Trojans set for ACAC Championships

EDMONTON, ALTA, (March 2, 2019) — In their last Grand Prix event of the season on Saturday, the SAIT Trojans indoor track team readied themselves for their end goal.

A somewhat smaller contingency of Trojans runners travelled to Edmonton, and faired well in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference's (ACAC) final Grand Prix event - hosted by the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder.

"Overall, the day was pretty good," said Trojans co-head coach Ryan Edgar. "We were missing two key runners in Jacques Saayman and Brant Lauweryssen, but we saw some good-sized personal bests from the runners we did have here, and was able to see what we are up against in two weeks."

In two weeks is when the Trojans will host the ACAC Championships, March 15-16 at Repsol Sport Centre. Edgar says he likes what he has seen from his men's team this semester, but knows they're in tough.

"It seems like it will be pretty tight in the guys side. It will come down to execution the day of," he said, referencing the Trojans men's team who has won the team gold medal in each of the past two years. "We're sure that they will rise to the challenge."

Matthew Travaglini found the podium on a couple of occasions on Saturday, winning the 800-metre event in a time of 1:56.65 to set a new ACAC record. He also competed in the 1,500m race, and placed second (4:06.35).

Teammate Brent Stephen picked up a first place finish in the 600m race, crossing the tape in 1:20.87

On the women's side, Ann Danard posted the team's best result by finishing second in the 3,000m event with a time of 11:32.66.

"The 3,000 matches Ann's current fitness level really well," said Edgar. "She gained a lot of valuable experience, so we expect her to improve and show well in a few weeks."

Unfortunately, a shortage of female runners on the Trojans this year will prohibit them from taking part in the team category when the Championships take place.