The last time I had to round Université de Moncton’s 167m track, I threw my hands up in the air, ecstatic.
I knew I was done with the sharp corners, muffled PA systems, and stuffy 4x800m finals that had defined my AUS indoor career. But now that I am years removed from the chaos, I kind of miss those races in Moncton. It was the New York of track and field - if you could run a PB there, you surely could run a PB anywhere.
This year, Moncton’s Vance Toner stadium has been usurped by the Saint John Fieldhouse as the conference championship venue, and everyone is happy about it. The current athletes are happy because they are no longer encumbered by calf-burning tight turns, and the alumni are happy because they can now talk weave tales about the Moncton track into their arsenal of “"Back In My Day” stories. Can’t you just picture Cal DeWolfe telling incoming athletes that, way back in 2017, the championship track he ran on was harder than cement, was shaped like an octagon and had alligators swirling in its middle? Because I totally can. Anyway, everybody wins.
St. FX Alum Cal Dewolfe, pictured in his final year of eligibility and first year of law school with the Dalhousie Tigers, wins the 2018 AUS 3,000m ahead of X-Man Alex Neuffer
A bit later in this newsletter, I tell you what to look out for at the 2020 AUS championship, based on earlier season results. To properly do that, however, we must first reflect on the SMU Open of February 8 and 9. In brief, the men’s 3,000m and the women’s 600m were painted blue and white.
You can find full results here.
You can read St. FX Athletics’ recap here.
You can find Luc Gallant breaking nine minutes for the 3,000m for the first time and screaming about it at 1:49 here👇👇
SMU Open - The Top 5
1- Jane Hergett takes to the 600m… and then the 3,000m.
In her first 600m of the season, Hergett broke her own St. FX record by - wait for it - 0.07 seconds. Her time ranks her 10th in U SPORTS, and first in the conference. Later in the meet, she won the 3,000m in 10:05:94. For her efforts, Hergett was honoured as the St. FX Athlete of the Week.
2- Angus Rawling returns and leads a fast 3,000m
St. FX alumnus and 2018 U SPORTS 3,000m champion Angus Rawling won his specialty distance in 8:28.06. The 22-year-old Calgarian-turned-Haligonian paced the current X-Men for the first half of the race. Chasing Rawling paid off for rookie Jacob Benoit, who won the varsity race in a one-second PB of 8:44.82. Second and third varsity runners were also X-Men: Graydon Staples clocked in at 8:55.24, and Luc Gallant broke the nine-minute barrier for the first time, crossing the finish line at 8:55.52.
The 3,000m men, post race. Rawling (standing in the green shoes) is a 2019 St. FX graduate
3- Another strong double for Catherine Kennedy
The fourth year Kennedy ran a PB of 1:35,42 in the 600m, good enough for second in the conference. She followed that up with a second PB, this time in the 300m, of 41.82. For that, she ranks fourth in the in the AUS.
4- Quinn Alexander runs 600m PB
Last year’s AUS 600m bronze medalist won the race in a personal best time of 1:23:46. The third year athlete now ranks second in the conference, closely behind UNB’s Benjamin Perrett.
5- X-Women Sweep the podium in the 1,000m
Sophomore Aidan MacDonald of Arisaig, NS (3:01:78), narrowly beat out senior Paige Chisholm of Port Williams, NS (3:03:93) for first place. Chloe Walker of Ottawa, Ont. rounded out the podium in 3:07.19.
Honourable mention: Two future X-Women shared a heated battle for the U20 3,000m title. Allie Sandluck of Pictou County (10:53:11) narrowly beat Eileen Benoit of Windsor, Nova Scotia (10:53:99).
The 2020 AUS Preview
Five things to look out for:
1- Hergett’s year
If you have been following this season’s result, the most intriguing storyline involving third year athlete Jane Hergett is not whether or not she can win a gold medal at the AUS championship, but rather how many she might win, and which races she will enter. The Port Williams, Nova Scotia native ranks first in the 600m, 1,000m, and the 1,500m, and ranks second in the 3,000m.
As of now, she and coach Eric Gillis are contemplating a 600m-1,000m-1,500m triple, along with a 4x800m leg. Her favourite event, she says, is the 1,000m.
2- Kennedy’s breakout 2020
Last year, Catherine Kennedy finished fourth in the 60m hurdles at the AUS championship. She had yet to run a middle distance race with the X-Women. This year, the Antigonish native enters the conference final faster than everybody but Hergett in the 600m. She also ranks fourth in the 300m.
Catherine Kennedy in early season action
3- The women’s 1,000m will be white and blue
Hergett might have familiar company near the front of the 1,000m field. The second, fifth and sixth-ranked runners are all X-women. Sophomore Aidan MacDonald has hovered around the three-minute barrier all year, and will likely be Hergett’s runner-up, and senior Paige Chisholm is within striking distance of the podium. A St. FX sweep is possible.
