Lethbridge College Kodiaks receive ACAC Indoor Track honours

March 22, 2024 – The Lethbridge College Kodiaks indoor track team ran away with major Alberta College Athletic Conference (ACAC) awards after championships last Sunday, including Coach of the Year and Men’s Indoor Track Runner of the Year. In addition, three members of the men’s team were named to the All-Conference Team.

Owen Stewart (second year, General Arts and Science, Lethbridge) was selected as the ACAC Men’s Indoor Track Runner of the Year, as well as being named to the All-Conference Team. Stewart earned three gold medals in the 600-metre, 1000-metre and 1,500-metre events. He also set new ACAC Championship and Lethbridge College records in both the 600m and 1,000m races. In addition, he ran the anchor leg for the ACAC- and Lethbridge College-record setting men’s 4x400-metre relay team. He was the highest ranked individual earning 32.50 points overall helping the men’s team repeat as the ACAC men’s team champion. 

“To say that Owen has been a great addition to our team would be an understatement,” says Kodiaks head coach Simon Schaerz. “Owen has excelled throughout the entire indoor track season. He's won every event he entered and set not only school records, but also ACAC records in the process. Owen has brought many other attributes to the indoor track team. His hard work, dedication to academics and engagement in the broader student-athlete experience exemplify what it means to be a Kodiak.”

Orin May (second year, General Arts and Science, Desert Blume, Alta.) was named to the All-Conference team. During the championships he earned 21 points for his team, finishing third overall in individual rankings. He finished second in the 60-meter dash, second in the 300-meter dash, and ran a leg of the gold-medal winning 4x200-meter relay 4x400-meter relay. Both relays broke ACAC, ACAC Championship and Lethbridge College records.

Gunnarr Gibb (third year, Exercise Science, Cardston) was also named to the All-Conference team. He tied May for third overall after earning 21 points for his team. He finished first in the 60-meter dash, third in the 300-meter dash, and also ran a leg on the record-setting 4x200-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay teams.

Kodiaks men’s and women’s indoor track coach Simon Schaerz was honoured as the ACAC Indoor Track Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. He coached the men’s team to back-to-back championship titles and coached the women’s team on a historic run as they finished second at the ACAC championship – the highest in program history. This award is decided by a vote of coaching peers present at the final ACAC competition.

“Coach Schaerz and his staff have done an incredible job with the entire indoor track program,” says Todd Caughlin, Kodiaks athletic director. “Year in and out, the staff has a strategy and continues to build the Kodiaks into a perennial powerhouse. They expect the best out of all their student-athletes, and it is showing in our results – and now the recognition from the fellow conference coaches! Congratulations to Simon and his staff!”