Travaglini, Christopher lead Trojans teams to medal haul at ACAC Championships
October 28, 2017
They made sure there wasn't room on the podium for anyone else, as runners Matthew Travaglini, Jacques Saayman and Daryl Ross finished first, second and third respectively to earn SAIT their second consecutive men's title at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championships - hosted by Red Deer College.
"We didn't know if we could do 1,2,3, but we were definitely trying," said Travaglini before the awards banquet that followed the race. "We just tried to support each other as much we could pre-race - get the right mindset going in, and just letting everyone know that we were going to be out there hurting to try get that sweep and do well for the team."
Travaglini (3rd year, London, Ont., Bachelor of Applied Technology - Geographic Information Systems) set a new school record by finishing the 8-kilometre run in a time of 26:18.95, beating the previous mark of 27:04 set by Ben Cooper back at the 2000 ACAC Championships hosted by Portage College in Lac La Biche, Alta.
"What we told everyone today is that if everyone shows up and leaves everything they have on the course, then good things are going to happen," said Trojans co-head coach Bre MacEachern, who shares the coaching duties with Ryan Edgar. "As far as the guys are concerned, they ran awesome. They showed up today."
The individual gold medal makes it two-straight for the Trojans, as Saayman (2nd year, Fort McMurray, Alta., Bachelor of Business Administration) broke a 30-year slump by male runners at SAIT just last year.
Saayman's time of 27:33.50 this year beat his gold-medal time from last season ACAC Championships in Grande Prairie, Alta. Ross (2nd year, Calgary, Business Administration), who finished seventh last year, improved his performance this go around with a time of 28:26.88.
"Jacques and I planned on running hard for the first half, and then pick it up in the second half to try simulate the fast finish that will most likely happen at nationals," explained Travaglini. "We spoke with Ryan and Bre to let them know what was going on, and they thought it was a great idea."
Brant Lauweryssen (1st year, Calgary, Business Administration) also put in a spectacular performance, placing sixth in a time of 19:16.72 to round out the team's point-getters. Alex Howells (2nd year, Cochrane, Alta., Civil Engineering Technology) placed 10th to give SAIT an amazing five runners in the top 10.
"What worked is that Ryan and Bre just put together some tough workouts, so we're strong right now," Travaglini stated. "We can finish hard after running a quick pace at the beginning. It's a testament to the coaching that we're in such great shape."
On the women's side, Ricki Christopher (3rd year, Herbert, Sask., Medical Radiologic Technology) led her team to a silver medal with a silver-medal performance of her own - finishing the 6km race in a time of 24:37.86.
Christopher finished sixth in last year's event, but trained hard all off-season and on her own while doing her practicum in Medicine Hat this semester to improve on that mark this time around.
"I went into this year really hungry to improve my position from last year and finish higher up in the pack," said Christopher. "Today, the biggest thing was that I stayed positive and didn't get down on myself at times during the race. Every time someone would try and come up on me, I would just tell myself that I am stronger than that, and it worked in my favour."
"It's amazing that she's been able to be so driven and dedicated this year while training on her own," said Edgar. "She knew exactly what she needed to do today, and she executed that plan very well."
Two-time Olympic pentathlete Melanie McCann (3rd year, Parkhill, Ont., Bachelor of Business Administration) finished in seventh place (25:12.80) - the exact same placing she recorded in 2009 when she last ran for the Trojans at the ACAC Championships. Coincidentally, the Championships that year was also hosted by Red Deer College.
Emilie Mann (1st year, Fernie, BC, Respiratory Therapy finished just behind McCann in eighth place with a time of 25:23.37, while Alea Stockton (5th year, Yellowknife, NT, Respiratory Therapy) rounded out the point-getters for the Trojans with her 15th place showing (25:47.11).
"Nobody disappointed today," Edgar said. "The girls trained super hard for this weekend and did really well when it came to the race."
Together, the team was able to secure the silver medal, finishing just three points behind the gold medallists from Red Deer College, and 24 points ahead of the bronze-medal earning Lethbridge College Kodiaks.
"It was a close finish with us and Red Deer, but we went back and forth with them all year," MacEachern stated. "We'll see what happens at nationals."
Both teams will now turn their attention to the CCAA National Championships, hosted by College Lionel-Groulx in Blainville, Que., on Nov. 11.
The men's team placed fourth at nationals last year, and hope to better than result this time around.
Christopher was the lone female from last year's team to qualify for the national event, so having a team around her this time around will make Quebec feel a little more like home.
"Last year was a little hard being the only female. I was with the guys, and it was so fun, but it's nice to have the other girls make it and to go as a team this year," she said. "You really bond as a team and if you're having a bad day, someone else is right there to have your back. Our girls team has a special bond and is really close."
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