Paul Kingsmith

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At the provincial cross country championships held on their home turf of Nicholas Sheran Park today, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks represented their college and city spectacularly, winning team gold medals for the men’s and women’s teams as well as individual medals for three runners.

The wins mean the teams and individual runners will run at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) finals in at St. Lawrence College in Brockville, Ont., on Nov. 13 and 14.

“What an amazing day for Kodiaks athletics!” says Todd Caughlin, Manager of Athletics, Residence and Recreation Services. “Claiming both the men’s and women’s ACAC team gold medals in cross country is a testament to the dedication, commitment and work ethic of the student athletes and coaching staff of our cross country teams.

“It is a very great day to be a Kodiak and I am very proud of our teams,” Caughlin added. “I can’t wait to cheer on the teams as they now focus on the CCAA national championships in two weeks!”

In the women’s 2015 Running Room Alberta Colleges Athletic (ACAC) Conference Cross-Country Running Championships, Emily Lucas claimed a bronze and was followed closely by Rachel McKenzie, who finished fourth, and Dina Iatrou, who finished sixth.

In the men’s race, Alex Harding brought home the individual gold while teammate Andrew Harding finished third, Boaz Korir finished fourth, and Moses Cherreret finished sixth.

Both teams have placed first or second at all competitions this season. Going into the championships, the women’s team was ranked first in the country while the men’s team was ranked fifth.

The cross country provincial championships weren’t the only place the Kodiaks put on great performances today. The men’s soccer team faced NAIT in the semifinal match of the ACAC Championship in Fort McMurray this afternoon and beat them 4-1. The team will now play for ACAC gold when it takes on the host and number one team in the country, the Keyano Huskies at 2 p.m. Sunday. The games will be streamed online.

Photo: @CraigKamba on Twitter