By: Zach Nolan
The women’s side of the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) finished their first ever cross-country event, running six 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.
Three of the six listed female runners for the Red River Rebels were in attendance with Azaliah Felbel, Emilia Wozniak and Paulene Martinez all taking part in the tune-up race. 11 runners took part with CMU Blazers and Providence Pilots sending four runners a piece.
The top five were made up of three Pilots’ runners and two Blazers.
The highest finishing Rebels runner in the women’s 6-km was Wozniak, a two-sport athlete who is also on the women’s volleyball team. She kept a steady pace throughout the race and finished in sixth.
“Don’t walk. That was my big goal, because obviously with volleyball it’s high intensity, fast movements, a lot of sprints” said Wozniak moments after the race.
One challenge for Wozniak was a sharp turn in the hilly terrain that proved uncomfortable for her hips to maneuver through, however she felt good overall after the race’s conclusion. Despite her legs cramping in the back half of the race, she held onto sixth position by half a minute and finished in 34 minutes.
“I focused on a steady pace, wanting to keep it consistent, I did let up on my pace a couple times but I’m just happy I didn’t walk”
For Wozniak, cross-country is primarily a conditioning workout, one which she started back in high school in Grade 11. She said she’s looking forward to Provincials, though it will cause her to miss her volleyball game that weekend.
Felbel finished in tenth place in the race, but she was all smiles after it’s conclusion.
“I wanted to be able to tell people I was [first place] at one point and I was at the beginning,” she said to a member of the Blazers while talking about the race.
Felbel charged up into first place to start the race before slowing her pace as it went on. She said a goal for herself was to finish in under 45 minutes and her time came in just shy of that at 44. She collapsed at the finish line but did not need medical attention and stood back up with a smile.
Martinez finished the race in eleventh place. She said she started too fast and had a bit of difficulty with the park’s hilly terrain. When asked about what her goals and motivations were her response was slightly humorous.
“I came here for the vibes,” said Martinez while watching the men’s race.
Martinez went on to say how she’s looking to compete in her first marathon next year and viewed this as great experience.
“We had a very condensed training season and so building up that tolerance and getting ready for race day in a short amount of time is challenging, but they stepped up to the plate,” said head coach Dale Kujanpaa after the event.
Assistant coach Sarah Coyle also spoke about how proud she was of the women’s group.
“I saw focus and tenacity from the girls, they were determined to do their best and to finish and that’s exactly what they did,” said Coyle.
Both the men and the women’s groups took part in yesterday afternoons races. For more details on the men’s portion of the day click here.
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