Saving her best effort for the last race of the season, Lethbridge College Kodiaks rookie sensation Sophia Nowicki (first year, General Studies) earned a CCAA cross country bronze medal on Saturday.
Competing against 130 athletes from over 20 colleges across Canada, the Bragg Creek, Alta., native finished in third place in the women’s 6km run at the 2017 CCAA Cross Country National Championships in Blainville, Quebec.
“I’m happy with my place in the race, but at the same time the bronze isn’t the most important part of the race,” says Nowicki. “The most important thing is that this race has given me the opportunity to show me where I stand at a national level, and provides me with future goals that I can work towards.”
Racing through the frigid air of the Blainville Equestrian Park, Nowicki posted a season-best time of 22:01, finishing nine seconds ahead of fellow ACAC competitor Jordanna Cota of Red Deer College, who had gone undefeated in conference races this season.
“It’s a flatter course so it was more suitable for a runner type like Sophia, with the style of running we’ve been working on with her,” says Kodiaks head coach Bertil Johansson. “It was an amazing time. The time that Sophia achieved puts her up there with some of the all-time great Kodiaks performances in the last 15 years.”
Nowicki was also named a CCAA all-Canadian, capping an incredible season that included an ACAC bronze medal, an ACAC all-conference team berth and an ACAC rookie of the year award.
Her effort helped the Kodiaks women’s team finish sixth overall in the team standings, improving on their seventh-place national ranking heading into the championships. Emily Spencer (second year, Nursing) finished 16th overall with a time of 23:24, while Brooklyn Vogel (first year, Nursing) and Vildana Rekic (second year, Environmental Assessment and Restoration) rounded out the team scoring for the Kodiaks, finishing 48th and 53rd, respectively.
“As a team, the girls were pumped and ready,” says Johansson. “They wanted to improve on their national ranking and they did.”
On the men’s side, the Kodiaks finished in 16th place in the team standings, but did move ahead of Red Deer College, who beat them out for the ACAC bronze medal.
Spencer Jackson (fourth year, Massage Therapy) led Lethbridge with a season-best time of 27:25, good for 33rd place in the 8km race, with Durell Rots (first year, General Studies) close behind, finishing 48th with a time of 27:48. Daniel Robdrup (first year, General Studies) and Dayton Jans (second year, Multimedia Production) finished 83rd and 91st respectively.
“After tying Red Deer College at the conference championships, our goal for the men was to move ahead of them,” said Johansson. “We had to come back and beat Red Deer, and we did. We had a lot of personal bests and great performances, including from Spencer and Durell, who really pushed hard. So we’re happy with that.”
The Kodiaks cross country team has now earned either an individual or team medal in 13 of the past 15 CCAA national championships.