The Kodiaks are on the prowl for gold this weekend. Lethbridge College’s indoor track and futsal teams will both compete in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) championship tournaments.
The indoor track team, stocked with a variety of medal contenders, will travel to Edmonton for a meet hosted by MacEwan University. The futsal teams will trek to Lloydminster for a tournament hosted by Lakeland College. Both events take place on Friday and Saturday.
Indoor track preview
The Kodiaks indoor track team has strong medal contenders in both the men’s and women’s draws. Through two ACAC Grand Prix events, the Kodiaks have earned 12 medals.
“We expect both of our teams to compete for top-three placings at the ACAC championships,” says Kodiaks head coach Bertil Johansson. “We have consistently placed runners on the podium in the regular season and we trust their training and mental toughness will allow them to once again reach those heights at the championship.”
Kayla Enders (third year, Therapeutic Recreation - Gerontology, Rocky Mountain House, Alta.), who specializes in the short-distance races, and dominant long-distance star Sophia Nowicki (first year, General Studies, Bragg Creek, Alta.) lead the women’s team. Enders has three individual silver medals through two ACAC events in both the 300- and 600-metre races. Nowicki has a 3,000-metre gold and a 1,000-metre silver medal during the indoor track season. She also won bronze medals at both the conference and national cross-country championships last fall and earned the ACAC cross-country rookie of the year award.
Janelle Graham (second year, Criminal Justice – Policing, Olds, Alta.) has also reached the podium twice this season in the 300-metre event, while Brooklyn Vogel (first year, Nursing, Turin, Alta.) and Salma Moreira (second year, General Studies, Lethbridge) provide depth that makes the Kodiaks a threat in the 4x400-metre relay.
On the men’s side, Dayton Jans (second year, Multimedia Production, Coaldale) is one of the conference’s top short-distance runners. He won a 300-metre gold medal at a February event at SAIT after earning medals in both the 300- and 600-metre races at MacEwan in January.
John Krause (second year, Criminal Justice – Policing, Wetaskiwin, Alta.), Kayden Halladay (first year, General Studies, Medicine Hat) and Danny Robdrup (first year, General Studies, Lethbridge) will provide depth as each has been close to the podium during the Grand Prix season. The 4x400-metre relay team will look to defend the gold medal it won last season.
Results will be posted on the ACAC website.
Futsal preview
This is the Kodiaks’ second time appearing at the ACAC championships, after launching the program last year. Each team will play three round robin games. The top two teams in their four team divisions will then qualify for the semi-finals.
“Realistically, our goals are to improve on last year,” says men’s and women’s futsal head coach Sean Carey, whose teams both went 1-2 in the 2017 tournament. “The women have been rolling this season and their confidence is high. The men’s team has a lot of potential and if we play our best game, and our best players play their best, we could surprise a lot of teams.”
The women’s team showed that it can be a contender this season by winning the Three Hills Challenge Cup tournament in January. They followed that up with a semi-final appearance at the final tune-up tournament in Olds last month.
The team is led by Vicki Noronha (third year, Exercise Science, Brooks, Alta.) and Brooklin Bellavance (second year, Natural Resource Compliance, Medicine Hat), who each bring energy and leadership to the tight confines of the futsal pitch.
The men’s team went 1-2 in each of its two tournament appearances this winter. The team will also rely on a pair of veterans, as captain Joel Arrieus (fourth year, Exercise Science, Cardston) and senior Keaton Craig (fifth year, Exercise Science, Picture Butte), who is playing in his final ACAC event, bring experience and energy to help boost the Kodiaks.
Women’s schedule:
- Friday 1:30 p.m. vs Medicine Hat
- Saturday 9:45 a.m. vs Ambrose
- Saturday 2:45 p.m. vs Keyano
Men’s schedule:
- Friday 4 p.m. vs Lakeland
- Saturday 12:15 p.m. vs Keyano
- Saturday 5:15 p.m. vs Ambrose
Results will be posted on the ACAC website: women|men. All games can be streamed on ACAC-TV.
You can follow all of the Kodiaks action on gokodiaks.ca, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.