Two decades after playing volleyball for Griffins, Skoreyko running indoor track

Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics

It's hard enough to become a student-athlete in the first place.

But when you're living the dream two decades apart in two different sports, now that's a unique challenge that few ever take on.

In 1997, Roxanne Skoreyko graduated from high school in Lac La Biche and walked on to the MacEwan women's volleyball team. Among her accomplishments in a two-year stint as a setter with the Griffins, was celebrating a bronze medal at nationals in 1998.

After earning a Phys-Ed degree all those years ago, she returned to MacEwan as a mature student this season, pursuing social work, and brought her running shoes with her. This time, though, she headed for the trails and track, not the court, signing up as a member of the MacEwan cross-country and indoor track teams.

"Of course I'm old enough to be some of my teammates' mother," she said. "A really neat experience has been … some of the kids that I coached years ago when I started a junior triathlon group in Sherwood Park are now running for (indoor track coach Drew Carver's) club team and they're in high school. 

"So that's been kind of neat to have these kids come up to me and I'm running with them now."

On Friday, Skoreyko will lead a talented MacEwan Griffins indoor track team into the ACAC Championship in Lethbridge. She's a leader, a mentor, but also a competitor, set to run the women's 1000, 1500 and 3000 metres.

"First thing about her is she's a competitor," said Carver. "Even if she gets into her late 50s, she'd be wanting to compete. That's the type of person she is. 

"With that competitive spirit she's always had, she just comes out and does what has to be done and is rewarded for it. The best thing about Roxanne is she comes with that positive attitude with 'whatever you want, coach, I'll do it.' She gets out there and does her best. 

"The thing I've always enjoyed is there's no up or down with her, it's black and white."

And she's always been that way. In 1997, as a 17-year-old self-described "farm kid" with no provincial-level volleyball experience, she decided to try out for a Griffins team that had few holes and was coming off a silver at nationals. It's an uphill battle that she embraced. And won.

"I made the team because I was a good athlete," said Skoreyko. "I came in 'oh great, I'm never going to make this team' and I did, so that was an accomplishment in and of itself."

In the summer of 1999, she decided she no longer wanted to pursue volleyball and actually joined then-coach John Valentine's cross-country team for a season.

"John knows how to set people up for life," she said. "So I started running more in the community and always kind of looked up to him and his wife. I've been running ever since. So when I came back this year, I was like 'well, I can run.'

"I still run decent times. It's been a bit of a change for me because this is shorter and faster."

Skoreyko was the second-fastest Griffins cross-country runner at CIS nationals last November behind Canada West first-team all-star Hannah Leggatt. Her first foray in indoor track has been an adjustment, but she's a possibility to sneak onto the podium in the middle distances for MacEwan this weekend.

While she has offered sage advice about life and training to her younger teammates, Skoreyko's been the pupil when it comes to running track.

"It's just a different game when you're out there – how to run with a group and run really close to people," she said. "In road racing, you can always get away and create space for yourself, whereas indoor you want to stay (in a group). So I wasn't used to that and I wasn't used to having a coach yell at me every lap, but I like it a lot.

"I think the difference for me, too, in coming back to this level of competition is I am a good trainer," she added. "I'm not so much a great racer. So we've been trying to work on that more. 

"I'm hoping the racer comes out this weekend."

MacEwan will be heavy favourites to repeat as ACAC women's indoor track champions as they've obliterated the competition at two previous Grand Prix events. 

Sprinters Nikita Case, Valerie Schlottke and Sydney Maziarz are coming off a 1-2-3 finish at Grand Prix #2 in Calgary last month, while Leggatt, Chanelle Gagne and Skoreyko have a chance at a podium sweep in the 1500. 

Then there's the Griffins women's 4x400-metre relay team, which might have another record-breaking performance in them, especially with sprinter Maziarz tagging into a foursome which also includes Case, Schlottke and Leggatt.

"I think we're running well," said Skoreyko. "I'm excited. We have just a lot of different strengths, even on the guys team. Everyone's quite diverse in their abilities and where they come from, so it's kind of neat. I'm hoping to come away with good results, so I think it will be fun."

The guys have won the team title in both Grand Prix events this season, but they barely beat SAIT in the last one and Carver knows the Trojans have another gear they haven't shown yet.

However, so does MacEwan, who have yet to win the men's 4x400 relay this season, despite Thomas Cross-Trush – by far the top sprinter in the ACAC ranks – giving them a massive lead off the opening leg both times. Carver has switched him to the last leg for this weekend.

"When Tommy gets us such a big lead, every time a team gets a little bit closer to us, it whittles down that lead and it kind of excites them to keep trying to catch us," he said. "The other way around, I think we'll be able to stay in the fight and Tom will be able to pull it out at the end."

So Colin Walker will lead off with Scott Kohlman and Brandon Toal running before giving way to Cross-Trush. With better exchanges, Carver figures they can shave a ton off their time.

"Last night went really well," he said of Monday training. "We did the exchanges and the baton looked like it moved smoothly from one guy to the next. 

"We probably picked up at least two seconds, just in our exchanges, so hopefully that will be enough to put us on top."

Action at the Lethbridge College-hosted ACAC Championship goes Friday and Saturday.