Local X-C Running Wrap – September 17, 2011

Posted on September 18, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

Current and former members of the GPRC Wolves x-country running team were in action on a number of fronts on Saturday.

In Vemilion, AB, Devin Woodland had a strong run, finishing 6th overall, and 3rd amongst the college runners, at the ACAC Grand Prix #2 race.  Woodland covered the hilly 8 km course in 29:54. Wolves coach Bill Corcoran placed 37th.

In the womens 5 km race, a pair of Wolves runners finished in the 30s – Carina Ness was 32nd while Linnea Saltel finished 39th.  Former Wolves runner Carly Pura, now running for Augustana, was 37th.

Wolves Women Leading Out at the 2011 FSJ Grailquest X-C

Meanwhile in Fort St. John, the Wolves women swept the top 5 places at the Grailquest 5 km, Race #3 in the 2011 Wolves X-Country Running Series.  Kayla Hardy led the way winning her second Wolves Series race in as many weeks.  Amanda Patteson placed second in her first-ever x-country race.  Lena Farrow, Vanessa Besharah, and Davis Alton trailed the leading duo.

In the mens race, Wolves rookie Duncan Farrow also recorded a victory.

Finally, in Seattle, Washington, former Wolves standout Fiona Benson, now running for Trinity Western University, placed third in a field of 187 runners in College Open race at the Sundogger X-Country race hosted by the University of Washington.  Benson recorded a time of 22 minutes even for the flat and fast course.

Next up for the Wolves is the Bezanson Bog, race #4 in the Wolves X-C Series, next Saturday.

 

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Wolves X-C Running Team Season Preview – Sept 13, 2011 Daily Herald Tribune

Posted on September 13, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

Article about the 2011 Wolves Cross Country Running team in the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune.

http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3295481

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2011 Wolves X-C Running Team Outlook

Posted on September 8, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

After winning last year’s CCAA National Championship race and then going on to represent Canada in the 2011 World Junior Cross Country Championships in Spain, GPRC’s 2011-12 Female Athlete of the Year  co-winner Fiona Benson has decided to move on to the next level.

 The 19 year old Dawson Creek athlete has accepted a generous scholarship offer from Trinity Western University in Langley, BC.   Building on a solid rookie season in the ACAC/CCAA, Benson will be striving to become one of the top runners in the CIS.

While it’s never easy to replace a national champion, the 2011 edition of the Wolves will start with a good mix of returning runners and talented newcomers.  Both the men and the women will be looking to improve on their rankings from last year – the men 4th provincially and 7th nationally, and the women 5th in the ACAC and 9th in the CCAA.

This year’s Wolves return five female athletes including: second-year runner Jackie Benning, third year athlete Vanessa Besharah, fourth year’s Linnea Saltel and Mandy Matier, and GPRC’s first-ever official fifth year runner, Carina Ness.

 Joining this quintet are about a dozen newcomers, making the Wolves women one of the largest teams in the entire CCAA.  Three rookies to watch include Fort St John’s Kayla Hardy, Dawson Creek’s Lena Farrow and Grande Prairie’s  Amanda Patteson.

 The men return ACAC all conference runner Devin Woodland for his second season.  Woodland will be joined by second year runner Eric Martinek and third year athlete Evan Paul.

Three newcomers from Dawson Creek’s South Peace Secondary School join the retuning trio.  Jack Carrigan, Duncan Farrow, and Torleif Landsgaard will provide the necessary depth needed to compete in the very tough ACAC mens conference.

The Wolves open their season on September 10 by hosting the Steve Burgess Memorial at the Wapiti Nordic Trails The team is also slated to run in ACAC races in Vermilion (Sept 17), Calgary (Oct 1), and Camrose (Oct. 15).  When not on the road, the team will host and compete in a number of Wolves Cross Country Running Series events in Grande Prairie and other Peace Country venues.

On October 29, the Wolves will contest the 2011 ACAC Championships in Calgary. Two weeks later, the team will be in
Kamloops, BC participating in this year’s CCAA National Championships.

The coaching duo of Rick Scott and Bill Corcoran are back to guide the team. 2010 marks Corcoran’s 21st year with the Wolves, while Scott enters his 20th year with the team.

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Local Triathlon Wrap – Ironman Canada and Tri River Triathlons

Posted on August 29, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

A multitude of Grande Praire triathletes were in action on two different fronts on Sunday.

In Ironman Canada in Penticton, B.C., Darin Hunter was the top local.  Under very hot and sunny conditions, Hunter completed the 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycle, and 42.2 km run in a total time of 9:44:32, good for 30th place overall.

Other local finishers included Robert Seitz (82nd, 10:13:28), Amber Dawn Hunter (867th, 12:20:25),  Candis Whittal (1206th,12:54:20) Annette Seitz (1262nd, 12:58:57), and Robert Carroll (1400th, 13:15:43)

American Jordan Rapp won for the third time at Ironman in a time of 8:28:09).  Over 3200 participants from across the globe took part. Ironman Canada results are posted at http://ironman.ca

Update: Two other Grande Prairie athletes also completed the event.  Colleen Gagnon went 16:39:15 and Shane Reid clocked 11:58:40.  Daily Herald Tribune article about the event is linked here.

Also on Sunday, Peace River hosted its annual Tri River Sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20 km cycle, and 5 km run) under ideal weather conditions.

