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The Thunder Indoor Track teams had a big weekend down in Calgary where the ladies team finished 3rd overall and the men’s team claimed their first team title with a decisive victory over their rivals from Lethbridge.
Ladies Co-captain and 5th year runner Marriya Jenkins got things going in the 3000m with a solid 2nd place performance behind the women’s Athlete of the Meet Vanessa Trofimenkoff from MacEwan.  Second year runner Rachael Smillie finished in 6th place, running a big personal best.  On the men’s side, 5th year runner Kirk Sundt claimed his first Gold Medal of the meet, finishing well ahead of the competition.  Men’s Co-captain and 4th year runner Kevin Chambers finished in a solid 6th place running a season’s best while rookie Ian Lee finished in 10th place. In the 300m heats, rookie Baylee Frissell finished in 9th place while 5th year runner Kristina Dong finished in 11th place.  In the men’s 300m heats, 5th year runner and Co-captain Ben Thomas finished in 3rd place while rookie Avian Prince ran a personal best to finish in 7th place, both qualifying for the finals.  Rookies Qasim Valji and Andrew Sanchez-Orosz finished in 10th and 11th place, respectively.
Ladies Co-captain and 3rd year runner Shelby Edgar finished in 4th place in the 1000m while rookie Bailey Troccoli-Hughes picked up 2 points for the women’s team by placing in 9th place.  Second year runner and soccer player Brynn deVries finished in 10th place in a season’s best time.  In the men’s 1000m, 5th year runner Kenton Sportak picked up his first Gold Medal of the weekend, setting a new Championship record in the process.  Second year runner Michael Quick picked up his first medal of the weekend, running a season’s best to finish 3rd place overall while Chambers doubled back to finish in 6th place.
In the men’s 300m finals, Avian Prince ran a fantastic race to win his section and claim 5th overall.  Thomas also ran a solid race to finish 3rd overall and pick up his first medal of the weekend.  “That was a great first day,” said Head Coach Matt Norminton.  “Everyone ran very well and the men have a nice a lead heading into Day 2 and the women are sitting in 3rd place”.
Day 2 started with the ladies 600m and Kristina Dong made a big surge at the end of the first lap to run a season’s best and finish in 11th place overall and score the team a point.  Rookies Frissell and Troccoli-Hughes both ran personal bests to finish in 12th and 14th place overall.  On the men’s side, Kenton Sportak claimed his 2nd Championship record and Gold Medal of the meet.  Ben Thomas ran a season’s best to finish 4th overall and score some huge points for the team while rookies Avian Prince, Andrew Sanchez-Orosz and Qasim Valji all ran personal bests to finish 13th, 14th and 17th, respectively.
In the women’s 1500m, Marriya Jenkins pressed the pace early and ran away from the field to add another ACAC medal to her collection. Shelby Edgar finished in 7th place, Rachael Smillie ran another personal best to finish in 11th place while Brynn deVries ran a season’s best to finish in 14th.  In the men’s 1500m, Kirk Sundt picked up his 2nd Gold Medal of the weekend and set his first Championship record.  Michael Quick ran the smartest race of the weekend, going out at a sensible pace and gradually picking off those who went out too fast to claim 2nd place overall.  Kevin Chambers finished in 5th place while Ian Lee finished in 11th place.  The final event of the weekend was the 4x400m relay and the women ran a new school record to finish in 4th place.  The men’s B team consisting of Valji, Orosz, Lee and Prince ran their fastest time of the year and finished in 6th place.  The men’s A team consisting of Thomas, Quick, Sundt and Sportak took the lead from the gun and did not look back, running a new Championship record in the process.   Sundt and Sportak also shared the Male Athlete of the Meet honours with their 3 gold medals apiece.  “What a weekend,” exuded Norminton.  “This is truly a special group of young men and women.  To have so many talented and hardworking individuals all on the same team at the same time has been such an incredible experience.   It’s up to the rookies and returning members to carry on this tradition now.  It took us 4 years to get to this point. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of miles run and a lot of sweat by the core of this team.  I couldn’t be prouder.”

Photos Courtesy of Andrew Crossett and SAIT Athletics