Cross Country
Trinity Western fifth-year Nick Colyn (Langley, B.C.) finished 19th overall at the 2019 Canadian Cross Country Championships, while first-year Natalia Wazny (Calgary) finished 33rd in the women’s U20 race at Clearbrook Park.
Coming off a 24th place finish at the 2019 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships, Colyn, who was the lone Spartan competing in the senior men’s race, finished the 10 kilometre route in 30:29.046. He improved his result from last years’ Canadian Championships in Kingston, Ont., where he finished 25th with a time of 31:26.4 (Nov. 24, 2018).
On the women’s side, Joanna Williams (Campbell River, B.C.) led the Spartans in the women’s 10 kilometre route in 36:11.223, good for 19th overall. Wazny meanwhile led the Spartans U20 group with a 33rd place finish, 23:21:618 in the six kilometre race.
TWU had a handful of alums also compete in the event, including Sarah Inglis (’16) who finished second in the women’s senior race, with a time of 33:31.982.
SPARTAN RESULTS
Alumni in Italics
WOMEN
Senior Race
2nd, Sarah Inglis – 33:31.982
5th – Regan Yee – 34:31.023
19th – Joanna Williams – 36:11.223
U20 Race
30th – Naomi Reisdorf – 23:16.158* (2020 recruit)
33rd – Natalia Wazny – 23:21:618
44th – Maddie Gibson – 24:07.562
50th – Rachel Ward – 24:45.952
MEN
Senior Race
11th – Caleb De Jong – 30:13.675
19th – Nick Colyn – 30:29.046
25th – Declan White – 31:05.178
28th – Blair Johnston – 31:08.194
33rd – James Lam – 31:22.806
40th – Joel De Schiffart – 31:43.627
55th – Adam Marshall – 32:33.518
U20 Race
29th – Joshua Woolgar – 26:16.659
55th – Levi Osterwalder – 27:38.419
78th – Connor Byrne – 30:18.014
QUOTABLE
David Jackson – TWU Assistant Coach – Track & Field and Cross Country
On Women’s Races:
“For the U20 race we had three girls, Maddie, Natalia and Rachel. Really pleased with the results, especially considering it was the first-time running nationals for all of them. It was great to see Maddie do well, she’s been struggling a bit this season, but this was her best race of the year, looking good throughout the race and finishing strong. Joanna ran great in her first 10k, really finishing strong rounding out within the top 20. I think she’ll be happy to be done cross country for a bit, as she’s had a really great season as everyone knows.
On Men’s Races:
“In the U20 boys race Levi looked like he had a strong race while Josh did struggle a little bit and was disappointed with the result today as he was dealing with a sickness. Josh has had a really good season so there’s really not much to be disappointed about. Nick had a really nice rebound race after some difficulties in the U SPORTS championship. He’s in really great shape so it was nice to see him put a solid race together. Overall a nice way to end the season for a lot of our athletes, and now it’s time to take a break and get ready for Track and Field.”
NEXT UP
The Spartans will now prepare for the indoor track and field season, which begins with the Sled Dog Open in Saskatoon (Jan. 10-11, 2020).
Men’s Basketball
The Trinity Western men’s basketball team defeated the visiting MacEwan Griffins 100-93 Saturday at the David E. Enarson Gym.
The win marks the first time in nearly 22 months (Feb. 2, 2018) the men’s basketball team has earned back-to-back wins, and is also the first weekend sweep for the team since Feb. 8-9, 2013.
The Spartans were once again led by guard Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath (Amarillo, Tex.), who finished the night with a game-high 37 points (15 for 25 FG), seven assists, nine rebounds and four steals.
His 37 points were the most for a Spartans player since TWU alum Vartan Tanielian dropped 38 points against MacEwan Feb. 3, 2018.
TWU’s Jack Nadelhoffer (Tigard, Ore.) and Adam Gehrig (Toowoomba, Australia) each contributed 13 points, who improved to 2-6 on the season with the win.
The Griffins were led offensively by Dustin Gatzki, who contributed a team-high 17 points (6 for 11 FG) and seven rebounds, along with one steal. MacEwan falls to 0-8 with its eighth consecutive loss to open the season.
Both teams opened the game with a tightly contested first quarter, as Gilbreath continued to be a major factor for the Spartans offensively by scoring 11 of TWU’s first 16 points in the game. After the first 10 minutes of play, TWU held a two-point advantage, and leading 23-21.
The second quarter saw TWU and MacEwan continue to keep pace with each other, with both teams continuing to trade leads. Despite the Spartans holding a late 42-37 lead, the Griffins brought it to within one point, down 44-43 at the half.
The Spartans took their biggest lead of the night in the third quarter courtesy of an Isaiah Reimer (Abbotsford, B.C.) 3-point shot, giving TWU a 10-point lead. MacEwan fought back to within six late, but heading into the fourth and final quarter it was TWU leading 77-69.
