Women’s cross country captures first gold since 2017
Photo courtesy of Vikes XC/Track.
It’s been a banner year for the UVic cross country running program — literally.
Following first place finishes for both the men’s and women’s teams at Calgary’s Stewart Cup on Oct. 12, Vikes XC felt like this could finally be the moment to capture their first Canada West victory since 2017.
And on Oct. 26, at a hilly Stoney Creek Park course — often considered one of the most difficult in the country — the Vikes women’s cross country team did just that.
“It just seemed like everything came together and everyone worked so well together,” said Erin Owens, whose fifth place finish earned Owens her first team all-star honours — and was a major reason for the Vikes’ eventual win.
Despite her individual effort, Owens is quick to share the spotlight with others, principal among them her coach, two-time Olympian and ten-time national team member Hilary Stellingwerff.
“She has so much experience, and has seen so many different races and different outcomes,” said Owens. “She considers all the factors and she can really relay that experience to us.”
Third-year runner Elissa Frielink, who rounded out the top-15 in Stoney Creek, echoed that sentiment.
“She always puts the person first … she just knows what to say and knows how to get everyone in the head space they need to be in.”
Stellingwerff, who took home Canada West Women’s Coach of the Year honours for her efforts this season, has been at the helm of the Vikes cross country and track programs for the past five years. The program under her has exploded due to her ability to keep her varsity athletes motivated, upbeat, and most importantly, on the team.
“I feel like [she’s] been really good with keeping people in love with running and with the sport,” said Owens. “That’s a big part of the reason why we’ve had so many girls stick with it for the last five years…. We all know each other really well and are able to work together.”
In 2021, the year after Stellingwerff took control, the Vikes women’s team finished second to last at CanWest, with their highest scoring runner coming across the line at eighteenth overall. Now, thanks in large part to her tutelage, six Vikes women finished in the top-15 in this year’s competition — an unbelievable improvement in such a short period of time, and the sort of evolution that keeps people invested.
“It’s so exciting going into a competition knowing you have the possibility of winning a medal,” said Owens.
“People have progressed so much,” added Frielink, who cited the team’s increasing depth as a major reason for their newfound success. “You don’t have just one or two really good runners. You have five, six, seven runners that are all really strong.”
This victory was a big deal for the Vikes, not just because it marks their first CanWest win in seven years, but equally because it involved dethroning a UBC women’s team that was looking for their sixth straight CanWest championship.
On the men’s side, Vikes star Daniel Damian took home fifth overall in the competition and earned his third first team all-star spot in as many years, but it wasn’t quite enough, as the Vikes fell to UBC, who have now won the last four championships.
Looking forward, the Vikes cross country team will head to Kelowna on Nov. 9 for the USports championships, which will pit them against not just their fellow Canada West rivals, but some of the best college teams in the country. This includes the Western University Mustangs, whose women’s program is currently ranked first in the country and who recently won back-to-back OUA championships. For the Vikes, it’ll be all about taking this season’s momentum and transferring that into tangible results.
“We always say you’re not going to get any fitter at this point,” said Frielink. “It’s really just about feeling good…. Right now we’re just focused on recovery.”
However, for Frielink and Owens, who are both at the tail end of their collegiate sports careers, it’s as much about leaving a lasting legacy and setting the program up for years to come as it is about hoisting banners in the here and now.
“You kind of realize the impact that you’ve had on the team and that other people have had on the team and it goes so far beyond performance,” Frielink said.
“We really care about each other,” added Owens, “and I think that makes us want to do well for each other.”
