Cross country, indoor track star filled trophy cabinet during decorated four-year career

Vanessa Trofimenkoff

(Inducted 2024)

Over four years at MacEwan, Vanessa Trofimenkoff won multiple medals and all-star honours in both cross country running and indoor track, finishing her career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Griffins history.

She’s the only MacEwan cross-country athlete to win all-star honours from both U SPORTS and the CCAA, while also being a part of a national championship team.

As a rookie in 2012, Vanessa helped the Griffins women’s cross country team win the CCAA national title after finishing fourth.

She then won an individual silver medal at the 2013 nationals, earning her second-straight CCAA All Canadian honour to go along with the ACAC cross-country runner of the year award and her second-straight ACAC all-star nod.

In 2013-14, Vanessa was named MacEwan Female Athlete of the Year.

Vanessa Trofimenkoff races in a pack at the 2015 U SPORTS national championship. She finished 29th and was named a Canada West second team all-star (Linda Miller photo).

Finishing the last two years of her cross country career in Canada West, she won U SPORTS second all-star team honours to go along with Canada West first and second team all-star nods.

And then there's indoor track.

Among her many victories and highlights on the track, she was named ACAC Indoor Track Female Athlete of the Year in 2016, as she concluded her career with six golds, a silver and two bronzes in three ACAC Championships.

That’s in addition to many, many more podium finishes in regional competitions.

Vanessa led the Griffins to two ACAC women’s team indoor track titles during a dominant era for the MacEwan indoor track program.

Two of the records she set - in the women’s 1000 and 800 - remain ACAC records to this day.

She’s currently a firefighter in Edmonton and is continuing to challenge herself in cross country running, recently attempting a 100 Mile Race.

For more on Vanessa, read the feature written on her for her Wall of Distinction Induction in 2024