Kodiak runners off to college cross-country nationals
One member of the Lethbridge College Kodiaks cross country running team is keeping their expectations of their first nationals appearance wide open. Another member would like to avoid the abundance of snow that has recently pelted southern Alberta.
No matter what the final time on the clock says or what the forecast is, Kodiaks Sophia Nowicki, Evans Korir and the rest of the Kodiaks cross country team will lace up their shoes and toe the starting line when the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Cross-Country Running National Championships take place Saturday in Blainville, Que.
Nowicki’s stellar first year with the Kodiaks, combined with her performance at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship two weeks ago in Red Deer, earned her the ACAC Female Rookie of the Year award.
The rest of the province is no doubt aware of her after a solid rookie campaign, but as she heads into her first CCAA championship, Nowicki didn’t have any particular time in mind.
“Honestly, I don’t have too many expectations just because I’ve been so busy with school,” said the runner from Cochrane. “In high school I knew the girls I was competing against every race and you knew your competition. This year, because it was different people I was competing against, I didn’t have expectations, it was to learn the competition. So being at nationals, it’s not like I know the competition. Obviously, I want to run the best I can, but I don’t want to put pressure on myself. To me, it’s more of an experience race and next year I can actually set some goals.”
As for Korir, if there’s less of the white stuff in Quebec, all the better.
“I’ve seen snow,” he said. “Training has been good. Running outside with the snow is so cold, I’m trembling, not good.”
Both Kodiaks teams placed third at the ACAC provincials, the men tying Red Deer for third and losing the tiebreak, but still qualifying for Quebec.
“We’re ranked seventh in the women and 12th in the men,” said Kodiaks head coach Bertil Johansson. “So we’ve dropped a few positions in the men. I’m looking for a little revenge there. Even though our provincials were pretty decent, I don’t know what the justification was. We competed with Red Deer and tied in the top-three in the men’s side. Ranking is ranking. Usually when we go to nationals we can rely on a step up, so hopefully we can step up.”
Johansson has some high hopes for Nowicki.