Another Close Second for Rattlers Women

Posted on October 16, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC

The MHC Rattlers cross country team was in Calgary on Saturday for ACAC #4 – The St. Mary’s Open. Both women’s and men’s teams were on the top of their collective games posting strong performances.

The MHC XC Men contemplate their upcoming race at ACAC #4 the St Mary’s Open

In the women’s 6 km race, the Rattlers, who are currently ranked 5th in Canada amongst women’s college cross country running teams, battled #3 ranked St Mary’s for the team title. Two weeks ago in ACAC #3 in Edmonton, St. Mary’s eked out a two-point victory (38 to 40) over the Rattlers. On Saturday, it was even closer with St Mary’s again prevailing, but this time by a single point (34 to 35). Red Deer Poly was a distant third with 71 points.

Individually, the Rattlers women were again led by the rookie duo of Becky Ross and Maddy Scrimger. Ross placed second in 23:36, 22 seconds behind winner Reese Bendksen from the University of Alberta – Augustana Campus. Scrimger followed in third place. Veterans Cheldynn Molnar (14th) and Pyper Gill (16th) rounded out the MHC scorers.

The MHC men contested the 8 km race and had their best result this season. placing fourth in the team standings with 78 points. For the third race in a row, Brannon Sumner was top MHC runner finishing 16th in a time of 30:11. Sumner was followed by Jaiden Romaniuk (18th), Gage Smith (20th), Harrison Lawson (24th), Justin Jaeger (26th), Carson Schiller (28th), and Shintaro Iwata (34th).

Next up for the Rattlers runners is the ACAC Cross Country Running Championships in Edmonton on Saturday, October 29.

Full results will be posted on the ACAC XC Running page.

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Rattlers Women Close Second at ACAC 3 Race

Posted on October 2, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC

The Rattlers women’s cross country team found themselves in a tight three-way battle for the top spot in ACAC 3 – The Concordia Thunder Open on Saturday in Edmonton. When the dust had settled, the MHC ladies ended up in second place with 40 points, a scant two points behind the victorious St, Mary’s University, but two points clear of third-place Red Deer Polytechnic.

MHC Rattlers Women toe the line at the 2022 Concordia Thunder Open

The Rattlers women were led by the dynamic duo of Becky Ross and Maddy Scrimger who placed third and fourth respectively. Ross recorded a time of 24:21 over the rolling 6 km course, while Scrimger stopped the clock at 25:25. Cheldynn Molnar (14th), Pyper Gill (19th), Grace Warren (32nd), and Annika Marshall (33rd) also represented the Rattlers in the race.

A depleted roster of only four MHC runners contested the men’s 8 km race and had a rough day. Collectively, the Rattlers men placed 6th with Brannon Sumner leading the way in 16th place. He was followed by Gage Smith (22nd), Justin Jaeger (31st), and Shintaro Iwata (35th).

Gage Smith strode to a 22nd place finish at the 2022 Concordia Thunder Open

Next up for the Rattlers runners is ACAC #4 at St Mary’s University on Saturday, October 15.

Full results will be posted on the ACAC Cross Country site.

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Rattlers Ross Second at ACAC 2 XC Race

Posted on September 18, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC

MHC Rattlers runner Becky Ross hit the podium in only her second-ever ACAC XC race on Saturday, capturing the silver medal in the women’s race at ACAC 2 – The Jordan Fish Memorial in Calgary. Ross clocked a time of 25:33 on the hilly 6 km course, 59 seconds behind winner Jenica Swartz of Red Deer Poly.

MHC’s Becky Ross (81) battles RDP’s Jenica Swartz (95) at the midway point of the ACAC 2 XC Running race

Rattler’s teammate Cheldynn Molnar also took part in the event, placing 12th.

In the men’s 8 km race, second-year runner Brannon Sumner led the way for the locals with a 13th place finish in a time of 31:49. Four other Rattlers followed including Jaiden Romanuik (16th), Gage Smith (19th), Harrison Lawson (25th), and Carson Schiller (26th). Collectively, MHC finished 4th in the team competition behind Red Deer Poly, SAIT, and Lethbridge College.

MHC’s Jaiden Romanuik (299), Brannon Sumner (297), and Gage Smith at the 5 km mark of the ACAC 2 XC running race

Next up for the Rattlers runners is the Concordia Open in Edmonton on October 1.

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Rattlers Rookies lead MHC Women to XC win

Posted on September 11, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC

Maddy Scrimger and Becky Ross made their college XC debuts on Saturday with strong runs at ACAC #1 – The MHC Cross Country Running Race at the MHC campus

Maddy Scrimger (303) and Becky Ross (304) at the halfway mark of the 20022 ACAC 1 XC Race

Scrimger placed second in the women’s 6 km race with a time of 24:12, 73 seconds behind defending CCAA XC champion Makenna Fitzgerald from SAIT. Red Deer Poly’s Jennica Swartz placed third, one spot ahead of MHC’s Ross who was 4th.

