Five Medicine Hat Rattlers Cross Country Runners competing at nationals

“It’s a really hilly course, which is good because we train a lot of hills, and it’s a little bit slippery as well, so it should be fun tomorrow,” Corcoran said.

“As far as expectations, we’ve got five out of the six are rookies, so this is the first nationals, and they just want to go out there and have the best race of the year, and we’ll beat a few teams, certainly aren’t in the contention for a win or anything like that,” he added.

“If we could finish the girls team somewhere around 10th, we’d be happy with that, and if Logan [Pancoast] were to finish in the top 20 or 30. I think that would be a good result for him as well.”

About 150 competitors are expected in each race, and the women will compete against 16 other teams.

“If your team doesn’t qualify and you finish in the top 15 in Alberta, you qualify as an individual. So that’s where Logan [Pancoast] is because he ended up finishing 7th,” Corcoran said.

“The women qualified as a team in a second [place at ACAC Championships.]”

Corcoran said the experience at nationals is good with so many rookies.

The Rattlers Cross Country program started up again in 2020 after being on a hiatus since the 1980s, with success for the women’s program since the restart.

“They’ve had a women’s team go to every nationals, which is kind of nice. So pretty happy about that,” Corcoran said.

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Logan Pancoast in the only Medicine Hat College Rattlers men’s runner competing at nationals. Courtesy/Medicine Hat College Rattlers

On the men’s side of the event, Pancoast will be the first runner the program has sent to nationals in three years.

“It’s really a good experience for these athletes, some of them have never been out of Alberta before,” Corcoran said.

“Always kind of neat in addition to getting a good competitive race, and it’s really a good opportunity for them.”

The conditions are expected to be windy and cool for the runners on Saturday, with temperatures into the single digits Celsius.

Addison Weir, who was born and raised in Medicine Hat, is the only runner returning to nationals for a second year with the Rattlers.

She competed at the event in Ontario last year, and said there are some similarities so far.

“Travel-wise, is pretty much the same. We just got off of the course. It’s a little bit more uphill than other one last year,” Weir said.

“It’s kind of just nice to see like the other parts of the country. It’s cool to see the other teams and get out and see a place different than Medicine Hat.”

In high school, the 19-year-old Weir said her focus was more on another sport.

“I played basketball and I kind of just used cross-country as a way to stay in shape when I wasn’t playing,” Weir said.

“Then after school, I decided to do cross-country because I had quit basketball.”

She said competing against the top collegiate runners from across the country is a pretty big motivator.

“Just seeing everybody else, like the passion and the drive to do good and the sport, it’s nice to have that competitiveness and that energy,” Weir said.

“I definitely met some people last year and hoping to see them, but haven’t quite seen them, everybody’s still a little bit spread out,” she added.

“I’m just happy that it’s such a great opportunity and thing to be a part of.”

by Jesse Gill

Five Medicine Hat Rattlers Cross Country Runners competing at nationals

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