Into the fourth quarter the Spartans continued to maintain their lead. Despite TWU coming out to its biggest lead of the night at 88-75, the Griffins refused to quit as they went on a 7-2 run to bring the game back to within reach.
TWU’s resilience however paid off, as a pair of Gilbreath free throws followed by an emphatic dunk by the Spartans fourth-year guard in the final 7 seconds sealed the win for TWU.
QUOTABLE
Trevor Pridie – TWU Head Coach
“We treated today’s game like a game seven. That was our mindset coming in, with a playoff mentality treating it like a must-win game. We knew MacEwan was going to come in fired up because this was a big game for them – and they did just that. They came out and played really well from the start, while we took a bit of time to get going. We ran into some foul trouble early which had an impact on our rotation. Some guys came in earlier than expected, and because of that we couldn’t come out as aggressively as we wanted. We’re going to get some workouts in, do some skills work, and get focused and ready for a run at playoffs in the second half.
On Key Factors
“We had guys like Isaiah step up today and hit some big shots, and Adam once again had a really big weekend offensively which was great to see, especially considering he was going through a bit of a mini slump coming into the weekend. Our ball movement today was once again really good, and so was our rebounding. This was easily our best weekend in terms of rebounding for our group, something we need to do more of with the kind of fast paced game we want to play. We’ve been a good offensive team all year, but playing strong defensively has been a struggle. We’re hoping this can be a turning of the corner in a way, because believe it or not we are working on it and do practice defence. I saw some steps in the right direction defensively tonight.
On Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath
“What do you say, I think this is his third straight 30-point game. Once the fourth quarter came I was pretty confident he would close it out for us. His decision making continues to get better, and when the ball is in his hands in the fourth quarter I think everyone is feeling comfortable. He was phenomenal once again this weekend, and he’s in the midst of a really good three game stretch.”
NOTABLE
- The Spartans were coming off a historic win over the Griffins, as they defeated MacEwan 109-97 on Friday night.
- It was just the second time TWU played a regular season game at David E. Enarson Gymnasium since the 2016-17 season (Dec. 1-2), with the Spartans falling in a pair of games against Brandon.
- The Spartans and Griffins last series came Feb. 2-3 2018, with both teams splitting games in Edmonton.
NEXT UP
The Spartans next play in 2020, hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies Jan. 3-4, 2020 at the Langley Events Centre.
Women’s Basketball
Kianna Wiens (Regina, Sask.) had a game-high 21 points as the Trinity Western Spartans defeated the MacEwan Griffins 84-52 Saturday at the David E. Enarson Gym.
Spartans guard Lana Shypit (Winnipeg) continued her strong shooting for TWU by scoring 18-points (6-8 FG), including five 3-pointers. Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) added 12 points and five rebounds for the Spartans, who improved their regular season record to 3-5.
The Griffins were aided by 13 points from Mackenzie Farmer, with Ellie McCarthy chipping in with a game-high six rebounds. With its second straight loss to TWU, MacEwan fell to a 2-6 record going into the break.
The first quarter saw the Spartans carry momentum into the game from last night’s win, coming out of the gates with a 23-10 lead courtesy of seven points from Spartans guard Julia Marshall (Langley, B.C.).
Into the second quarter was more of the same, with the Spartans maintaining their double digit lead largely in part from a trio of 3-pointers from third-year guard Wiens. Despite the Griffins pulling to within 10 points late in the quarter, a buzzer beating 3-pointer Shypit pushed the TWU lead to 13 at the half.
The Spartans continued to get production from their lineup in the third, with Wiens adding another 3-pointer midway through the quarter to help the Spartans steadily build on their largest lead of the night. Heading into the final 10 minutes, TWU led MacEwan by a 66-40 score.
The determined Spartans didn’t let up in the fourth, outplaying MacEwan on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, while outscoring the Griffins 18-12.
Capping off its first semester, TWU picked up its second consecutive win with an 84-52 home win over MacEwan.
QUOTABLE
Cheryl Jean-Paul – TWU Head Coach
“It’s so hard to get two games in one weekend and it’s even harder to have the same type of game twice. I thought that we had different people hit some big shots tonight, which was great to see six or seven different scorers find success over the span of the weekend. That bodes well for going into the second semester.
“This is the statement that we wanted to make at home. Now it’s about resting, recovering and taking the time to appreciate what we’ve been able to accomplish so far this season and really start setting goals for what we want to do in the second semester.”
NOTABLE
- The win improved the Spartans all-time record against MacEwan to 4-0.
- The game was held at the Spartans former home on campus at Trinity Western University, the David E. Enarson Gymnasium.
- TWU was coming off a previous season-high 82 points in Friday’s 82-52 home win against the Griffins.
NEXT UP
The Spartans next play in 2020, hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies Jan. 3-4, 2020 at the Langley Events Centre.
