Medicine Hat College runners Becky Ross and Maddy Scrimger gave notice Saturday that they will again be forces to be reckoned with on the ACAC XC running scene this fall.
Becky Ross (left) and Maddy Scrimger placed first and second respectively at 2023 ACAC #1 XC
The pair, who were both ACAC all-conference runners in 2022, placed first and second respectively at the Concordia University of Edmonton Open at Gold Bar Park. Ross recorded a time of 24:44 for the hilly 6 km course, 45 seconds ahead of Scrimger. Teammate Pyper Gill was forced to abandon the race at the 3.5 km mark due to ankle injury.
Three MHC men also raced in Edmonton on Saturday. Third-year Rattler Shintaro Iwata was the top MHC finisher, completing the the 8 km race in 33:42, good for 12th place. Jaiden Romanuik (16th) and Gage Smith (20th) also took part in the race.
Shintaro Iwata at the 2023 ACAC #1 XC
Also on Saturday, a trio of Rattlers’ runners contested the Futterwacken Trail Race in Elkwater. Second-year Rattler Harrison Lawson outleaned rookie Tristan Scrimger in the battle for second place in the Men’s 10 km division. Both athletes were assigned a time of 50:59 for the hilly, technical course. MHC’s Jon McKinley placed 7th.
Tristan Scrimger (left) and Harrison Lawson battled hard for second place at the 2023 Futterwacken 10 km trail race
Next up for Rattlers Running is ACAC #2 XC in Calgary next weekend..
MHC alums Celeste and Tarrant Cross Child and their four children rolled into town on Saturday and dominated the top spots at the 2023 Rattler Run. The Saskatoon family claimed four wins and a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 3 km, 5 km, and 10 km races.
Photo provided by Tarrant Cross Child (far right)
Oldest son Kinley Cross Child won the featured 10 km race in a time of 37:03, 9 seconds ahead of MHC Rattlers assistant cross country running coach Chris Jonker. Hatter Julio Figuero placed third.
In the 5 km distance, Jayvin Cross Child (17:18) was first across the line, while older sister Jaira Cross Child (19:25) triumphed in the women’s event. MHC Rattlers runners Brannon Sumner and Jaiden Romanuik placed second and third in the men’s 5 km race; Devyn Perrett and Chelsea Desharnais were second and third in the women’s 5 km race
Youngest son Jarrett Cross Child captured the 3 km event. He recorded time of 12:28. Local runners Finn Pasco and Kade Steiger were close behind in second and third.
The first 3 runners in the women’s 3 km were Cardston’s Blake Perrett (14:08) and Hatter’s Ava Dzikowski and Ava Dyck.
MHC Female Athlete of the Year Becky Ross was the loner local winner. She defended her 2022 Rattler Run 10 km title, clocking a time of 41:10, two minutes faster than last year. Ricki Doyle of Eston placed second in 42:03, 29 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher, MHC Rattler runner Maddy Scrimger.
Becky Ross and daughter Charile
A total of 507 runners and walkers ranging in age from 3 to 84 years old finished this year’s Rattler Run. The courses traversed challenging, hilly terrain on the roads and bike trails around the Medicine Hat College and Kin Coulee Park. Next year’s event is planned for Saturday, April 27.
The MHC Cross Country/Indoor Track team is this year’s MHC Rattlers Team of the Year. The award was announced on Friday evening at the 51st annual Rattlers Athletics Awards night at the Medicine Hat Lodge.
Rattlers Running named 2022-23 MHC Team of the Year – BOUNCE!!
The Team of the Year is awarded to the MHC varsity team which best exemplifies the Three Pillars of Rattlers Athletics: Athletics, Academics, and Citizenship. In the 2022-23 season, MHC runners won the team gold in ACAC women’s cross country; captured gold, silver, and bronze event medals at ACAC Indoor Track Championships; and placed 6th (women’s) and 15th (men’s) in the CCAA Cross Country Running Nationals hosted at Medicine Hat College. In the classroom, the team earned a 3.49 GPA. Rattlers runners were also active in the community raising money for the Kidney Foundation of Canada and volunteering at a number of local not-for-profit organizations and schools.