4- The 3,000m train
Jacob Benoit, Graydon Staples and Luc Gallant are St. FX’s best chances at a men’s 3,000m medal this year. Ranked fifth, 10th and 11th in the conference, they are certainly not shoe-ins for the podium, but here’s why their racing at AUS is exciting: none of these men were born before 2000 (feel old?). At best, they score points and even win a medal. At worst, they pocket their experience for the years to come.
5- Year of the Relays
… on the women’s side, that is. The X-Women enter the championship ranked first in the 4x400m and the 4x800. Our seed times are significantly faster than that of other teams, but scratches, substitutions, and tired legs makes nothing guaranteed in the relays. Nonetheless, the white and blue enters the championship as heavy favourites. On the men’s side, for now, Dalhousie and UNB have a healthy lead on the X-Men.
The last time we won
Track and field championships at St. FX, for our lack of indoor facilities, can be hard to come by. But, that did not stop the 2013-14 men’s team from breaking the Dalhousie Tigers’ 12-year winning streak and taking home the AUS banner.
As we approach this year’s championship, we catch up with Bryden Tate, the 2014 AUS championship MVP and male athlete of the year. Tate was in his third year at St. FX when he won double gold in the 1,000m and the 1,500m and propelled the X-Men to victory.
Tate now lives in Dauphin, Manitoba, where he works as a Constable with the RCMP. Here, he tells us what he remembers from his career-defining season, six years after the fact.
Alex Cyr: Tell me about that AUS weekend.
Bryden Tate: It was hard to know whether we were favourites going in. We just each wanted to focus on our events and score points. It’s hard to guess how we will do as a team because you never know for sure how well the jumpers, throwers and sprinters are doing because you don’t train right with them.
That year, our distance team was Scott Donald, Gabe Quenneville, Lee Wesselius, Cal Dewolfe, and we had a few good short and long sprinters, like Andrew Bain, MacKenzie Munroe, Demetrius Ferguson, and Adam Mitchell.
I remember barely having the time to watch them all race, because I raced four times myself. I spent most of the weekend warming up and cooling down.
Day one was the 1,500m and the 4x800. The 1,500 is the race I wanted, I didn’t lose that one all year. It was slow, same as usual for championship races. It was me and Matt down the stretch held him off down the end. That was the 4x800 later. Dal took it by just two or three steps.
Despite that, when we got back on the bus to head to the hotel, our coaches told us we were slightly ahead.
We came into day two with momentum and we told ourselves ‘ok, let’s get it done.’ I had the 1,000m to run. Gabe (Quenneville) took the race out and it broke up the pack. That worked well for Scott (Donald) and me, and we ended up finishing first and second.
Tate on top of the 1,500m podium at the 2014 AUS championship. Both he and Scott Donald, left, won three individual medals at the championships. On the right is Jérémie (Mo) Pellerin, of Université de Moncton.
Then, I ran the 3,000m and finished fourth. In a PB. On the Moncton track. Don’t ask me how I pulled that one off.
Soon after, the coaches counted the team scores and we found out we had won at the track. It was a pretty great feeling. Looking back, a lot of things had to happen for us to win on that day. Many of us had the best races of our lives, whereas some of Dalhousie’s guys had bad days. But that’s how it goes.
AC: So, you raced the 1,000m, the 1,500m, the 3,000m and the 4x800m. How were you able to handle such a workload?
BT: I ran all four races all year long. Still, it was hard. By the 1,000m I was tired, but when the race gets going you forget about everything. The 3,000m, my legs were shot, and halfway through the race I started feeling good. Plus, it was the fittest I had been in my career. It was the year after the Canada Summer Games. I spent the summer before doing speed oriented stuff, and that helped when Bernie separated the cross-country guys into a speed and distance group in track season. I was doing speed with Scott, and training with Scott means you’re training your ass off.
AC: What advice can you offer to our current X-Women and X-Men who are getting ready for this year’s championship?
BT: Just have fun. For me, I knew it would be a heavy workload so it was best to just have fun with it. Take one race at a time - there is no point focusing on the 1,000m if you have four races before then.
This week on “Remember Them?”: John Tramble
Many people who hear the name “John Tramble” are quicker to think of a basketball than of running shoes. But, the teacher at Halifax Grammar and basketball assistant coach at Acadia University was getting yelled at by coach Bernie Chisholm on the cross-country course long before he became a coach and teacher himself. Here, the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native tells us about the best advice he got from his former coach, his likeness to Will Ferrell’s Ricky Bobby, and what gets him to take his X-ring off once a week.
AC: What is a current day in the life of John Tramble?
JT: Early mornings, and late nights. My girlfriend Ana is up for work at 5:30 am, and I get up to walk our dog at around 6:30am before getting ready to go teach at Halifax Grammar School. During the school day I teach Science (grade 6), Physical Education (grades 7-10), and my students call me Mr. T.