Bart Jan Jorna from the Netherlands was first across the line in 1:06:58.  A trio of Grande Prairie athletes occupied the next three positions – Richard Fletcher (1:08:02) , Stefan Nasedkin (1:08:11)  , and Duncan Banks (1:08:54).

Valleyview’s evil Miller twins, Alesha and Christa, went one, two the womens race.  Alesha won the race in 1:13:12, two minutes better than Christa in 1:15:54.  Marie Eve Gauthier was third in 1:16:43.

Full results are posted at Triathlon 2011 Final Results

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Tasker Golden in 110m Hurdles at Western Canada Games

Posted on August 9, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

Link to a story in the Daily Herald Tribune.

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Benson Conquers Emperor’s Challenge

Posted on August 8, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

Wolves Athletics Club athlete Fiona Benson handily won the womens race at the Emperor’s Challenge Mountain 20 km in Tumbler Ridge on Saturday.  The 19 year old runner established a new course record, clocking 1:43:40 for the very difficult course, nearly 7 minutes better than runner up Wendy Giesbrecht from Cecil Lake.  Overall, Benson finished 7th out of nearly 650 runners.

Perenial champion Kris Swanson of Victoria defended his Emperor’s Challenge title,
clocking 1:24:52, three minutes ahead of fellow National Mountain Running Team
Member Adrian Lambert from Edmonton. This was Swanson’s 13th victory in 14 years.

Top Grande Prairie finishers included Scott Goosney (1:41: 52, 5th overall) and Sherry
Wendland (2:06:41, 10th woman.)

Next up for local runners is the Don’t Get Lost in the Woods Trails races on the Labour Day weekend.

Full results posted at www.emperorschallenge.com

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Local June Track and Field Wrap

Posted on July 4, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

Local tracksters were busy in June at a number of meets.

At the ASAA Provincial High School Championships in Edmonton on June 3 and 4, Jorden Freeman captured the silver medal in the Senior Boys javelin.  In the Intermediate boys category, Hayden Hollowell posted 4 personal best times placing 9th in the 3000m (9:55.59), 8th in the 1500m (4:28.37), and 10th in the 800m (2:08.62  ).  He also ran a leg on the 12th place 4 x 400m team with Troy Bogh and Damian Nielsen.  Bogh also clocked times of 55.69 (13th) and 2:09.73 (10th) in the Senior Boys 400m and 800m while Nielsen recorded a huge PR in the Junior Boys 1500m (4:53.56, 10th place.)  The PWA Junior Boys 4 x 100m relay team placed 6th.

One week later at the Caltaf Classic, Jorden Freeman claimed a spot on Team Alberta for the Western Canada Games with a heave of 48.05m in the javelin, good for 2nd place.  Jimmy Marios placed 17th in the Midget Boys 100m (13.09) and 14th in the 200m (26.50).  Bill Corcoran was DNF in the Masters Men 400m after hurting his calf.

The local quartet from Alexander Forbes School (Dallas Lebebvre, Kale Smith + 2 others) won the Boys 13-14 category at the Provincial Hershey Meet in Edmonton on June 18.  Lebebvre and Smith also went 1-2 in the Ball Throw.

Finally, former Wolves standout Wynand Nel contested the 110m Hurdles at the Canadian National Championships in Calgary on June 25.  Nel made the final and in a national televised race on the CBC placed 7th.

 

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Local Tracksters Shine at NW Zone Championships

Posted on May 29, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

Middle and long distance runners were the top local performers at the NW Zone Track and Field Championships in Peace River on Friday and Saturday. 

Beaverlodge High School’s Hayden “Sanchez” Hollawell won 4 events in the Intermediate Mens category.  Hollawell placed first in the 800m, 1500m, and 3000m races and ran a leg on the victorious 4 x 400m team.

St Joe’s Troooooooooooooooooooooooooooooy Bogh recorded 3 wins including the Senior Mens 400m and 800m.  He also ran on the winning 4 x 400m team.  Since 2009, Bogh has recorded 10 gold medals at the NW Zone Meet.

Athletes from PWA were responsible for two new Senior High records.  Saylor Badger set the new standard of 12.74 in the Intermediate Womens 100m, while the PWA Junior Mens 4 x 100m relay team are the new record holders with their time of 48.55.

In the Junior High competition, Kristina Koersen De-Boer from Sexsmith and Davis Lojczyc from Hythe led the local contingent with 3 wins each. Koersen De-Boer took the top honours in the Intermediate Girls 800m, 1500m, and 3000m. while Lojczyc  was victorious in the Senior Girls 800m, 1500m, and 3000m.  Lojczyc also placed second in the 100m,

Brandon Berg from Bezanson set the new record in the Junior Boys Javelin with a toss of 40.22m.

Over 600 athletes from across the Peace took part in the meet.  Hillside Valleyview won the team titles in both the Senior High and Junior High competitions.

The top two finishers in each of the Senior High events qualify for the ASAA Provincial High School Track and Field Championships on June 3 and 4 at Foote Field in Edmonton.

Full meet results and records are available at the NW Zone Track and Field page.

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Fiona to TWU – DHT Article, May 17, 2011

Posted on May 17, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3127786

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Fiona signs with TWU

Posted on May 16, 2011 by bcorcoranMHC

GPRC Wolves 2011 Athlete of the Year Fiona Benson, and all around good human being, will be running for TWU in Fall 2011.  Press release is attached. Good luck, Fiona.

http://twu.ca/athletics/cc-track/news-release/2011-12/2011-05-12-three-distance-runners2.html

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