Outgoing Senior Captains Carson Schiller and Brannon Sumner share a moment with the Team of the Year trophy
In addition to capturing the Team of the Year award, several other Rattlers Runners were honored as major award winners for the 2022-23 season. They included:
Becky Ross – MHC Female Athlete of the Year; MHC Female Rookie of the Year, CCAA Academic All Canadian
Brannon Sumner – CCAA Academic All Canadian
Madision Scrimger – MHC Female Athlete of the Year – Nominee; MHC Female Rookie of the Year – Nominee
The Rattlers Running team awards were also given out on Friday. Ross was named as the Most Outstanding Runner and Rookie Runner of the Year, while Sumner received the Cross Country/Indoor Track Rattler Award.
The MHC Rattlers Awards Banquet represented the final team activity for a number of Rattler Runners moving on next year. Sumner, Raya Grover, and Cheldynn Molnar will be pursuing studies at the University of Calgary, while Carson Schiller will start work as a paramedic in Red Deer.
MHC Rattlers runners collected a full set of medals on the weekend at the ACAC Indoor Track Championships in Edmonton. Becky Ross struck gold, the men’s 4 x 200m team snagged a silver medal, and Madison Scrimger hung on for a bronze.
MHC women gold and bronze in the Women’s 3000m at the 2023 ACAC Indoor Champs – Becky Ross (centre), Taylor Chamberlain – CUE (left), Maddy Scrimger (left)
Ross’ gold medal in the women’s 3000m was the first-ever win for a MHC runner at an ACAC Indoor Track Championship. She went to the lead from the gun, gradually wore down the entire field, and stopped the clock at 11:02.85, 18 seconds clear of Taylor Chamberlain from Concordia University of Edmonton. Teammate Scrimger was a further 8 seconds back in third place.
The men’s 4 x 200m relay team, consisting of Carson Schiller, Jaiden Romanuik, Brannon Sumner, and Justin Jager, lined up against five other ACAC teams in the championship heat. Lethbridge College rocketed out to the lead and never looked backed, smashing their own ACAC record by 2 seconds for the win. The Rattlers were locked in a spirited battle for the minor medals with SAIT and Red Deer Poly. In the end, the MHC men held on for the silver based on superior baton passing and a stellar anchor leg by Jager. The medal was the first-ever top 3 placing for the Rattlers men in an ACAC Indoor Championship.
MHC Men won the silver medal in the 4 x 200m at the 2023 ACAC Indoor Track Championship. Jaiden Romnuik, Brannon Sumner, Justin Jager, Carson Schiller (Left to Right)
Other top five placings in the meet included: Sumner Men’s 600m (4th), Ross 1500m (4th) and 1000m,(5th), Cheldynn Molnar 600m (4th), Men’s 4 x 400m Relay (4th), Women’s 4 x 200m Relay (5th), and Women’s 4 x 400m Relay (5th).
Collectively, in the team standings, the MHC women placed 4th, while the men placed 6th.
Also on Sunday, the ACAC honoured its season’s best runners. Ross was named the ACAC Indoor Track Female Rookie of the Year. She also achieved ACAC All Conference status for the 2023 season.
Four Rattlers women were in Lethbridge on Saturday, taking part in the first-ever Lethbridge College Kodiaks Invitational indoor track meet at the University of Lethbridge track. The quartet represented MHC well, taking two wins, a second, and and third in three events.
The Rattlers women team won the 4 x 400 relay at the 2023 Kodiak’s Invitational in Lethbridge
Cheldynn Molnar led the way for the Rattlers, taking first in the 300m in a season’s best time of 46.38. Molnar also anchored the 4 x 400m relay team in an exciting come-from-behind victory over the host Lethbridge College team. Collectively, the Rattlers team of Molnar, Pyper Gill, Maddy Scrimger, and Raya Grover stopped the clock in 4:43.1, 4 seconds faster than the home team.