I am also Head Coach of the Halifax Grammar senior girls basketball program, part-time assistant coach with the Acadia Axewomen Basketball team on Wednesday , and occasionally part-time trainer at St. FX alumnus Matthew Benvie’s fitness gym Evolve Fitness. As Nova Scotia’s U17 Girls Provincial basketball Head Coach this summer, I am currently working on what our season is going to look like and report cards are right around the corner. During my free time I still play senior men’s basketball, do yoga, work out and try to be the best boyfriend I can be.
AC: As a teacher, fitness instructor, and basketball coach, you wear many hats. How do you find the time and energy to perform well at all those jobs?
JT: I get my energy by helping and working with people, especially people who want to better themselves. I was very fortunate to have passionate coaches and teachers growing up who instilled that “pay it forward” mentality in me. I am truly grateful to be in a position where I can continue to work, teach and share my experiences through school and sport- in hopes to inspire the people of all ages I encounter.
AC: What is the best and worst part of being a teacher?
JT: The best part is I get a guaranteed laugh a day. Whether it is with a staff member, student or parent, without a doubt I get to share a laugh with someone I see during the day. The worst part is marking and report cards. I don’t do well with sitting on my butt for an extended period of time. I need to be up, moving, being with people and staying active.
AC: You are an assistant basketball coach at Acadia University. Was it difficult to start working with a rival team?
JT: It was actually a lot easier than I would’ve thought after being a passionate St. FX student-athlete 12 years ago. For two seasons I was Len Harvey’s assistant coach at Mount Royal University before he left for Acadia and revamped the Axewomen basketball program. After a turn of events, I decided to come back home to Nova Scotia and be his assistant again for the Axewomen last year. Whichever team I am with, I always have an “All-In” personality. Even though I had to leave my X-ring on the shelf before every practice and game, I truly enjoyed coaching on Len’s staff, working with amazing coaches and student athletes. After winning an AUS Championship at the Scotiabank centre last March and being at the Final 8 National Championships in Toronto, I knew I had made the right decision in coming home.
Tramble is his role as Basketball assistant coach
AC: You are now a teacher and coach, much like your former cross-country coach Bernie Chisholm. What are a few things you learned from Chisholm, that you try to apply to your teaching and coaching?
JT: Bernie probably has laughed reading my answers already, as he knows I was the worst morning runner he sadly had to coach. It is so funny how the tables turn. I think about Bernie and his wife Brenda a lot as I continue on with my career and I am so thankful for all they did for me during my days at St.FX. I always live by Bernie’s words “ Everything in Moderation …Except 400s”. However, I swap the 400s with anything that may be challenging that day. “Pain is just weakness leaving the body” is also a tough lesson that I carry with me from my running days. I realize now that he truly wasn’t just preparing me to tackle a long wet, snowy run down old school, but for the challenges in life when you just need to stop, take a breath, and say “you got this.”
AC: What is your favourite memory of St. FX?
JT: There were so many memories and great times with great people. One memory was for sure winning the 2006 AUS cross country team championship held at St. FX in front of my friends and family. It was the first ever men’s AUS Team cross-country championship. I wanted that team title and to beat Dal so bad those previous three seasons, and we had always come up short. To get it done on our home course was an amazing feeling. I still look at pictures and remember how happy I was being embraced by my family (sadly some relatives are no longer with us) friends, teammates, amazing X alumni, staff and supporters. Great memories!
AC: How has being a varsity athlete helped you prepare for the next steps in your life?
JT: As a runner, you truly learn to push the limits farther than you initially thought were possible. Being a St. FX student-athlete has truly shaped me into the person that I am today. You develop your work ethic, discipline, as you tread water managing a hectic schedule as an athlete, student and socialite (you can’t be a champ at all three). I certainly had my share of struggles and failures, but the support system that I developed became family to lean on.
My six years there were some of the best years of life. It gave me the confidence and opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. I made sure I branched out and made as many connections and friendships as I could. Those connections and friendships have helped me get to where I am striving to get to in life today.
AC: Do you still do very much running? If so, do you have some races lined up?
JT: I am retired...and have been officially retired in my mind since I last laced up those spikes for St. FX. I suffer from a Ricky Bobby mentality when it comes to running now, “If you ain’t FIRST, you’re LAST” which is awful, haha. But I will make the occasional run to get my car downtown after a fun night out. You might also see me at the Bluenose with my girlfriend Ana, as we plan on running a fun 5k. I do have dreams of running the Boston Marathon, so you never know.
AC: Do you have any advice for young professionals preparing to enter the workforce?
JT: That X-Ring that you receive will mean more to you than you may think. Wear it everywhere you go (Except Wolfville, haha) You never know what amazing stories or connections it could lead to. Continue to build your network, never close a door, and always remember “ Pitter Patter, Let’s Get At Er.”
Alex Cyr is a writer, runner and journalist who graduated from St. FX in 2017 and who still talks about it all the time.