Season Preview: Cross-country races into the 2025 season

Preparation will be at a premium for the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks cross-country team as it gears up for the 2025 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) running season.

The schedule features four Grand Prix events, culminating with the ACAC Cross-Country Championships Oct. 25 at Northwestern Polytechnic in Grande Prairie.

“Our first event is coming up quickly next week (Sept. 6) in Edmonton,” said Simon Schaerz, who is beginning his eighth season as head coach of Kodiaks cross-country and indoor track teams.

The Kodiaks hosted tryouts on Tuesday this week, followed by team photos Wednesday and a practice Thursday before heading to Edmonton on Friday.

“Our returning athletes and the ones we have on our roster currently have been training so they’ll be ready to go,” added Schaerz.

The Kodiaks men’s and women’s teams are coming off second-place finishes at the 2024 ACAC Championships, which qualified them for the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) nationals in Windsor, Ont., last fall.

“Qualifying for nationals gave our athletes some exposure at the national level,” said Schaerz. “Our goal this year will be to qualify to go to nationals again, which will be in P.E.I., so it would be a really nice trip for them and a big reward to keep them motivated.”

Schaerz is optimistic about the chances for both teams finishing in the top three this season to advance to nationals.

“We have a good returning group of athletes, but on both the men’s and women’s side we had some that we lost like Owen Stewart, who has graduated. In his place we recruited Zach Hillyer (first year, Engineering Design Technology, Lethbridge), and he’s competed through high school and Lethbridge Track.

“He’s a very, very strong runner across multiple distances from the shorter to the longer cross-country, so I think he will be a really good addition and will be our workhorse this season.

“As far as returnees, we have Conner Van Den Hoek (third year, Business Administration -Management, Fort Macleod) and he’s been with us for a few years. We also have Ethan Grasmeyer (third year, Conservation Enforcement Applied Degree, Smithers, B.C.) who joined us a few years ago and for him it’s been a steady climb, getting better every year, so he’s become a really, really solid runner.”

The women’s team lost its top runner from last year in Hannah Pilling, who finished second in the 2024 ACAC championship and has moved on to the University of Lethbridge.

“I’m looking forward to see what Hannah does at the U Sports level,” said Schaerz.

Key returnees on the women’s team include Kate Block (third year, Business Administration - Management, Waldheim, Sask.) and team captain Hallee Pilling (third year, Exercise Science, Cardston).

Joining the Kodiaks women’s team in their first season are local products Ally McDonald (first year, Therapeutic Recreation - Gerontology, Lethbridge) and Livia Swift (first year, Interior Design Technology, Lethbridge).

“Ally went to CCH and Liv went to LCI where she was part of the gold medal-winning team at the (provincial) high school championships last year,” said Schaerz. “She’ll bring some experience, and Ally is also a strong runner.”

The cross-country teams typically consist of two-thirds local talent with one-third coming from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C.

Kodiaks’ cross-country success provincially and nationally has been a great recruiting tool for the program. The men have captured eight ACAC and five CCAA crowns and the women five ACAC and three CCAA titles.

“Anything in the area that’s cross-country related, we’re usually the school of choice and that does help quite a bit,” said Schaerz. “It’s immediate recognition in the southern Alberta area.

“We are trying to continue making sure we have teams qualify for nationals every year. There haven’t been many years where our teams didn’t qualify at least one of the genders. We’re hoping to continue with that and take it to the national level and get a shot at the podium.”

The highlight for the Kodiaks locally will be their annual Run for the Pumpkin on Sept. 20 at Nicholas Sheran Elementary School. While the event serves as Grand Prix Race No. 2 in the ACAC season, it is also an open event.

“The Run for the Pumpkin doubles as a community run with the community race in the morning and then the ACAC races in the afternoon,” said Schaerz. “There’s also a high school challenge with a trophy we give away for that. Raymond won the boys’ event and LCI the girls’ side last year.”

Helping Schaerz navigate a busy cross-country and indoor track season is a talented group of returning assistant coaches. Taren Hayward focuses on the women’s speed events while Aaron Hernandez, who also coaches at U of L, helps with the men’s speed events, along with Dylan Brown. Ricardo Quesada is the program’s strength and conditioning coach.

The Kodiaks will be looking for podium finishes for both teams this season, but chances are they’ll have to go through Red Deer Polytechnic for top spot.

“I anticipate Red Deer will be very strong,” said Schaerz, who was ACAC coach of the year last season. “They have a really good coaching duo and they work really, really hard at recruiting, especially from central Alberta.

“They’ve got many degree programs now, which also helps. I’m expecting them to be the team to beat on the men’s and women’s side this year.”