Weekend Preview: Kodiaks championship weekend

Oct. 27, 2023 - The Lethbridge College Kodiaks are hunting for medals this weekend at Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) championships in soccer and cross-country. 

Men’s and women’s soccer championships started Thursday and will carry on until Saturday in Edmonton. The men’s team played Thursday, where they lost out to a tough NAIT Ooks team. The Kodiaks women, who had just one loss in the regular season, is set to play the Keyano College Huskies at 12:30 p.m. today. 

The Kodiaks will host 11 teams competing in the ACAC Cross-Country Championships on Saturday. Runners will be at Nicholas Sheran Park in West Lethbridge. The women’s race starts at noon followed by the men at 1 p.m. 

Regular season basketball action continues Friday when the Kodiaks face the St Mary’s University Lightning at the Val Matteotti Gymnasium to start a home-and-home weekend series with the women tipping off at 6pm  

Men’s Soccer 

Oct. 26 MSOC | Kodiaks 0 vs NAIT Ooks 6 at Edmonton Soccer Dome   

The Kodiaks men’s soccer team competed against the NAIT Ooks in the quarter finals of ACAC championships. The Kodiaks were defeated 6-0 against the number two team in the North. Brandon Francis (second year, Exercise Science, Lethbridge) was honoured as the ACAC player of the game.  

Women’s Soccer  

Kodiaks (11-1) at Edmonton Soccer Dome vs Keyano College Huskies (9-1-2) 

• Friday, Oct. 27 | 12:30 p.m.  

The Kodiaks women soccer squad enters the ACAC championships with high expectations after having just one loss all season. They will look to veteran Raeleen Vanden Dungen (fifth year, Early Childhood Education, Vauxhall) for leadership. Earlier this week, Vanden Dungen was named one of four ACAC All-Conference midfielders for the south division. Montana Rousselle (second year, General Arts and Science - English, Cranbrook, B.C.) will look to continue her momentum from last weekend, which helped secure the Kodiaks top-seed position in the south division and earned her ACAC player of the game and Kodiaks student-athlete of the week honours. 

Men’s and Women’s Cross-country Running 

• Saturday, Oct. 28 | Hosted by Lethbridge College 

The Kodiaks are competing in and hosting the ACAC Cross-country Championships this weekend at Nicholas Sheran Park. Owen Stewart (second year, General Arts and Science, Lethbridge) has been a force to be reckoned with this season, placing top 10 in two out of three Grand Prix events. On the women’s side, Katrina Michel (first year, Practical Nurse, Okotoks) looks to build off her two sixth place finishes this season. 

“Nicholas Sheran offers a relatively flat and fast course. The fresh snow will undoubtedly introduce an element of challenge,” says Kodiaks cross-country head coach Simon Schaerz. “Personally, I enjoy racing in snowy conditions, as it tends to level the playing field, potentially working to our advantage.”  

Women’s Basketball 

Kodiaks (3-0) vs St Mary’s University (2-0) 

• Friday, Oct. 27 | W 6 p.m. at Val Matteotti Gymnasium 
• Saturday, Oct. 28 | W 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s University (Glenmore Christian Academy) 

The Kodiaks enter the weekend undefeated. The Kodiaks will look to Kitawna Sparks (second year, Business Administration, Taber) to continue to be a presence inside the key on both ends of the court. Courtney Deemter (third year, Bachelor of Nursing, Calgary) continues to bring her high-pace game and ability to get to the rim to the game.  

Men’s Basketball 

Kodiaks (3-0) vs St Mary’s University (1-1) 

• Friday, Oct. 27 | M 8 p.m. at Val Matteotti Gymnasium 
• Saturday, Oct. 28 | M 8 p.m. at St. Mary’s University (Glenmore Christian Academy) 

The men’s team is looking to build on the momentum from their two-win weekend. Declan Peterson (second year, Business Administration, Bentley, Alta) was named Kodiaks student-athlete of the week after picking up ACAC player of the game awards twice last weekend after leading the team with 26 points, 24 rebounds and 12 blocks. The Kodiaks will look to Filip Karanovic (third year, General Arts and Science - Psychology and Sociology, Herceg Novic, Montenegro) to help lead the team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.