cycle might now be on a hard week. You never know exactly if this is the best they've got or if it can get better from there."
That's the game that coaches often play in the cross-country ranks as they enter in a variety of races leading up to nationals, which will be held on the same course Nov. 12.
"It's a bit of a game, knowing what cycle they're in and where you're at," said Carver. "Eventually as we all get to the end, you know everybody's geared up for it. I always watch results everywhere to see who's running what."
