XC: Canada West Championships return

October 23, 2019

CALGARY - These days, reboots are all the rage.

TV shows, movies, and yes, even university sport.

Canada West is going back to the future with the 2019 Canada West Cross Country Championships, hosted by the University of Calgary at Canmore Park in the city's northwest on Saturday, October 26.

The women's championship is set for 11:30 a.m. and the men start at 12:30 p.m.

This is Canada West's first standalone cross country championships since the 1993. In the more than two decades since, the conference titles have been determined based on results at nationals.

"To be a Canada West conference champion is significant," says Calgary Dinos cross-country head coach Doug Lamont, who has been involved with the program since 1983. "When we were doing it within the umbrella of U SPORTS, it kind of lost significance."

It's one race on one day for all the marbles. Even the most expertly crafted shows would have a hard time matching such a level of drama and excitement.

"With a standalone championship, the first person to cross the line is the Canada West champion and that's recognized on that day, and the team that wins is recognized as being Canada West champions on that day," continues Lamont. "The biggest plus of a standalone is recognizing just how significant that achievement is."

Victoria is the most prolific school in Canada West cross country competition, boasting 21 women's and 16 men's conferences titles. Calgary also has a history of success, though none if its five men's championships and only a couple of its eight women's titles were won in a standalone championship.

Last year the Calgary men's team captured its first national title at the U SPORTS Championships in Kingston, Ont., simultaneously becoming Canada West champs. Nearly every Dino student-athlete from last year's roster is back, including the 2018 Canada West Athlete of the Year, Russell Pennock, and Rookie of the Year, Max Thiessen.

"On paper we're better than we were last year," says Lamont, noting the addition of Matthew Travaglini, the 2017 and 2018 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association cross country gold medalist.

The UBC women's cross country team claimed the conference championship last year when the T-Birds placed fourth at nationals. UBC's bid to repeat and win its ninth conference women's title will be led by a pair of fifth-years, Sarah MacArthur and Nicola Symonds, who were both Canada West First Team All-Stars in 2018.

Men's competitors run five laps while the women's athletes compete four laps of the 2-km loop in Canmore Park. With two ascents and a pair of descents, the highly-regarded course is a challenge, while providing spectacular vantage points.

"It's basically grass terrain and rolling hills," says Lamont, the 2018 Canada West cross-country Coach of the Year. "It's an excellent course for spectators. You can stand up on the hill in the middle of the course and go 100 or 200 metres in any one direction to yell to the athletes and run to the other side and see most of the race."

In recent years, Canmore Park has hosted the Stewart Cup, which many Canada West teams use as a final tune-up before nationals. This year's U SPORTS Cross Country Championships will once again take place in Kingston, at Fort Henry, hosted by Queen's University on Nov. 9.

"Because it is a conference championship the guys and girls might be a little more excited with the opportunity," Lamont says of the 2019 Canada West Championship. "It's an important meet to do well at in terms of preparing for the U SPORTS Championships."

TEAM PREVIEWS (click team name):






8928
2018 CW finish: 6th (men's), DNQ (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: 14th (men's), DNQ (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2004 / 12 (men's); 1997 / 2 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1980 / 1 (men's); none (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Riley Stuermer (44th U SPORTS)
  • Women: Jasmine Feddema (81st U SPORTS)

Number of competitors: 23 total (15 men, 8 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Aidan Comeau / 1 / Edmonton, AB
  • Cassian Murray-White / 1 / Edmonton, AB

Women:

  • Olivia Cooper / 1 / Edmonton, AB
  • Kristen Hansen / 1 / Edmonton, AB
  • Hanneli Ladyman / 1 / Kamloops, BC

Key performer:

  • Royden Radowits
  • Fourth-year
  • Drayton Valley, AB

Looking for their first Canada West Championship since 2004, the experienced Golden Bears will rely on fourth-year Kinesiology, Sport, & Rec student-athlete Royden Radowits.

The Drayton Valley, Alta. product has begun his 2019 season strong, earning the men's individual title at the Sled Dog Open in Saskatoon, also finishing third at the Bill Salter Western Invitation in London, Ontario.

Entering the conference championship as the second ranked CW school in the U SPORTS Top 10, the Golden Bears will pose a challenge to the host Calgary Dinos this weekend.




8920
2018 CW finish: 2nd (men's), 1st (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: 7th (men's), 4th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 1993 / 7 (men's); 2018 / 8 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1993 / 1 (women's); none (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Thomas Broatch - (12th Canada West, 42nd U SPORTS)
  • Women: Nicola Symonds - (4th Canada West, 14th U SPORTS)

Number of competitors: 27 total (14 men, 13 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Liam Dwyer / 1 / Victoria, BC
  • Matt Noseworthy / 5 / St. John's, NL
  • Christian Gravel / 5 / Vancouver, BC

Women:

  • Naomi Lang / 1 / Aberdeen, Scotland
  • Hannah Milic / 1 / Delta, BC
  • Holly Bachman / 1 / Whitby, ON


Key performer:

  • Nicola Symonds
  • 5th-year
  • Calgary, AB

One of UBC's top cross country and track and field competitors, Symonds enters her final Canada West meet. In the Thunderbirds' return to Canada West competition in 2018, Symonds led the way for UBC with a fourth place overall finish while the team secured the conference banner.