Collectively, the Rattlers women captured the team title with a score of 38 points, 2 ahead of Red Deer Poly. The win was historic – it has been at least 30 years since a Rattlers women’s XC team has won an ACAC race. In addition to Scrimger and Ross, Cheldynn Molnar (15th), Pyper Gill (17th), and Annika Marshall (25th) also represented the Rattlers in the women’s 6 km race.

With team captains Brannon Sumner and Carson Schiller unavailable this week, an under-manned Rattlers mens squad contested the men’s 8 km race. Jaiden Romaniuk was the top MHC finisher, placing 14th in a time of 32:15. Romainiuk was followed by Gage Smith (17th), Harrison Lawson (19th), Shintaro Iwata (23rd), and Justin Jaeger (24th). The Rattlers men placed 5th in the team scoring.

MHC men share a moment at the end of 2022 ACAC 1 XC Race

Concordia University of Edmonton’s Leonard Cheeso won an exciting sprint finish with SAIT’s Moktar Said to claim the men’s individual title in a time of 26:08. With 4 runners in the top 5, SAIT easily won the mens team race, 26 points ahead of second-place Red Deer Poly.

Prior the the ACAC races, a Community race was held for local schools. Winners included:

Elementary Girls 2 km – Myra Murray – Medicine Hat Bulldogs

Elementary Boys 2 km – Andrew Vis – Medicine Hat Panthers

Junior High Girls 4 km – Ember Jacober – Medicine Hat Panthers

Junior High Boys 4 km – Zaide Kolody – Medicine Hat Panthers

Senior High Girls 4 km – Montserrat Mir – Hat High

Senior High Boys 4 km – Nick Lefeve – Eagle Butte High

Senior High Girls 6 km – Hannah Kozakewich – Hat High/Panthers

Senior High Boys 6 km – Askia Tahirou

Open Men 6 km – Keegan Kolody – Medicine Hat Panthers

Next up for the Rattlers runners is the ACAC #2 – The Jordan Fish Memorial Race hosted by SAIT in Calgary next Saturday.

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Perfect Weather Shines on 2022 Rattler Run

Posted on May 1, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC
Mascot Rowdy hangs out with the boys at the start of the 3 km – 2022 Rattler Run

After a two-year virtual hiatus, the MHC Rattler Run returned as a live event on Saturday, hosting 500 plus runner and walkers on the trails and roads around Medicine Hat College and Kin Coulee Park.  The ideal spring weather allowed many athletes to post excellent performances in the 10 km, 5 km, or 3 km distances.

Calgarian Callum Drever took the top spot in the 10 km race, posting a time of 34:37 over the challenging, hilly course.  It’s was Drever’s second road race victory this week; last Sunday he won the St. Albert 10 miler in scorching time of 52:30. Medicine Hat newcomer Andrew Lehman, a runner at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, was a close second, stopping the clock at 34:54.  MHC Rattlers Running assistant coach Chris Jonker placed third.

The women’s 10 km was a closely-contested affair, with a mere 10 seconds separating the first three runners.  Second-year MHC nursing student Becky Ross, overtook 2019 Rattler Run winner Charlene McGrath in the final km and clocked at time of 43:38 for the win.  Saturday’s run was Ross’ first-ever long-distance running race; she only started running 18 months ago.  Madison Scrimger, a Grade 12 student at Crescent Heights High who will be running for the MHC Rattlers Cross Country team this fall, placed third.

Maddy Scrimger flashes the guns prior to her 3rd place finish in the 10 km – 2022 Rattler Run

There was a distinct local connection among the 5 km winners as all six were Medicine Hat and area residents.  Landon Swartz, who runs for SAIT Polytechnic, triumphed in the men’s 5 km with a time of 18:07, 42 second ahead of Quinn Haldorson. MHC Rattlers runner Brandon Sumner placed third.

In the women’s 5 km, Medicine Hat Panthers/Hat High’s Hannah Kozakewich took the top prize in 21:24.  SAIT Polytechnic’s Jasmin Salmon placed second, while the Medicine Hat Bulldog’s Devyn Perrett was third.

The men’s 3 km fun run was won by another Medicine Hat Bulldog, Laine Gauthier.  Gauthier ran the course in 10:40, almost 2 minutes clear of second place.  Azelynne Ferguson was the top women in the 3 km.

