Written by: Tim Olynik, Athletics and Recreation Specialist
Four national qualifiers, a basketball road trip featuring big performances and important wins, and a championship weekend worth celebrating.
There are weekends when the scoreboard tells the whole story.
And then there are weekends when the biggest victories come from earning the opportunity to compete again.
For St. Mary’s University Lightning Cross Country, Saturday’s ACAC Championships in Red Deer were about exactly that.
By the time the dust had settled on the championship course, the Lightning had secured something worth celebrating: two women’s and two men’s individual qualifiers a headed to the CCAA Cross Country National Championships in Edmonton on November 14.
Not a bad way to wrap up the conference season.
Meanwhile, the Lightning basketball teams returned from a challenging northern road trip with two victories, two losses, and a couple of standout individual performances that deserve some attention.
Let’s start with the runners.
Cross Country: Four Lightning Runners Punch Their Tickets to Nationals
The goal all season was to be at their best when it mattered most.
For head coach Samantha Read and the Lightning Cross Country program, that moment arrived Saturday at the ACAC Championships in Red Deer.
And when the racing was finished, four Lightning athletes had earned the opportunity to extend their seasons onto the national stage.
Cadence Laplante, Sarah Tedesco, Caleb Graham, and Nate Kelba will represent St. Mary’s University at the CCAA Cross Country National Championships in Edmonton on November 14.
Four runners. Two races. One more opportunity to represent the Lightning against the best collegiate distance runners in Canada.
Cadence Laplante: One More Race
We thought Red Deer might be the final chapter of Cadence Laplante’s remarkable collegiate cross country career.
Turns out there’s an epilogue.
And it’s happening in Edmonton.
Laplante, one of the most decorated athletes in Lightning history, will return to the CCAA National Championships on November 14.
For an athlete who has collected nine medals across cross country and indoor track over the previous three years, another national championship appearance is a fitting reward for years of dedication.
Last season, Laplante finished 18th at nationals in Prince Edward Island. Now she gets another opportunity to test herself against the country’s best.
And this time, it really will be her final collegiate cross country race.
One more starting line. One more opportunity to add to an already remarkable career.
Sarah Tedesco: The Reward for Putting in the Work
If Laplante represents the experience and consistency of Lightning Cross Country, Sarah Tedesco represents something equally important.
Progress.
Tedesco was named the Lightning’s Most Improved Cross Country Runner following the 2025 season, recognition of the steady improvement she demonstrated throughout the year.
Now she’s headed to nationals.
That’s a pretty impressive next step.
Distance running isn’t particularly generous with shortcuts. Improvement is measured through months of training, small breakthroughs, and the patience to keep working when results don’t arrive immediately.
Tedesco’s qualification for the CCAA Championships is another milestone in that journey.
And perhaps the best part?
She’ll have Laplante alongside her on the starting line.
Caleb Graham and Nate Kelba: Representing the Lightning
The Lightning men’s cross country team entered the ACAC Championships with ambitions of challenging for a podium finish.
While the full squad won’t be making the trip to Edmonton, two of its runners will have the opportunity to represent St. Mary’s at nationals.
Caleb Graham and Nate Kelba will compete in the men’s eight-kilometre race, carrying the Lightning colours onto the national stage.
Both runners have been important contributors throughout the season, consistently pushing one another and helping establish the competitive depth of the men’s program.
At the final ACAC Grand Prix in Edmonton, Kelba finished 16th in 31:15.06, with Graham crossing the line just one position behind in 31:30.99.
Now they’ll return to Edmonton for the biggest race of the season.
For head coach Samantha Read, sending four athletes to nationals in her first season leading the Lightning is an encouraging milestone.
And for the runners?
It’s one more opportunity to see just how fast they can go.
Basketball: Two Wins, Two Losses, and Plenty to Learn
While the runners were earning their tickets to nationals, the Lightning basketball teams were navigating a difficult northern road trip.
The results were mixed, but there were certainly some highlights.
And a couple of performances that deserve their own headlines.
Men: Solarin Delivers in Road Victory
St. Mary’s 84, NAIT 80
Danny Solarin provided one of the standout performances of the weekend, scoring 25 points and collecting six rebounds as the Lightning secured an 84–80 road victory over the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves.
Solarin earned Player of the Game honours for his efforts, helping St. Mary’s collect an important early-season win.
For a men’s program working to establish its identity following significant roster turnover, victories like this matter.
They build confidence, reinforce the work being done in practice, and provide tangible evidence that the pieces are beginning to come together.
But the weekend also offered a reminder that there’s still work to do.
In Saturday’s loss at NWP, the Lightning once again struggled out of the gate, falling behind early and leaving themselves with too much ground to recover.
It’s becoming an uncomfortable pattern.
The Lightning have demonstrated that they can compete when they find their rhythm. The problem is that finding it after falling into a substantial deficit makes every remaining possession that much more difficult.
Patrick Orencia earned Player of the Game honours in Saturday’s contest.
For head coach Nathan Ruff, the challenge moving forward is finding a way to bring the team’s best basketball into the opening minutes, rather than waiting until the game is already slipping away.
The talent is there.
The urgency needs to arrive a little earlier.
Women: Amber May Takes Over
St. Mary’s 68, Northwestern Polytechnic 53
Let’s talk about Amber May for a moment.
Because 34 points on 14-of-21 shooting deserves a little attention.
Actually, it deserves quite a lot.
May delivered a sensational performance Saturday against Northwestern Polytechnic, scoring exactly half of the Lightning’s 68 points in a 15-point victory over the Wolves.
That’s 66.7 percent shooting from the field.
Fourteen made baskets on 21 attempts.
And one very difficult evening for the NWP defence.
May, who joined the Lightning this season after four years of U SPORTS basketball at Laurentian University, was named Player of the Game.
Her performance provided a reminder of the offensive versatility she brings to a Lightning roster that is still adjusting to the departures of several significant contributors from last season.
But the weekend wasn’t without frustration.
In Friday’s loss to NAIT, St. Mary’s faced a strong opponent and couldn’t produce the performance required to match the occasion.
Saara Allouche earned Lightning Player of the Game honours in the defeat.
For head coach Abdell Farag, the weekend offered both sides of the early-season equation.
Against NWP, the Lightning showed what can happen when their offence finds its rhythm and a talented scorer takes control.
Against NAIT, they were reminded that competing with the conference’s stronger teams requires a sustained collective effort.
The encouraging part?
It’s still early.
And with players like May capable of delivering performances like Saturday’s, there’s plenty of reason to believe this group has more to show.
What’s Next: A National Stage Awaits
For Lightning Basketball, the coming weekend offers a chance to regroup.
Neither the women’s nor men’s teams will be in action, providing an opportunity to return to practice, address the lessons from the northern road trip, and prepare for the next stretch of ACAC competition.
For Lightning Cross Country, however, the countdown is officially underway.
On November 14, four Lightning runners will compete at the CCAA National Championships in Edmonton.
Cadence Laplante will take the starting line for the final cross country race of her collegiate career.
Sarah Tedesco will look to continue a remarkable journey of improvement.
And Caleb Graham and Nate Kelba will represent the Lightning in the men’s championship race.
Four athletes. Four different journeys. One national stage.
The ACAC season may be finished, but the Lightning still have one more race to run.
#StormTheCourse