The Simon Fraser cross-country squads are coming off success at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) championships as they turn their attention to the upcoming West Regionals.

The women continued to show why they are one of the top-ranked teams in the nation with a smoking fast second-place finish behind a higher-ranked program from Alaska Anchorage, while the men’s side had their best performance since joining the GNAC in 2010, finishing in third place overall.

The first Clan lady to cross the finish line was captain Lindsey Butterworth who clocked in with a time of 20:41, earning a fifth-place spot overall. She was closely followed by teammate and 2012 All-Regional competitor Kansas Mackenzie in eighth place, and Kirsten Allen in tenth. The three ladies would earn All-Conference honours for their efforts, as they led their team over the six-kilometre course.

Senior Sarah Sawatzky was close behind in the 11th spot while freshman Rebecca Bassett rounded out the point-scorers for the Clan in 15th. Bassett, in her first championship race for the Clan, was also the top freshman in the race earning her the GNAC Freshman of the Year award.

“It was very exciting,” explained the Nanaimo, BC native who had no idea that the award even existed. “They were calling out names for the conference honours and then I heard my name and my time and they called me to the stage for the Freshman of the Year award, it really makes your day when something like that
happens.”

On the men’s side, another Clan freshman was making waves as Abbotsford native Oliver Jorgensen led the men to their first top-three GNAC performance. Jorgensen was SFU’s top finisher crossing the line in ninth place overall to secure his spot on the All-Conference team. Being the first freshman to cross the line on the men’s side earned him the GNAC Freshman of the Year award as well, as the Clan swept the titles.

Jorgensen was followed by captain James Young with a time of 25:41 over the eight-kilometre stretch, finishing 17th overall. Cameron Proceviat, Brendan Wong and another freshman, Stuart McDonald, rounded out the Clan’s top five men in 26th, 33rd and 37th places respectively.

The men’s and women’s overall competitions were both won by Alaska Anchorage as the women broke a conference record, making this year’s championship title their fifth consecutive victory. The Clan will race the Seawolves again at the West Regional championships in Spokane, Washington as the SFU runners look to qualify for their first ever NCAA Division II cross-country championships.

The regional championships could prove to be a comeback competition for the Clan women, who failed to qualify in 2012 after narrowly missing the necessary top-five finish by one position. This year, again expected to qualify, the women will look for redemption from last years finish. The men, who have an outside shot to qualify, will look to improve on their 13th place finish from 2013, as the Clan racers close their short but action-packed season at the end of November.