In the 1000m, Scrimger posted a new school record time of 3:24.50 and placed second. Gill finished 4th in the race.
Grover was third in the 300m in a personal best time of 49.23.
Next up for the Rattlers is the ACAC Championships in Edmonton on March 18 and 19.
MHC’s Carson Schiller (left) battles RDP’s Ax Lawrence in the final metres of the 600m at the 2023 ACAC #2 Indoor Grand Prix Meet
The Medicine Hat College Rattlers indoor track team recorded its best-ever finish in an ACAC meet on Saturday, placing third in the team standings. The MHC tracksters tallied a team score of 69 points to finish behind second-place SAIT Polytechnic (85) and the winner, host Red Deer Polytechnic. (120.5) Collectively, the 13-member Rattler team posted 12 personal best times and established six new school records.
The MHC women scored 38 points. Becky Ross led the way with a win in the 3000m and a second place in the 1500. Maddy Scrimger raced to a third-place finish in the 3000m and combined with Raya Grover, Pyper Gill, and Chelldyn Molnar for another third place in the 4 x 400m relay.
Jaiden Romaniuk (left) and Gage Smith contesting the 3000m in the 2023 ACAC #2 Indoor Meet
Rattler men amassed 31 points, helped mostly by the efforts of their relay teams. The quartet of Carson Schiller, Jaiden Romaniuk, Justin Jager, and Branon Sumner placed second in the 4 x 200m relay. Schiller, Jager, Sumner and Gage Smith also finished second in the 4 x 400m relay. Sumner had the top MHC performance in the men’s individual events, a fourth-place finish in the 600m.
Next up for the Rattlers runners is the ACAC Indoor Track Championships in Edmonton on March 18 and 19.
MHC Rattlers Indoor Track Team took part in the 2023 Medicine Hat Panthers Indoor Track Meet on Feb. 11, 2023
The MHC Rattlers Indoor Track team was at the Big Marble Go Centre on Saturday the the 2023 Panther’s Indoor Track Meet. Three MHC runners came away with victories; five Rattlers established new school records.
Branon Sumner had the performance of the day, clocking a 2:03.1 win in the Men’s 800m. Justin Jager won the Men’s 400m in 55.0, while Becky Ross, in her first-ever track race, prevailed in the Women’s 1500m (5:16.6). All three athletes established new school records in their respective events.
Raya Grover (1:11.8 – Women’s 400m) and Jaiden Romaniuk (4:41.6 – Men’s 1500m) also recorded new Rattler’s records.
The Rattlers next ACAC action is next weekend when the team travels to Red Deer for ACAC #2- The RDP Indoor Track Meet.
Raya Grover ready to roll in the Women’s 300m at the 2023 ACAC 1 Indoor Track Meet
The Medicine Hat College indoor track team headed to Edmonton on Saturday to take part in the first ACAC indoor meet of the season. By the end of the day, the team posted ten top-5 finishes and established five new school records.
Rookie Justin Jager was the top Rattlers performer, posting a second place finished in the Men’s 300m. Jager clocked a time of 37.95, a scant 23 one-hundredths behind winner Kwasi Frampong from SAIT Polytechnic. Jager’s smashed the Rattlers 300m school record by two seconds. His run represents the best statistical indoor track performance ever by a MHC indoor track athlete. Jager also ran the lead-off legs on both the 4 x 200 relay (3rd place, school record) and the 4 x 400 relay (4th place.)
Men’s team captain Brannon Sumner also had a strong meet. He took 4 second off his own school record in the Men’s 1000m, clocking a time of 2:45, good for fifth place. Sumner also placed 4th in the Men’s 600m and ran the anchor leg on both Rattler’s relays.
Pyper Gill enroute to a 3rd place finish in the Women’s 3000m at the 2023 ACAC 1 Indoor Track Meet
Despite missing CCAA All Canadian cross country runner Becky Ross, who was unable to travel due to illness, the Rattler’s women also had a number of notable performances. Maddy Scrimger established a Rattler’s record in the Women’s 1000m by 7 seconds, stopping the clock at 3:26. Scrimger also ran legs on the 4 x 200 relay (3rd place, school record) and the 4 x 400 relay (3rd place.)
