Former St. Timothy Thunder cross-country star Sophia Nowicki placed third at the College National Cross Country Championships with an unofficial time of 22:01 in the six-kilometer race in Blainville, Que., on Nov. 11.
Nowicki, who is now attending Lethbridge College says she’s really happy with her final race, as well as her rookie season.
“The race was spread out pretty fast, so I wasn’t really sure where I was. My goal was to be in the top 10, but it wasn’t until I could see the bikers that led the race that I realized I was in podium position … I am extremely happy with how the race went, especially since I wasn’t totally sure what to expect,” Nowicki said.
“It kind of just capped off a pretty successful season for me. I learned a lot, it gave me more experience and opportunity to learn my competition and how races are organized. I felt like I was coming into the season in pretty good shape due to doing training for both cross country as well as track (Nowicki will be competing for Lethbridge College’s track team in the spring) and it really helped me with the speed component of cross country.”
Of the four races the St. Timothy graduate competed in, she finished no lower than fourth.
“The first two races we’re good, I got second in both of them. In Camrose I had a slower race and got fourth, but for provincials I was able to come out and get a medal,” Nowicki said.
“That was a tough race for me because I was stressed with school and I was pretty sick. It was really nice to run nationals healthy and I ended up beating the two girls that beat me at provincials, which obviously felt pretty good.”
Nowicki will now be spending the next few months training for track season, which will kick off after the New Year.
“I’ll be doing indoor track training at the University of Lethbridge and after that, I’ll be training with the University of Calgary Athletics Club (UCAC) where I will be doing outdoor events. I really want to work on my 5,000-metre race,” Nowicki said.
She also credits St. Timothy for all of her success that she experienced this season with Lethbridge College.
“If it wasn’t for St. Tim’s, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. The reason I became a runner is because of the Thunder cross country program and I’m really grateful for the opportunity because it’s become my passion and joy … my life would be pretty empty without running.”
