Blazers Own the Podium at the Inaugural MCAC Cross Country Championships
Blazers men take off at the firing of the starting gun
The inaugural MCAC Cross Country Championships were run this past Saturday at Buhler Park in Transcona, and a CMU student-athlete stood atop the podium for both the women's 6k race, as well as the men's 8k race when all the dust had settled. The Blazers' Laurel Smith finished with the fastest time in the women's race, while Luke Townsend led the field on the men's side.
The provincial championships served as the qualifying event for the CCAA National Championships in the first year of the sport being added to the MCAC's programming. As a brand-new sport to many, there was plenty of excitement around the races, and in seeing how the Manitoban champions will stack up against the country's best in four weeks' time at Concordia University of Edmonton. Three schools were in the field, including CMU, Providence, and Red River Polytechnic, who themselves have just re-entered the Manitoba Colleges Athletics Conference.
For those new to the races, the sport is comprised of both a team aspect, as well as individual accolades. A team is comprised of at least four competitors, but can include more, with the top four runners in a team earning points towards the team's score, and the others working as displacers, taking lower scores off the table from other teams to claim. Much like golf, the lowest score wins, with a first-place finish adding only one point to a team's score, with the second-fastest time adding two points to the runner's team score, and so on. Within the MCAC, the top team earns direct qualification to the CCAA Nationals, with the top three individual runners also earning a spot in the field if not already part of a qualified team.
The Blazers fared quite well in the inaugural event, earning the first, fourth, fifth, and tenth positions in the women's race held by Laurel Smith, Lia Campbell-Enns, Hannah Reimer, and Ella Grijalva, respectively. The placements were one point shy of matching the finishes by Providence's top four athletes, so the team's first season will officially end here, though Smith will continue on as one of the top three individual finishers. On the men's side it was a similar story, with CMU finishing second in the team event, though two podium finishes by the aforementioned Luke Townsend as well as Marcus Huebner in third will qualify the duo to Nationals as individuals. Rounding out the team finishers were Octavian Bourdon in ninth, Adrian Williams in 12th, Max Danforth in 14th, and Matthaeus Dyck in 17th place.
Blazers Athletics would like to extend a hearty congratulations to both the men's and women's cross country squads, and in paving the way for the program in years to come. We are proud of what head coach Calvin Reimer with assistants Lauren Reimer and Noel Kendle have accomplished in less than a year's time since the program was announced last November. We would also like to extend our sincerest thanks to graduating athletes Lia Campbell Enns, Laurel Smith, and Matthaeus Dyck for helping to grow a new program.
The CCAA Cross Country National Championships will be held at Kinsmen Sports Centre and hosted by Concordia University of Edmonton in the heart of Alberta's capital from November 12-14, 2026. The event will bring together the country's top student-athletes and college teams for 6-kilometre races for women and 8-kilometre races for men. Set on varied and challenging terrain, the course presents a formidable athletic challenge while offering magnificent views of the river, the city's iconic bridges, and the skyline.
Stay tuned for coverage of the championships, as well as the Blazers Glow Run, set to take place this year on November 24th as a family-friendly event to challenge participants to stay active as the weather cools!
