On Oct. 26, the St. Thomas University cross-country team closed the season with the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) championship hosted by Holland College.
For the second time since COVID-19, the men’s team were able to rank, finishing up last. While the women’s team were not able to rank because they only had three eligible runners.
According to the ACAA, for a team to be able to rank in the championship they should have at least four eligible athletes. A runner becomes eligible when they complete two of the previous exhibit runs.
Third-year international student and a rookie on the cross-country team, Itamar Filho, said that he felt “so grateful” to be part of the team and to be able to participate in the ACAA championship.
“I was praying and thinking about my family and everything that I went through to get here and then I finished very happy.”
Filho came to STU in 2022 to be a student-athlete with the soccer team, unfortunately, he got injured during training camp and then spent 2022 and 2023 recovering.
“God saved my life and he gave me the strength to go through all of this,” said Filho.
This year he took on the cross-country team, where he participated in all races.
“It’s something that really touches our soul as an athlete,” said Filho. “We want to compete and when you’re taken out from that spot, you want to go back. So, I was rejoicing when I finished the eight kilometres.”
He said that being part of the team taught him about how important it is to go at “our own pace.”
“The main thing I learned is to go in your own time, many times, not only cross country, we try to go in other people’s spaces, but sometimes we’re not as prepared as they are, so we need to take our time,” said Filho.
Alexandra Nilsson, an exchange student from Sweden and a breakthrough for the team this season, said that now that the season is over, she has “mixed feelings” because she “really appreciated” the experience.
“Everyone is supportive and positive, even at the competitions,” Nilsson said. “Even if we have been one of the smallest schools and the smallest teams, we have been cheering the most, like, we were cheering on other teams and each other.”
Nilsson said that now that the season is over, she feels grateful for being healthy, strong and able to run.
“I have learned to be kind to yourself, put pressure on yourself but also to be self-compassionate and not comparing yourself to other people,” she said.
Head coach of the team Nick Larade said he feels proud of the work everyone put in through the year.
“[Regarding] the team placing, I don’t think was any better than last year, but everybody’s times were really solid and we did see improvements for the runners from last year to this year.”
“I think it’s encouraging, [the cross-country program] is going in the right direction,” said Larade.
