Rattlers Roundup: Cross Country team wins provincial title

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on November 1, 2022.

sports@medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

The Medicine Hat College Rattlers cross-country team returned from Edmonton this weekend with some hardware.

The Rattlers women’s cross-country team captured the 2022 ACAC Cross Country Running Championships in Edmonton. They were tied with the St. Mary’s team at 47 points apiece but the Rattlers took the title based on a better position by the team’s final scoring runner.

It’s the second women’s cross-country title for the Rattlers, with the first coming in 1981.

Becky Ross led the team individually, placing fourth with Madison Scrimger right behind her in sixth place. Cheldynn Molnar (16th), Pyper Gill (21st) and Annika Marshall (41st) also chipped in for the MHC win.

The Rattlers men also took part in the ACAC Championships finishing in fifth place, one spot better than their 2021 finish. Six of the seven Rattler men ran their best race of the season, with second-year runner Brannon Sumner leading the MHC men in 14th place. The other MHC finishers included Jaiden Romanuik (16th), Carson Schiller (26th) Harrison Lawson (27th), Justin Jager (30th), Gage Smith (31st) and Shintaro Iwata (40th).

Also on Saturday, the ACAC handed out its season-end awards. Ross captured three honours: rookie of the year, runner up in the ACAC grand prix and all conference. Scrimger was also named all conference and place third in the ACAC grand prix. Rattler’s coach Bill Corcoran was awarded ACAC Coach of the Year.

Next up for the Rattlers cross-country team is the CCAA National Championships on the MHC campus on Nov. 12.

Basketball

The Rattlers men’s basketball team swept the weekend in Red Deer, as they beat the Polytechnic 90-87 in overtime on Friday, followed up with an 85-83 victory on Saturday.

Jordan Bigger led the way offensively Friday, with 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. In Saturday’s victory, Cooper Ward had 26 points and 13 rebounds.

The weekend in Red Deer wasn’t as victorious for the women’s team as they fell 72-34 on Friday and 90-39 on Saturday.

Krsitie Johnstone had eight points and six rebounds in Friday’s game for MHC and Alia Boulanger led the way Saturday with 14 points.

The Rattlers men’s and women’s basketball teams host Kings University on Friday and Concordia University of Edmonton on Saturday, all games at the Snake Pit.

Volleyball

The Rattlers men’s and women’s volleyball teams went 0-4 on the weekend, hosting the Red Deer Polytechnic Institute Kings and Queens at the Snake Pit.

The men’s team dropped their matches 3-1 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday. The women’s team’s fell 3-2 Friday and 3-1 on Saturday.

The Rattlers men’s and women’s volleyball teams are on the road this weekend, as they face Kings University on Friday and Concordia University of Edmonton on Saturday.

Editors note: An earlier version of the story stated the Rattlers X-Country team beat the SAIT Trojans, it was St. Mary’s.