Bison veterans shine at UND
Carroll and Jerema lead herd
Brook Jones
Grand Forks – The University of Manitoba cross-country team competed at the prestigious Ron Pynn Invitational meet held Sept. 16 in Grand Forks, and were the only Canadian team at the meet.
The University of North Dakota’s Ray Richards golf course played host to this early season meet for the herd, which proved to be successful for the Bisons as the men’s team was victorious and the women’s team placed third.
The annual UND cross country meet, now named after Ron Pynn, has a long, proud history with the U of M: it represents the herd’s kick-off race of the season. The herd had the opportunity to compete against other universities from North Dakota and Minnesota.
The Bisons were looking toward fifth-year athletes Cathy Carroll and Sam Jerema to lead them around the 5-kilometre and 8-km courses, respectively.
Carroll led the Bison women’s team to a third place finish, crossing the line in 10th place with a time of 19:50. Following close behind Carroll was Bison veteran Janelle Vincent, who placed 12th with a time of 20:05.
Ron Pynn Invitational Cross Country Results
Women's Team Results
1. UND
2. Jamestown
3. Manitoba
4. Mary
5. Bemidji
6. Minot State
10. Cathy Carroll - 19:50
12. Janelle Vincent - 20:05
15. Erin Braun - 20:28
16. Kate Spellen - 20:32
28. Caroline Fisher - 21:27
29. Marie-Elise Marcoux - 21:27
32. Gina Tessmann - 21:32
35. Lynne Laporte - 21:57
50. Ashton Lief - 25:08
1. Manitoba
2. UND
3. Mary
4. Jamestown
5. Minot State
6. Concordia Moorhead
2. Sam Jerema - 26:45
4. Paul Carr - 27:09
6. Chris Belof - 27:17
10. Sheldon Kilcullen - 28:06
11. Corey Gallagher - 28:09
15. Kristian Andres - 28:42
18. Chris Hrynkow - 29:04
18. Adam Penner - 29:04
20. Patrice Leclercq - 29:32
25. Brendon Klos - 32:55
26. Justin Barnes - 34:07
Carroll said that this particular meet has always been a great way for the herd to start off the cross- country season. She also added: “Being a senior runner on the team caused me to step up into a position of leadership.”
Guy Schultz enjoyed his role as women’s team coach, helping to cheer on his athletes while he ran back and forth along the course. “Considering the temperature, most people did well, especially the veterans,” said Schultz.
On the men’s side, Jerema proved to be the fastest Bison as he crossed the wire in second-place with a time of 26:45 to lead the men’s team to a first-place finish overall. Running on the heels of Jerema were Bisons Paul Carr and Chris Belof, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Despite coming off some recent injuries, Jerema was able to run his best cross-country finish in five years, leading the herd to victory. “I have so much more experience and am able to put things together,” said Jerema.
This year’s edition of the Invitational meet also tested the tolerance and conditioning of the herd. At race time, the temperature in Grand Forks had reached 30 degrees Celsius. The heat took its toll on second-year Bison, Kristjan Hunter, who was leading the race with less than 50 metres to go when he collapsed to the ground and was unable to complete the race.
Head coach Claude Berube said the results from the UND meet are encouraging for the team. “I’m happy we won the men’s race,” he said.
Excitement is building with the herd as both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are ranked top 10 in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). Berube is, however, cautious with these rankings, as they are only a pre-season gauge and many Canadian university teams have not yet raced.
Despite this season being dubbed a transition year for the herd, many of the front runners on the team are young athletes. Both Caroline Fisher and Chris Belof are in their rookie years and finished among the top Bison runners. Fisher enjoyed a 23rd place finish for the herd, whereas Belof celebrated his first race as a Bison with a sixth place finish.
Fisher, who works with two Bison teammates, was thrilled that she ended up attending the University of Manitoba as it has enabled her to represent the herd. “I had no race expectations as I just wanted to pull my weight with the team,” said Fisher.
Belof said that his first athletic performance as a Bison rookie was definitely an exciting race. “It was a pleasant shock as I wasn’t expecting anything,” he said.
The herd will compete at two upcoming Canada West Universities Athletic Association meets this October in Saskatoon and Edmonton, and in less than two months the Bisons will compete at the CIS cross-country championship. This championship meet, which will be hosted by Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will bring Canada’s best university cross-country runners together.
