Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
VICTORIA – A leg-destroying hill was added to the Victoria race course for the UVic Invitational on Saturday. But that didn't stop Griffins rookie Cassandra Mastel-Marr from running her fastest university 8K time yet.
She shaved 39 seconds off her time from last month's University of Saskatchewan Huskies Sled Dog Open … on a much tougher course.
"Cassandra, who is recovering from a rolled ankle, had a really good race," said Griffins head coach Drew Carver of her time of 35:54, faster than the 36:33 she ran in Saskatoon. "I was really happy to see that. She's definitely on the mend, so I was happy to see she's running a lot more comfortable.
"She was running with a leg brace on, which affects her stride. It takes away half her power. So, I'm hoping if we can get the ankle brace off, four weeks to nationals, she'll be running even faster by that point."
The other highlight for the Griffins on Saturday was another stellar performance by first-year runner Emma Steele, who finished 12th overall in the 8K, but ninth amongst university racers for her second-straight Canada West top-10.
"This was a pretty good run for Emma in that they were running up and down the same hills as the guys," said Carver. "You have to eliminate a few non-university athletes in the crowd, but she had a top-10 finish among the UBC, Trinity Western, UVic girls."
Steele finished in 31:23 to pace the Griffins, while Ashley Tymkow (34:35) posted her second-straight 25th-place finish. Shehzadi Abdul (26th, 34:55), Mastel-Marr (29th) and Daniella Wasielewski (34th, 39:31) rounded out the MacEwan women's results. As a team, they finished fifth out of six Canada West squads in attendance.
"Ashley and Sheh basically stayed on par, which is a good sign," said Carver. "Daniella's struggling a little bit with some injuries.
"But it's four weeks to nationals, so if we can get her on the mend, we should be competitive."
Bailey Stang and Delany Cruickshank ran the women's 6K because it fits better with their training cycle. They finished with times of 28:20 and 29:02, respectively.
Scott Kohlman, left, and Owen Guenette compete in Victoria on Saturday (Armando Tura, University of Victoria).
On the men's side, because of the tougher course, Scott Kohlman fell short of setting a new MacEwan record in the 8K, finishing fourth out of the university runners in the field in 27:53 (the school record is 26:57). Rookie Owen Guenette was ninth in 28:54. Most of the top university competitors were in the 10K race in Victoria, but for where the Griffins men were at in their training cycle, Carver was pleased with the results in the lesser distance.
"Scott and Owen, they definitely got involved with a fast crowd," he said. "The hill, as it began to take effect in the later parts of the race, you could see their leg lift wasn't there.
"It was a good race. They were cruising along pretty good. I think the training improvement is coming. I'm pretty happy with that."
Overall, the experience was a positive one for the Griffins as they continue to gear up for nationals in Kingston, Ont. Nov. 9-10. Next up in the Stewart Cup in Calgary on Oct. 27.
"It was a good process in that you're going to what I call the really strong end of Canada West when you see UVic, Trinity Western and UBC," said Carver. "Those teams have elite runners on them. It's really tough to meet them for the first time, so now we've got some key names, so when we come up against them again, who do we match up with and try to push ourselves to be better."
