Nikita Case set the ACAC record in the women's 600 metres at the MacEwan University Invitational last season and she lowered that time by more than half a second this past weekend at the Butterdome (Len Joudrey photo).

January 26, 2018

In-house sprinting battle adds intrigue to Saturday's MacEwan University Invitational

Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – As they prepare to host the first event of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference indoor track season, the MacEwan Griffins have quite the in-house battle brewing in their women's sprinting camp.

Not only is current ACAC and MacEwan women's 300-metre record holder Nikita Case back for her second season with the Griffins, but the woman whose mark she toppled – Amanda Ntiamoah – has returned to the university in an attempt to get it back.

"My record was broken the following year, so I came back to get it again," said Ntiamoah, who won the 2016 ACAC women's 300m championship with a run of 41.81 only to see Case lower that to 41.55 in 2017.

The third member of MacEwan's super sprinting squad is Valerie Schlottke, who is every bit as fast as her teammates, actually beating Ntiamoah at the Golden Bear Open last weekend.

Before the rest of the best sprinters the ACAC has to offer even set foot on the Kinsmen Field House track, the intrigue is already building ahead of Saturday's MacEwan University Invitational (9 a.m. start. See schedule at bottom).

"I don't know what the rest of the ACAC conference looks like right now," said Ntiamoah, who spent three seasons with the Griffins, graduating in 2016 with Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in business, returning this season to work on a two-year accounting degree. "Being out of it for a year, I don't really know who's coming back or who has potential. But out of us three, it's going to be a tough one, so we'll see."

The 300 has always been a long distance run for Ntiamoah, who has quick-twitch sprinter's muscles and has specialized in the 100 and 200 outdoors and 60-metre inside over her career. Schlottke comes from a 200, 400 background, so the distance is more in her wheelhouse. And Case goes even longer distance than that, also holding the ACAC and MacEwan record in the 600 after racing it in 1:36.16 at last January's MacEwan meet.

"My coach and I have been training," said Ntiamoah. "I'm more of a short distance runner, but we've been doing a bit of over distance because Nikita has that 600 speed endurance and I just have that straight speed, so we're hoping that I can take that with the speed."

As much as they'll be gunning for each other, the trio will also be teammates, forming three-quarters of a formidable women's 4x400m relay team with MacEwan's long distance workhorse Hannah Leggatt.

Leggatt is the reigning ACAC women's indoor track athlete of the year after she won the 1000, 1500 and 3000 at the 2017 championship. Coming off a Canada West second team all-star award in the cross-country season, Leggatt remains in top form.

Fifth-year Roxanne Skoreyko, who just missed a Canada West all-star award by 14 seconds at cross-country nationals, will also be a strong entry for MacEwan in the distance races on Saturday.

"Roxanne is under heavy course load and training has been difficult for her, but she's still plugging away," said Griffins head coach Drew Carver. "I'm hoping that she has a great performance based on what she did in cross-country.

"If we can maintain that, Hannah and Roxanne will be solid and then we'll have a strong sprint group. Our women's team should be a very strong contender for a banner this year," he added of defending their 2017 title. "It's kind of hard to judge because I don't get to see what the other schools have, so it's kind of a mystery. But we're looking good."

MacEwan will also field a very strong men's sprinting team, led by defending ACAC champ and record holder in the 300 metres, Thomas Cross-Trush. The second-year Edmontonian just broke the 300 mark for the third time in his young ACAC career last weekend at the Golden Bear Open, running it in 35.99 seconds.

Promising rookie Reece Runco ran it in 37.73 at the same meet – a time that would have won the silver at the ACAC Championship last season, so a 1-2 Griffins finish in the distance isn't out of the question on Saturday.

Scott Kohlman, the reigning ACAC men's indoor track athlete of the year after winning three individual silvers (1000, 1500 and 3000) at last year's championship, is back. The Griffins will lean on him as a workhorse again. Unfortunately, cross-country rookie Aaron Boyle, who actually beat Kohlman at the U SPORTS nationals, has other commitments that will keep him from joining the Griffins' indoor track team this season.

"The guys – losing our top fastest distance runner Aaron put a big hole in the men's team, so we're going to be relying on Scott to carry a lot of the workload and hopefully our sprint team can step up and fill in a little bit," said Carver. "I'll push some of those guys to run in the 600 and longer distances, which is definitely not what a sprinter wants to hear.

"If they can step up, we have a fighting chance. It's one of those things where you just go in with what you've got and hope it works out."