Full results for the 2022 Rattler Run can be found at Race Pro Timing website – https://racepro.ca/races/rattlerrun/

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Rattlers Tracksters Shine at ACAC Indoor Champs

Posted on March 28, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC

(Left to Right) Pyper Gill, Raya Grover, Cheldynn Molnar, and Angela Bunn celebrate their bronze medal in the Women’s 4 x 400m Relay at the 2022 ACAC Indoor Track Championships in Edmonton

A bronze-medal winning run by the women’s 4 x 400m relay team highlighted a strong performance by the MHC Rattlers Indoor Track Team at the ACAC Championships in Edmonton on the weekend.

The 4 x 400m quartet of Raya Grover, Pyper Gill, Angela Bunn, and Cheldynn Molnar jockeyed for the final podium position with teams from St Mary’s University and Lethbridge College over the first three legs, before a spectacular final anchor run from Molnar solidified the bronze medal for the Rattlers team.  The MHC team recorded a school-record time of 4:42.61, a 9 second improvement over their previous best.  Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) won the race, while Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) placed second.

Several Rattler individuals and relay teams also recorded other top-5 finishes.  These included Molnar in the women’s 300m (4th), Brannon Sumner in the men’s 600m (5th), the men’s 4 x 400m relay (4th), and the men’s 4 x 200m relay (5th).

Collectively, the young MHC team, which consisted of 7 ACAC rookies and only 1 ACAC vet, recorded 12 personal best times in individual races (out of 14 races), and 4 school-record times in the relays (out of 4 relay races).

The top overall women’s team at the meet was CUE; RDP won the men’s overall title.  As a first-year ACAC Indoor Track school, MHC was not scored in the competition for the overall title.

Full results are posted at http://www.ellistiming.ca/results/2022ACACChampionshipsResults.pdf

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Rattler Women Third at ACAC Track Meet

Posted on February 20, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC
Pyper Gill (168) leads STMU runner on leg 2 of the W 4 x 400m at the 2022 ACAC 2 Meet

A strong final leg on the 4 x 400m relay by Cheldynn Molnar, propelled the MHC Rattlers women’s indoor track squad to a third-place team finish at the ACAC #2 Indoor Track Meet in Red Deer on Saturday.

Tied for third with St. Mary’s University (STMU) going into the final event, Molnar received the baton for the fourth leg on the 4 x 400m relay 3 seconds behind the final STMU runner.  Molnar quickly bridged the gap over the first 200m and then powered away over the final meters to anchor the Rattlers to a convincing 4:48 to 4:59 win in their 4 x 400 heat.

The victory turned out to be the difference maker as MHC bested STMU 23 to 22 in the final team standings.  Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) won the meet with 52 points, 2 points ahead of Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE).

Rays Grover contesting the W 1000m at the 2022 ACAC #2 meet

Strong performances in the other women’s events by Pyper Gill, Raya Grover, and the 4 x 200m relay team set up the dramatic finish for the Rattlers.  Gill won the 3000m (12:48), Grover was 8th in the 1000m (3:37) and the 4 x 200m relay (2:07) placed 5th.

The MHC men also had a solid meet placing 4th out of 10 teams in the team standings with 19 points.

Brannon Sumner (5th in the 1000m 2:49), Carson Schiller (5th in the 600m 1:34), the 4 x 200m relay team (3rd 1:45) and the 4 x 400m relay team (4th 3:49) contributed to MHC’s point total.  The 4 x 400m relay team’s result was particularly impressive as the first four teams in the event were separated by a mere 2.5 seconds.

RDP won the men’s team competition with 60 points; CUE was second.

Full Results are posted here.

Carson Schiller leads his heat in the M 600m at the 2022 ACAC #2 meet

Next up for the MHC tracksters is the ACAC Championships in Edmonton at the end of March.

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Successful Debut for Rattlers Tracksters

Posted on January 23, 2022 by bcorcoranMHC
Carson Schiller blasts out of the blocks at the 2022 ACAC 1 Concordia Invitational

The MHC Rattlers Running team took part in the school’s first-ever ACAC Indoor Track meet on Saturday in Edmonton at the 2022 Concordia Thunder Invitational. With a small squad of just six athletes, the team managed an impressive total of seven Top-4 finishes.

The men were led by rookie Brannon Sumner who placed second in both the 600m and 1000m. Sumner also anchored MHC’s 4 x 200 relay team to a fourth-place finish. Team captain Carson Schiller had a solid meet placing 4th in the 600m and 5th in the 300m. Aden Heywood (4th in the 3000m and 6th in the 600m) and Shintaro Iwati (5th in the 1000m and 7th in the 600m) also represented MHC at the meet.

The men’s 4 x 200m team placed 4th at the 2022 Concordia Invitational

Collectively, the Rattler men placed fourth out of 10 colleges in the team standing with 39 points. Red Deer Polytechnic was the leading school, scoring 62 points.

