Lightning Athletics Update

The Lightning officially wrapped up their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) running season this past weekend at ACAC Championships in Grand Prairie. The team competed in a total of four race across Alberta this season, including their very own co-hosted race with SAIT back on September 17th.

This year marked the first year the Lighting fielded both a men’s and women’s full team, giving St. Mary’s the opportunity to score as teams, rather than just individual runners. The championship races saw the men’s team come fifth overall, while the women came seventh. All runners ran personal bests at their final race of the season at the ACAC Championships.

This year also marks the third consecutive season St. Mary’s will send Lightning runners to Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Nationals, taking place this year in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. Second year runner Matthew Mundy, and first year runner Karan Matusin will fly to Ontario to represent St. Mary’s on the national stage after finishing in the top 10 at ACAC Provincials. Matusin finished 8th overall, while Mundy grabbed the 10th place finish.

While Mundy and Matusin will continue to train for Nationals, the team will also continue to train through the rest of the semester, as well as do a bit of indoor track training through the winter months.

Full results from Grand Prairie can be viewed here: http://runningsolutions.shawwebspace.ca/pages/view/2016_new_balance_run_alberta_xc_/

The women’s basketball team kicked off their start to the season with a road game in Red Deer Saturday night. A close first half saw the Red Deer Queens only trail the Lightning 36-32, before St. Mary’s was able to shut the Queens down, allowing them just 19 points in the second half and cruising to a 78-51 win. Fifth year Mary-Jean Ritchie and Fourth year Montana Romeril combined for a total of 46 of their team’s 78 points on the night.

Full stats can be viewed here http://www.acac.ab.ca/sports/wbkb/2016-17/boxscores/20161029_t1fq.xml

Next up for the women will be Friday night at Ambrose, before returning to Red Deer Saturday night for a rematch with the Queens. Both games tip-off at 6:00 p.m. and can be viewed on ACAC TV.

The CCAA also released their first national rankings of the season on November 1st, with the Lightning picking up a ninth place ranking to kick off the season.

The men’s basketball team opened their season in Red Deer, going up against the Red Deer College Kings, who have been a powerhouse program for past few seasons, going nationally ranked consistently by the CCAA.

Despite knowing the challenge facing the Kings in their first game as a young team would be, the Lightning gave the King’s a run for their money. Third year veteran Cordell Minnifee lit up the scoreboard with an impressive 35 point night, including going 6-9 from the three-point arc, keeping the King’s defensive on their heels. The Kings would eventually go on to control the lead and take the 118-87 win.

Full stats can be viewed here http://www.acac.ab.ca/sports/mbkb/2016-17/boxscores/20161029_c742.xml?view=plays

Next up for the men will be Friday night at Ambrose, before returning to Red Deer Saturday night for a rematch with the Kings. Both games tip-off at 8:00 p.m. and can be viewed on ACAC TV.