Men earn first ever CCAA title, Fitzgerald keeps crown
MEDICINE HAT, ALTA., (Nov. 12, 2022) – To say the SAIT Trojans cross-country running team got the job done in Medicine Hat, Alta., would be a bit of an understatement.
The men's and women's teams took part in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross-Country Running Championships and walked away with the women's individual gold medal, a men's individual silver medal and the cross-country running program's first ever banner – a men's team title.
"Super proud. There's not much more I can say about the work this team put in all year," said Trojans head coach, Ryan Edgar. "They worked and trained together as a team all year and really enjoyed spending time with each other. The success that came today was as a result of that."
Moktar Said led the Trojans with a silver medal performance, finishing the 8-kilometre race in 25:38.
"I'm really happy with how I ran today – I prefer a flatter course, so the snow being as packed down as it was worked for me," said Moktar Said. "For me being in my first year, I think this is something I think I can build on."
Said's teammates Keiran Marchand (26:07) placed sixth, Tofik Said (27:01) finished 18th and Yahye Jama (27:32) took 28th spot.
"We just had it in our head to not let anybody pass us," Moktar stated. "Whatever we do, don't let anybody pass you. That was our mindset today and I'm really proud of how we all ran."
"They did an awesome job and deserve all the credit," Edgar added. "Seeing how tough they were in gutting this out was really special to watch. I hope they soak it up and enjoy every minute of this."
Saturday's championships were the eighth of Edgar's coaching career at SAIT. He's seen strong teams in the past come in with high expectations only to just fall short of the ultimate prize.
Some members of those past teams were on hand Saturday to cheer on the Trojans, and finally securing the gold was a bit of a weight off both Edgar's chest and theirs.
"There's been a lot of learning and lot of experience gained over the last few years," he said with a smile. "A lot of today's credit should actually go to the alumni. Some of the guys involved on those teams still stay in touch and have been messaging us throughout the season being supportive and sending encouragement. Hearing from them all year has been building this current bunch up.
The team CCAA title is the first for SAIT since the women's basketball program stood above everybody else in 2001.
Not to be overshadowed was the performance of SAIT's Makenna Fitzgerald, who captured her second consecutive CCAA women's individual title with a blistering time of 22:15.
"I kind of knew where I stood coming into today, but you never know what's going to happen with the cold and the snow," said Fitzgerald. "I don't have a great kick, so I needed to get out to a bit of a lead early on. I was able to do that and maintain it throughout the race."
Fitzgerald's back-to-back gold medals matches the feat by former Trojans star Matthew Travaglini – who won consecutive individual national titles in 2017 and 2018.
"We're really proud of Makenna and the work she has done to get to this spot today" said Edgar. "She went out there today and ran her race. We're going to miss her next year, but she has helped create a strong foundation for us that we will build on going forward."
Her teammates finished in 24th (Jill Stewart), 51st (Holly Moores) and 104th (Skya Mitchell-Brost) place, respectively.
Fitzgerald did confirm that this year would be her last, despite having one more year of post-secondary athletics available to her. Finishing her career with yet another gold medal was nice, but she spoke of what she'll really miss.
I'll miss travelling and spending time with the team," she admitted. "I really had fun with this group and with Coach Ryan - that is the stuff I'll think about later."