St. Mary’s University was well represented by our two cross-country runners, Matt Mundy(2^nd year, General Studies, Okotoks) and Karan Matusin (1^st year, General Studies, Calgary) at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championsips in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario last weekend.

101 male runners represented by various institutions from the four different conferences under the CCAA descended upon Sault College’s Crimson Ridge running course on Nov 12^th.

After finishing top 10 in the Province at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Championships (ACAC), Mundy and Matusin earned  a trip to represent the Lightning Nationally, the third time St. Mary’s has been seen at the CCAA Championships since 2014.

Matusin and Mundy ran their best race of the year, with Matusin finishing the 8km course in 29:13 and 59^th overall, while Mundy finished with a time of 29:52 and 70^th overall.

Matusin and Mundy’s results were the highest placements to date in CCAA competiton. Last year Chris White-Gloria placed 79^th overall with a time of 30:11 at last year’s CCAA Nationals in Brockville, Ontario.

After a shaky performance against Ambrose University, followed by a surprising loss to Red Deer College two weekends ago, the women’s basketball team came back with a vengeance this past weekend in their home opening games.

Friday night the women downed Olds College 80-66 in a win head coach Steve Shoults said they needed to get to shake the previous weekend’s performance off.

“This win was huge for us. This week in practice we talked a lot about what went wrong the previous weekend and we were second guessing some of our plays, but the girls came out strong and focused tonight and got us right back to where we were,” said Shoults.

Montana Romeril (4th year, History, Calgary) enjoyed a 29 point night, going 4 for 9 from the three point arc, and 12 for 17 in two point conversions. Kassandra Baptiste (4th year, Biological Sciences, Calgary) also added 17 points on the night.

Saturday night was also a big test for the women, as they went up against Red Deer College after suffering a 68-58 loss to the Queens on Nov 6th, their only loss so far this season. The Lightning came out firing, crushing the Queens 103-61.

The Lightning were outstanding on the boards recording 43 rebounds, led by last year’s league leading rebounder Mary-Jean Ritchie (5th year, Education, Calgary) with 14 on the night. The women didn’t let up on the Queens, allowing them just five points in the third quarter and cruising to their fourth win of the year.

Romeril ended the night with 24 points including three 3 point conversions, while Abby Gibb (3^rd year, General Studies, Calgary) added 19 of her own. Baptise and Laura Belisle (5^th year, General Studies, Calgary) both contributed 14 points, including Belisle’s four for seven three point conversions.

Next up for the Lightning women will be this Friday home to Lethbridge (3-0), followed by another home game with cross-town rival SAIT Trojans (3-1). Both games tip-off at 6:00 p.m. at Glenmore Christian Academy.

Women’s Basketball CCAA Rankings Watch: Week three of the CCAA National Rankings has the Lightning sitting comfortably at the No. 9 spot in the country for the week of Nov 14^th.

The men’s basketball team’s winning woes continued this weekend, with two losses coming from the Olds Broncos and Red Deer Kings.

Friday night’s match-up seemed as though it would be an evenly matched game with both teams ending the first quarter deadlocked at 15 points aside. The second quarter seemed to be where trouble began for the Lightning, when the Bronco’s netted 34 points to the Lightning’s 15, ending the half with a 49-30 lead. The Bronco’s continued to find the hoop in the third, prompting Head Coach Nathan Ruff to call a time out to reassemble his troops to get back in the game. Ruff’s speech seemed to have a significant impact on his team, as the rallied their way back, outscoring Olds in the third and fourth quarters. The Lightning’s second half effort, however, was not enough; as Olds went on to take the 90-77 win.

Third year veteran Cordell Minnifee (3^rd year, Liberal Arts, Calgary) netted 21 points, while Jordan Britton (1^st year, Psychology, Drumheller) and Brandt Seibel (1^st year, Psychology, Ponoka) combined for 26.

The Lightning men have not had an easy schedule, facing top ranked Red Deer College three times in three weeks, and historically strong Lethbridge College on Nov 18^th.  Ruff had hoped his team’s matchup against Olds would have seen the men get their first win.

“It’s a game I’d like back for sure” says Ruff. “I really felt that this was our game to win, and with our tough schedule we were looking to get one under our belts before facing Lethbridge this next weekend.”

In their third match-up in three weeks against the Red Deer College Kings’, the Lightning struggled to generate any offence against the powerful Kings’ squad.  The first half saw the Lightning trail 47-29. The Kings would eventually go on to win 94-59, taking all three games of the season series against the Lightning.

Next up for the men will be Friday night at home to the visiting Lethbridge Kodiaks (1-2), followed by cross-town nemesis the SAIT Trojans (3-1) Saturday. Both games tipoff at 8:00 p.m. at Glenmore Christian Academy.