Wicked weather was the top story on Saturday at ACAC Cross Country 4 – The Concordia Open in Edmonton. Wind gusts estimated near 100kph midway through the men’s 8 km toppled several large trees and destroyed the finish line set up. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the officials were able to scramble to re-assemble a finish line area before the first male runner finished the race.

Despite the chaos, Rattlers rookie Alejandro Ayala-Aguilar kept focus and managed a 9th place finish, his best result in a full-field ACAC race this fall. Ayla-Aguilar stopped the clock in 30:14. Teammate Ethan Mellish was the next Rattler across the line in 14th place. The other MHC finishers included Spencer Wilson (34th), Nick Lefbrve (38th), Keegan Kolody (44th), and Logan Mellish (50th).

In a very close team race, the Rattlers men placed tied for 5th, a single point behind 4th place. As they’ve done all season, Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) topped the men’s standings.

The women’s 6 km race, which finished before the men’s race, featured ideal autumn-weather running conditions, With three of their top 4 runners unavailable this week, the Rattler’s women had to rely on their depth runners. The team managed a credible 4th place finish in the field of 12 ACAC schools.

Meghan Reefhuis led the way for MHC, placing 10th in a time of 26:58 . She was followed by Presley Brennan (20th), Sarah Laturnas (28th), Hannah Ulm (27th), Ciana Catonio (38th), Elise Stark (42nd) and Ava Dyck (45th).

Like their male counterparts, the RDP women won the team title.

Next up for the Rattlers runners is the ACAC Championships on October 31 in Red Deer.

Full results are posted at https://runningsolutionsca.wordpress.com/results/