The late, great U.S. middle distance runner Steve Prefontaine would likely have been smiling from above Saturday morning.And not because a talented collegian, in the final race of her NCAA cross-country career, had collapsed on the course at the national Div. 2 women’s championship race just 300 metres from the finish line.“To give anything less […]
Tag: brit Townsend
As Simon Fraser cross-country hits the post-season trail in full stride at GNACs championships, forecast calls for mud with a chance of gold!
BURNABY — When the Simon Fraser’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams take to the trails Saturday morning for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship races at St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., one thing will be abundantly clear.Despite the atmospheric forecasts calling for rain, rain and more rain, an historic opportunity exists along the way […]
Simon Fraser cross-country 2021 returns Friday to its Happy Trails! Says coach Townsend: “Once you get back on the course, everything’s the same… you compete”
BURNABY — Happy Trails.It’s a song much too dated to register anything resembling a pulse from today’s generation of student-athletes.Yet as cross-country runners at every rank of the NCAA, including those competing at the Div. 2 level at Simon Fraser University, prepare for the mass resumption of their competitive racing schedules this weekend, they might […]
A Saturday Salute: In a time of tumult, quiet miles and a quiet mind keep Simon Fraser grad Lindsey Butterworth focused on her bid for Tokyo Olympics!
BURNABY — Lindsey Butterworth has always been good at putting in the quiet miles.Now, as she navigates the unpredictable homestretch of her bid to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the North Vancouver native knows it’s just as important to maintain a quiet mind.“If you look at the big picture… start to look at […]
Clan cross-country captain Olivia Willett embraces team aspects of her sport as SFU junior harrier leads her team to NCAA West Regionals
BURNABY — Ask any collegiate cross-country runner about the most unique aspects of their sport, and they will talk with passion about the power of the pack, and how each individual’s best performance is first-and-foremost a way to raise the level of the entire team.“You want to run with your teammates, not against them,” says […]
PODCAST — The VL Pod is back, celebrating a big anniversary for Abby Panthers football, and a new cross-country season for the SFU Clan
Varsity Letters — The Podcast is back with episode No. 2 in our re-launch. This week, we open our show with a high school football theme, celebrating Saturday’s 35th anniversary of the Abbotsford Panthers’ 1984 B.C. championship win over the Notre Dame Jugglers. Paul Gill, Denis Kelly and Jalem Catlin are all a part of […]
SFU’s Lauren Fridman: How a second-chance wind swept the Clan senior and her rookie javelin all the way to NCAA nationals
BURNABY — Lauren Fridman always felt she had a second wind as a collegiate athlete, yet she never figured it would be strong enough to sweep her off her feet and give her the ride of a lifetime.
Simon Fraser’s new Fab 5: Why a quintet of Clan athletes are taking the steeplechase route to NCAA national championships
BURNABY — Pardon the pun, but Middle-distance U is starting to make an even bigger splash at the NCAA Div. 2 national level.
Simon Fraser Clan’s new home, sweet home! Cozy and official, here’s everything you need to know as clock ticks on SFU’s Stadium Project 2020!
BURNABY — For over a half century, it’s been the topic of whispers, rumours and maybes. On Tuesday, however, generations of fiction turned to fact.
The long & short of it! Clan tradition of track-to-trail excellence continues Saturday in NCAA national XC title race
BURNABY — When the Simon Fraser Clan hit the road to ‘Rep the Leaf’ as the only non-U.S. school in the entire NCAA, they’re so often sought out by curious rival coaches and student-athletes.