On the women’s side, an under-staffed MHC squad of just two athletes managed a sixth place finish with 14 points. Cheldynn Molnar hit the podium with a 3rd place finish in the 300m. Molnar also placed 4th in the 600m. Teammate Raya Grover placed 6th in the 600m and 11th in the 300m.

Cheldynn Molnar had an impressive indoor track debut placing 3rd and 4th at the 2022 Concordia Invitational

Host school Concordia University of Edmonton topped the women’s table, scoring 60 points for the win.

The Rattlers next meet is ACAC #2 in Red Deer on February 19

Full meet results are posted here.

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Haywood 31st at College National XC Running Championships

Posted on November 14, 2021 by bcorcoranMHC
Aden Haywood (#242) placed 31st at the 2021 CCAA Cross Country Running Championships in Calgary

As he’s done all season, Aden Haywood led the MHC men on Saturday, with a 31st place finish in the CCAA National Cross Country Running Championships in Calgary. The 18-year old rookie from Estevan, SK started strongly and gradually moved through the field of 89 runners. He recorded a time 28:17 over the hilly 8 km course on the grounds of St Mary’s University.

Four other MHC runners also contested the men’s race. They included Brannon Sumner (65th), Carson Schiller (66th), Keveen Gonzalez (82nd), and Shintaro Iwata (86th). Collectively, the Rattlers men finished 12th in the team standings.

The MHC women’s XC Running team prepares to run the 2021 CCAA XC Running Championships in Calgary

Pyper Gill and Cheldyn Molnar had the best MHC results in the women’s 6 km race. Gill clocked a time 26:46 for 55th place, 3 spots and 3 seconds ahead of Molnar. Angela Bunn (92nd), Huimei Huang (94th), and Jisoo Lee (96th) also took part in the race. The quartet combined for a 14th place finish among the women’s teams.

The Rattlers, who returned to ACAC Cross Country this year after a 20-year hiatus, made great progress over the course of the season. Of the 35 colleges who qualified athletes for Nationals this year, MHC was one of only 10 schools who fielded both complete men’s and women’s teams.

Coach Bill Corcoran was happy with how the season played out. “We had very inexperienced teams. Carson Schiller was our only runner who had previous ACAC/CCAA experience; over half of our team members were brand new to competitive running. On Saturday, they all came to race. Everyone of the 10 recorded a season’s-best time!”

Both races on Saturday featured dominating wins by Alberta runners. Concordia University of Edmonton’s Leonard Cheeso defended his 2019 CCAA title by scorching the course in a time of 24:44, 28 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. SAIT’s Makenna Fitzgerald stopped the clock at 21:40, for a massive 63-second victory.

London’s Fanshawe College won the men’s team title; Sherbrooke finished first among the women.

Full race results are posted at Race Pro Timing.

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Rattlers Runners 6th at ACAC Champs

Posted on October 31, 2021 by bcorcoranMHC
The diminutive Humei Huang from the MHC Rattlers at the mid way point of the 2021 ACAC XC Running Championships

The MHC Rattlers were in Camrose on Saturday competing in the 2021 ACAC Cross Cross Country Running Championship, hosted by the University of Alberta – Augustana Campus. Both MHC men’s and women’s teams placed sixth, matching their pre-race conference rankings.

Coach Bill Corcoran was satisfied with the performance: “We ended up sixth out of eleven ACAC XC teams this year – right in the middle of the pack. That’s a pretty solid performance for a brand new program. This really gives us something to build on for next year.”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 21keveenacac-2.jpg
Keveen Gonsalez placed 34th in the 2021 ACAC XC Running Championships in Camrose

Individually, Aden Haywood led the Rattlers with a 13th place finish in the men’s 8 km race. Haywood recorded a time of 29:58. Teammates Branon Sumner (18th), Carson Schiller (23rd), Keveen Gonzales (34th), and Shintaro Iwata (41st) were the other MHC finishers.

As she’s done all season, Pyper Gill was the top Rattler, placing 16th in the women’s 6 km race. Gill’s time was 28:16. She was followed by Cheldynn Molnar (19th), Angela Bunn (34th), Humei Huang (35th) , and Kelsey Hamill (37th).

The men’s race was won by defending ACAC and CCAA XC Running champion Leonard Chesoo from Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE). Placing three runners in the top 6, SAIT Polytechnic won the men’s team crown.

Makenna Fitzgerald from SAIT topped the women’s field. CUE placed first among the women’s team.

Former Medicine Hat High School runner Landon Swartz, running for SAIT, finished 4th in the men’s race.

With the conference championships complete, the Rattlers runners are now setting their sites on the 2021 CCAA National Cross Country Championships in Calgary on November 12.

Full race results will be posted on the ACAC XC Running Results Page.

MHC Rattlers Women prepare for the 2021 ACAC XC Running Championships

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