Other MHC runners recording top 5 placing included Pyper Gill (3rd in the Women’s 3000) and Cheldynn Molnar (4th in the Women’s 300m).
In the unofficial team standings, the Rattlers men placed 4th of ten ACAC teams, while the women were 5th.
Next up for the Rattlers tracksters is the Medicine Hat Panthers indoor meet on Feb. 18.
MHC Rattlers Becky Ross capped off her stellar rookie season by placing seventh at the CCAA Cross Country Running Championships in Medicine Hat on Saturday.
MHC’s Becky Ross (612) leads a chase group at the 2 km mark of the 2022 CCAA National XC Champs in Medicine Hat
The 35 year old, mother of one, started strong and held on securing a top 10 placing, earning her 2022 All Canadian status. Ross covered the 6 km snow-covered course in a time of 23:59.
Collectively, Ross and her Rattlers teammates place sixth in the women’s team category behind five Quebec teams, Maddy Scrimger (21st), Cheldynn Molnar (49th), Pyper Gill (82nd), and Annika Marshall (111th) were the other Rattlers finishers.
In the men’s race, the Rattlers placed 15th. As he’s done all season, Brannon Sumner led the way for the MHC men with a 63rd place finish. Jaiden Romanuik (66th), Gage Smith (88th), Harrison Lawson (96th), Carson Schiller (100th) and Justin Jager (105th) also took part in the race.
Rattlers runners Gage Smith (left) and Justin Jager (right) recover after a tough race at the 2022 CCAA XC Running Championship in Medicine Hat
Also on Saturday, Rattlers coach Bill Corcoran was named CCAA Cross Country Running Coach of the Year.
Two hundred and thirty nine runners from 45 colleges across Canada took part in the event. Full results are posted at https://www.racepro.ca/races/ccaa/
It took a tie-breaker, but the MHC Rattlers women’s cross country running team edged the St, Mary’s Lightning on Saturday to win the 2022 ACAC Cross Country Running Championships in Edmonton.
MHC women at the start of the 2022 ACAC XC Running Champs
The MHC and St Mary’s women have battled all season. St Mary’s beat the Rattlers by two points on Oct.1 in Edmonton and prevailed by a single point at their home meet on Oct.15. On Saturday, both teams tied at 47 points, but the Rattlers claimed the victory based on a better position by their team’s final scoring runner.
The women’s cross country title was MHC’s second all time; the last win came 41 years ago in 1981.
Individually, Becky Ross led the team with a 4th place finish. Ross clocked a time 24:13 over the rolling 6 km course. Maddy Scrimger was close behind Ross, finishing in 6th place. Cheldynn Molnar (16th), Pyper Gill (21st) and Annika Marshall (41st) also chipped in for the MHC win.
Reigning CCAA champ Makenna Fitzgerald from SAIT Poly easily defended her 2021 ACAC individual crown, winning the women’s race in 22:51.
2022 ACAC Women’s XC Running Champs
The Rattlers men also took part in the ACAC Championships finishing in 5th place, one place better than their 2021 finish. Six of the seven Rattler men ran their best race of the season. Second-year runner Brannon Sumner led the MHC men in 14th place, posting a time of 30:33 for the 8 km distance. Other MHC finishers included Jaiden Romanuik (16th), Carson Schiller (26th) Harrison Lawson (27th), Justin Jager (30th), Gage Smith (31st), and Shintaro Iwata (40th).
Placing 4 runners in the top 8, SAIT Poly handily won the ACAC men’s XC championship over second place Red Deer Poly. Leonard Cheeso from Concordia University of Edmonton won his third-straight individual men’s ACAC cross country title.
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 their home course on the MHC campus on Saturday, November 12. Two hundred runners from approximately 30 schools across Canada are expected to be in the Hat to contest that race.
Rattlers Running 