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The Thunder Indoor Track teams made the long trek south this weekend to kick off the 2016 indoor season in Lethbridge.  The ladies 300m was up first and Kristina Dong led the way with a 6th place finish in her 3rd fastest time ever, followed by rookie and birthday girl Baylee Frissell in 8th (now the 3rd fastest Concordia runner over this distance).  The men were up next over the 300m distance and Captain Ben Thomas led the way with a solid 2nd place finish.  Rookies Qasim Valji and Andrew Sanchez-Orosz were 6th and 7th respectively in an exciting battle to the line that also saw them become the 6th and 7th fastest Concordia runners ever over this distance.
After the speedsters were done, it was time for the middle distance runners to hit the track in the 1500m.  Ladies team Captain Marriya Jenkins finished in 2nd place while rookie Bailey Troccoli-Hughes finished in 6th place to become the 5th fastest ever Concordia runner over this distance.  On the men's side, Kirk Sundt dominated the field to pick up the win but it was 2nd year runner Mike Quick who brought the entertainment factor as he moved from 5th to 2nd over the final 3 laps and made the rest of the field look like they were moving backwards.  Rookie Ian Lee made his debut for the Thunder with a solid 13th place finish to become the 9th fastest Concordia runner over this distance.  The 600m distance saw Rachael Smillie open her season with a new personal best to finish in 8th place while Kenton Sportak opened his season up with a win and new school record.  "Kirk and Kenton both looked great and it was really good to see Mike racing for us again after missing the XC season," beamed Head Coach Matt Norminton.  "The girls all ran well too, with Kristina and Bailey both running fast despite Bailey falling off the start. Marriya had a good opener, too.  Rach has been sick the past 2 or 3 weeks now so I'm glad she is able to run again and still pull off a PB!"
The final individual event of the day was the 1000m which saw 3rd year runner Shelby Edgar pick up the win in her 2nd fastest time while Kirk Sundt doubled back to pick up his 2nd win of the day on the men's side.  In the relay, the ladies team of Dong, Edgar, Frissell and Jenkins finished 2nd in the 2nd fastest time ever by a Thunder team.  On the men's side, the "Veteran's" team of Thomas, Quick, Sundt and Sportak dominated the field to pick up the win and run the 2nd fastest Concordia time ever.  The "Rookie's" team of Valji, Orosz and Lee were anchored by a tired Thomas which had the rookies protesting quickly and asking for a rematch at the Running Room Indoor Challenge being held at the Edmonton Garrison on Feb 6th.
Some of the Indoor Track team will mix it up next weekend at the UofA with some of the top CIS competitors at the 2016 Golden Bear Open meet.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Antoniuk