8931
2018 CW finish: DNQ (men's), DNQ (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: DNQ (men's), DNQ (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: none (men's); none (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none (men's); none (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Michael Mitchell (85th at U SPORTS)

Number of competitors: 12 total (7 men, 5 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Mike Mitchell / 5 / Kimberly, BC
  • Owen Harris / 3 / Kelowna, BC
  • Dayton Bath / 2 / West Kelowna, BC
  • Turner Woodroff / 2 / Kelowna, BC
  • Alex Santos / 2 / Ottawa, ON
  • Connor Baerg / 1 / Burlington, ON
  • Austin White / 2 / Oyama, BC

Women:

  • Camille Galloway / 4 / Whitehorse, YK
  • Kate Milne / 1 / Salmon Arm, BC
  • Nicole Chamberlain / 2 / Kelowna, BC
  • Megan Braun / 1 / Wheatley, ON
  • Mia Knibbe / 1 / Mississauga, ON

Key performer:

  • Camille Galloway
  • 4th-year
  • Whitehorse, YK

A member of the CCAA national championship UBC Okanagan team from 2016 and multiple national medal winner, Camille Galloway graduated from university in 2017 after completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Galloway stayed on and was a part of John Machuga's coaching staff last year, the first for UBCO competing at the Canada West and U SPORTS level. This fall she has returned to UBCO and is working towards her master's degree and has decided to resume competing for the cross country team.

Earning first place in both of the Canada West races Galloway has run this fall, the Whitehorse student athlete will be a threat for a conference and national medal in the upcoming championship races.




8912
2018 CW finish: 1st (men's), 3rd (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: 1st (men's), 8th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2018 / 5 (men's); 2010 / 8 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2018 / 1 (men's); 2003 / 3 (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Russell Pennock (3rd U SPORTS / 1st CW)
  • Women: Kate Anderson (41st U SPORTS / 12th CW)

Number of competitors: 26 total (14 men, 12 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Matthew Travaglini / 5 / Calgary, Alta.
  • Alex James / 4 / Calgary, Alta.
  • Karan Matusin / 2 / Calgary, Alta.
  • Jan Erik Naess / 1 / Calgary, Alta.

Women:

  • Renee Andres / 1 / Calgary, Alta.
  • Lauren Kryschuk / 1 / Calgary, Alta.
  • Shannon Pyke / 1 / Calgary, Alta.
  • Janelle Wiebe / 1 / Calgary, Alta.

Key performer:

  • Matthew Travaglini
  • 5th-year
  • Calgary, Alta.

The defending national champion Dinos men added another frontrunner to their squad in the hopes of repeating with the addition of Travaglini. Joining the likes of Russell Pennock, who won the individual national bronze last year, and Alex James back from injury, Travaglini brings championship pedigree. He's the two-time CCAA individual national champion, winning in both 2017 and 2018 as a member of the SAIT Trojans. IN 2019, he will use his fifth year of eligibility as he moves across town to join the Dinos.




8913
2018 CW finish: DNQ (men's), DNQ (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: DNQ (men's), DNQ (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: Men: none; Women: none
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: Men: none; Women: none

Returning top finisher

  • Women: Emma Steele - 11th (CW second team all-star)

Number of competitors: 8 total (2 men, 6 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Evan Haddock / 1 / Sturgeon County, AB
  • James Thomson / 1 / Edmonton, AB

Women:

  • Kiana Row / 1 / Beaumont, AB
  • Ember Large / 3 / Edmonton, AB
  • Emma Perry / 1 / Edmonton, AB

Key performer:

  • Kiana Row
  • 1st-year
  • Beaumont, AB

For the second year in a row, MacEwan's cross country team is led by a rookie who has been dominant in competitions leading up to the Canada West championship.

Enjoying much of the same success Emma Steele had as a first year in 2018, Row burst onto the university running scene with victories in both ACAC Grand Prix events the Griffins have entered, beating reigning CCAA national champion Sophia Nowicki of Lethbridge College both times.

Row also fared well against higher-level competition, finishing seventh among a field full of top Canada West competitors at the University of Victoria Vikes Invitational on Sept. 28 and was second place racing against NCAA competition in Seattle's Sun Dodger Invitational on Oct. 5.

She will be in contention for both Canada West rookie of the year honours and an all-star team spot this Saturday.




8915
2018 finish: 4th (men's), 7th (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: 10th (men's), 20th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 1990-91 / 3 (men's), 2002-03 / 1 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1989-90 / 3 (men's), none / (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Simon Berube (45th at U SPORTS)

Number of competitors: 9 (7 men, 2 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)

Men:

  • Braedy Farmer / 2 / Oakbank, MB

Women:

  • Shayna Giesbrecht / 4 / Winnipeg, MB
  • Amy Klippenstein / 2 / Bagot, MB


Key performer:

  • Simon Berube
  • 5th-year
  • Winnipeg, MB

After being named the 2018-19 Bison Sports Male Athlete of the Year for success during the cross country and track and field season, fifth-year Simon Berube has picked up where he left off this fall.

