Rattlers place sixth at ACAC XC championships

By Medicine Hat News on November 1, 2021.

The Medicine Hat College Rattlers were in Camrose on Saturday for the 2021 ACAC cross-country championships, hosted by the University of Alberta Augustana. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed sixth, matching their pre-race conference rankings.

Individually, Aden Haywood led the Rattlers with a 13th place finish in the men’s 8-kilometre race with a time of 29:58. Teammates Branon Sumner (18th), Carson Schiller (23rd), Keveen Gonzales (34th), and Shintaro Iwata (41st) were the other MHC finishers.

Pyper Gill was the top female Rattler, placing 16th in the women’s 6K race with a time of 28:16. She was followed by Cheldynn Molnar (19th), Angela Bunn (34th), Humei Huang (35th), and Kelsey Hamill (37th).

The men’s race was won by defending ACAC and CCAA champion Leonard Chesoo, from Edmonton’s Concordia University. Placing three runners in the top 6, SAIT won the men’s team crown.

Rattlers cross country coach Bill Corcoran told the News in an email that he was satisfied with his team’s performance.

“We ended up sixth out of eleven ACAC XC teams this year – right in the middle of the pack,” Corcoran said. “That’s a pretty solid performance for a brand-new program. This really gives us something to build on for next year.”

Makenna Fitzgerald from SAIT topped the women’s field. Concordia placed first among women’s teams. Former Medicine Hat High School runner Landon Swartz, running for SAIT, finished fourth in the men’s race.

MHC runners will be in action next at the 2021 CCAA cross country championships in Calgary on November 12.