By: Zach Nolan
The men’s side of the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) finished their first ever cross-country event, running eight kilometres at La Barrière Park.
The race acted as a tune-up race for Provincials, which will be held on Oct.17 at Buhler Recreation Park.
Five of the six listed male runners for the Red River Rebels were in attendance with Diego Chaput, Reeve Sukut, Joseph McEwing, Matthew McEwing and Matthew McGraw all taking part in the tune-up race. 16 runners took part with the CMU Blazers sending five and Providence Pilots sending six.
Sukut was quickest off the start line for the Rebels and ran in second place early into the first lap. At the one-kilometre checkpoint, four of the five Rebels were steady in the middle of the pack with McGraw down in sixteenth.
As the race progressed Sukut was caught by a few runners including his teammate Chaput, who had been steadily increasing his pace as the race progressed.
“Running with teammates helped. We stayed close together and when Diego went to pass me, I didn’t feel as bad as he’s on the same team as me,” said Sukut after the race.
The top five were made up of two Blazers and three Pilots’.
The Rebels controlled the back half of the top ten with four of their five runners. Chaput crossed the line first for the Rebels in sixth place.
“I felt good, just coming off my 5K race I was training for a couple weeks back. Used that, tried to adjust for the 8K longer distance. I felt good. Happy with the amount I pushed myself,” said Chaput after crossing the line.
Chaput had previous experience running on road races. He said the track felt obviously different but held up and never became an issue.
Following behind Chaput in seventh place was Sukut who finished 21 seconds ahead of a Blazer runner, to finish his race at 34 minutes on the dot. He is also a Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League player who plays for the St. Boniface Riels.
After a CMU runner in eighth, Joseph McEwing, a civil engineering student finished in ninth. When some of his peers were talking about their goals for the event, he was able to provide a bit of levity.
“Just don’t die,” said McEwing.
Behind Joseph, rounding out the top ten was Matthew McEwing, whose previous experience included competing in a triathlon and being named Rural Male Swimmer of the Year in 2022. The group of four Rebels runners finished ahead of three Pilots and two Blazers.
“We’re very happy about [having four runners in the top ten], we didn’t know what to expect with this first race being the first MCAC race, we don’t have much for benchmarking where over schools are at for pacing and timing so to get four in the top ten is really exciting,” said head coach Dale Kujanpaa.
McGraw finished behind the pack down in fifteenth but wasn’t last because a Pilot injured his knee running and had to retire from the race.
The cross-country team’s now have close to two weeks off as they get set for Provincials.
“Practice in the meantime, I also recommend they prioritize their recovery and nutrition as well as their sleep and I think they will be totally ready to go for the next race,” said assistant coach Sarah Coyle.
Both the men and the women’s groups took part in yesterday afternoons races. For more details on the women’s portion of the day click here.
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