Berube was the top finisher at all four regular season events for Manitoba, peaking with a third-place finish at the St. Olaf Invitational in Northfield, MN.

Last season, Berube finished 45th overall at the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships, the second-leading Bison. This season, he leads a veteran team to the University of Calgary for the first stand-alone Canada West Cross Country Championships.

Berube, a product of Stride Ahead Tough Track, is studying in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation Management.




8976
2018 CW finish: 7th (men's), 6th (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: 17th (men's), 19th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2009 / 1 (men's), 2002-03 / 1 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none (men's), none / (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Brayden Mytopher (83rd U SPORTS / 25th Canada West)
  • Women: Kaila Neigum (105th U SPORTS / 34th Canada West)

Number of competitors: 11 total (6 men, 5 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)

  • Kaelen Kolb / 1 / Regina, Sask.
  • Ron MacLean / 1 / Regina, Sask.
  • Joseph Smith / 1 / Regina, Sask.
  • Sarah Novakowski / 1 / Yorkton, Sask.

Key performer:

  • Kaylee Tymo
  • 2nd-year
  • Regina, Sask.

Second-year runner Kaylee Tymo has been the team's top runner in all three meets the Cougars have competed in this year. Tymo finished third overall in the Cougar Trot, fifth at the Sled Dog Open, and in third place this past weekend in the junior women category at the Saskatchewan Age Class Championships in Yorkton. This will be the second time this year she'll run the 8K distance, with her personal best at that distance (31:13) coming at last year's Sled Dog meet in Saskatoon.




8917
2018 CW finish: DNQ (men's), 5th (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: N/A (men's), 17th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 1979 / 2 (men's) / none (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1969 / 1 (men's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Jared Welsh (101st U SPORTS
  • Women: Courtney Hufsmith (11th U SPORTS)

Number of competitors: 19 total (6 men, 13 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Dylan Bauman / 1 / Saskatoon, SK

Women:

  • Kaitlyn Harrison / 1 / Lumsden, SK
  • Allison Grajczyk-Jelinski / 1 / Moose Jaw, SK

Key performer:

  • Women's
  • Courtney Hufsmith
  • 4th-year
  • Saskatoon, SK

The top performer for the Huskies' cross country teams since entering the program, Courtney Hufsmith returns to cross country after abstaining from competition in the Fall.

A fourth-year business student, Hufsmith is the Huskie and provincial record holder in both the 1500- and 3000-metre distances. A bronze medalist at the FISU World University Games last spring, the product of Saskatoon claimed Canada West bronze and finished 11th in the nation at last year's U SPORTS Naitonal Championships.

  • Men's
  • Jon Fernandes
  • 2nd-year
  • Saskatoon, SK

Looking to record a team finish for the first time in a number of years, the Huskie men will be led by Jon Fernandes.

The Engineering major placed 14th at the Sled Dog Open back in September, and fought his way to a time of 34:35.7 at the U SPORTS National Championships last year.




8919
2018 CW finish: 4th (men's), 4th (women's)
2018 U SPORTS finish: 7th (men's), 7th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2016 / 1 (men's); 2016 / 4 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none (men's), none / (women's)

Returning top finishers

  • Men: Nick Colyn (7th U SPORTS / 4th CW)
  • Women: Christina Sevsek (30th U SPORTS / 9th CW)

Number of competitors: 13 total (6 men, 7 women)

Key additions (name / eligibility / hometown)
Men:

  • Josh Woolgar / 1 / Ladner, B.C.
  • Connor Byrne / 1 / Delta, B.C.
  • Kaelan House / 1 / Surrey, B.C.
  • Levi Osterwalder / 1 / Camrose, Alta.

Women:

  • Maddie Gibson / 1 / Port Coquitlam, B.C.
  • Cassidy Hutchison / 1 / Abbotsford, B.C.
  • Rachel Ward / 1 / Nanaimo, B.C.
  • Natalia Wazny / 1 / Calgary, Alta.

Key performers:

  • Women's
  • Joanna Williams
  • 5th-year
  • Campbell River, B.C.

In both of the Spartans two races this year, Joanna Williams has taken top spot, winning at both the Central Washington Invitational and the Vikes Invitational. The fifth-year Williams has taken her racing to another level this year and is on pace to lead the Spartans at the conference meet. Last year, Williams was TWU's third best finisher at the national championship race, finishing 47th overall and 15th among Canada West athletes.

  • Men's
  • Nick Colyn
  • 5th-year
  • Langley, B.C.

Last year, Nick Colyn finished seventh overall and fourth among Canada West runners to earn both U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian honours and Canada West First Team All-Star honours. He will lead a young Spartans group and will once again be in the mix to compete for a podium result. In his two races this year, Colyn won the Central Washington Invitational and was fifth at the Vikes Invitational.