In Pursuit of Excellence - Chrissy Smith

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - By John DeCoste - The future is now for the Acadia women's cross-country team, says third-year student athlete Chrissy Smith.

The Axewomen team broke new ground in the fall of 2016 with a third-place finish at the AUS championship, the school's first-ever medal in women's cross-country.

Both Smith, a sophomore from Glace Bay, N.S., and AUS Rookie of the Year Alicia Henry (Riverview, N.B.), earned the right to represent Acadia and AUS at the U-Sports championship.

"It came out of nowhere – totally unexpected," Smith, 20, said of qualifying for nationals. She described it as "the highlight of the season."

The Acadia team was "a lot more competitive" this past season than in Smith's first year. Head coach Ralph Williams "made some changes, and set a standard we all had to meet."

Williams chose 12 runners for the team. At each meet, the results of the top five runners are combined to come up with the team score. The winner of the race is awarded one point, so the team with the lowest (rather than the highest) score is the one that ends up winning.

Smith explains, "the goal is to have a good team base, with a strong core of your five top runners."

The Cape Breton native says she has run for most of her life, but "started running more seriously" around the age of 12.

"My background is in triathlon," she says. "I've cycled as long as I can remember, long enough that I can't remember learning how. I started swim lessons as a child, and the three (swimming, biking and running) came together in triathlon."

Upon reaching high school in Grade 9, Smith chose to concentrate on running. "The triathlon run is usually 5-8K, so cross-country was a natural." Glace Bay High had a small cross-country team, so Smith gained some valuable competitive experience before coming to Acadia.

Her choice of university was based more on academics than athletics. "I made my choice based on three factors," she says - "education, the community of the town, and the community of the university."

Acadia, she says, "had the best blend of the three of all the schools I looked at. I especially liked the size, and the student-professor ratio. The fact there was a cross-country team here was a bonus."

Now, as she enters her third year, Smith acknowledges, "I can really say there's no other place I would rather be. I'm close to home, yet far enough away to be independent – the perfect distance from home."

She has "absolutely no regrets" over her choice to attend Acadia.

In her first year at Acadia, Smith was one of three first-year runners, but she ended up the only one of the three who returned for her second year.

In 2016, "there were other second-years, but they hadn't run before." At the AUS championships, of Acadia's top five runners, Smith was the only one who wasn't a first-year student athlete.

Asked what she likes about cross-country, Smith acknowledges, "it's a team sport, with team results, but you're able to be an individual, too. You rely on your teammates to push you, but it's really up to you how much you improve."

During a race, she says, "you go by feel, and there's no better feeling than crossing the finish line."

University cross-country races are 6K, a kilometre longer than a typical girls' high school race. Smith points out, "it's a longer distance than you think. You really have to know how to pace yourself.

"You prepare during the pre-season, then figure out your pace once the races start. It's fun to play around with your pace," she says. "It's like a mental game." Moreover, "there's always someone," either a teammate or an opponent, "to catch and hopefully pass. That's the goal."

Finishing third in the conference last season was "incredibly exciting." A top-three finish "was our goal. We worked hard for it, and were able to achieve it. It was great for the school, and satisfying individually."

For her own part, Smith was "incredibly pleased" with her 2016 results. She ran "a new personal best for 6K, then bettered that" before the season was over.

The 2017 Axewomen will miss the contributions of assistant coach Christine Manning, who has moved to Ottawa. "She was a great asset to our team with her physiotherapy background," Smith says. At the same time, "we're happy for her as she moves on to Ottawa and the next stage of her life and career."

The Axewomen, Smith says, are "making moves as a team." She is looking forward to another successful season, and as a bonus, "we're hosting the AUS championships this fall (October 28), which is going to be so exciting. It would be great to bring home (a championship) on our home ground."