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Wolves runner Taylor Hudak was one of 12 GPRC runners to battle through the less than ideal conditions in Muskoseepi Park on Saturday (Photo: Facebook / Bill Corcoran / GPRC Wolves)
Cross Country

Snow, cold can’t stop runners at college Cross Country Nationals

Nov 12, 2019 | 10:55 AM

Frigid temperatures and a fresh dump of snow didn’t hold back the runners on Saturday, as Muskoseepi Park was home to the 2019 CCAA Cross Country National Championships.

A total of 195 runners from colleges representing Alberta, Ontario and Quebec were in the Swan City to run for national bragging rights. Of those 195 runners, 12 represented GPRC.

For the women’s side, it was ACAC All-Conference runner Anna van der Giessen who had the highest finish for the Wolves, as she placed seventh out of the 89 women who took to the course. Her top ten finish also earned the third-year runner All-Canadian honours.

Wolves runner Anna van der Giessen (middle right) took home All-Canadian honours for her seventh place finish on Saturday (Photo: Facebook / GPRC Wolves)

Other Wolves that ran in the women’s race include Taryn Kokesch (46th), Brittany Duvall (63rd), Kailey Bratland (75th), Krista Frey (76th) and Lydia Steinke (77th). As a team, the Wolves finished in ninth place

For the men’s team, Hayden Hollowell’s 47th place finish and Chris Nelissen’s 52nd place finish led the way for GPRC as they finished in 12th as a team. Jordan Lundstrom (67th), Adam Wangler (76th), Taylor Hudak (78th) and Tairas Forunier (89th) also ran the 8 KM course for the Wolves.

The individual gold medals went to Concordia’s Leonard Cheeso on the men’s side, while Simone Plourde from André-Grasset in Quebec took home the women’s gold.

As a team, Lethbridge College took top honours on the women’s side. Fanshawe College out of Ontario was the top men’s team.