College students mauled by 'bear' at Crimson Ridge (21 photos)

The NOSSA cross-country running course this past week at Hiawatha was flat and fast.

Saturday's OCAA provincial championship trail at Crimson Ridge, designed by 2004 International Triathlon Union world champion Sherri Smith, was something else entirely.

Exhibiting diabolical evil appropriate for a Halloween race, Smith tortured 209 collegiate athletes from across the province with a gut-busting course that had everyone talking afterward.

Slickened by a steady rain left over from Hurricane Patricia, the Northern Ontario terrain claimed two casualties, one of them the #2-ranked runner from Sault College, where Smith is head cross-country coach.

"It was very treacherous," Smith told SooToday. "Dan Turco, my second-best guy - he's out for the season" with what initially appeared to be a hip dislocation, she said.

Also taken to hospital, spine firmly immobilized on a backboard, was Jeffrey McAlear from St. Lawrence Cornwall.

McAlear suffered a mid-race fall, his coaches told SooToday.

'The bear? It's a grizzly, actually'

Here's the description of the championship course distributed by OCAA to runners at the 21 participating schools:

"Crimson Ridge effortlessly combines the Canadian Shield escarpment and dramatic rock cuts, spectacular views, dense deciduous and hardwood forests, and rolling, lush bluegrass fairways."

Effortlessly? Ha!

The terrain on Smith's heinous Halloween race rose and fell 900 vertical feet.

The worst part, runners told SooToday, was Crimson Ridge's 18th hole.

It's considered one of the best golf holes in Canada, but organizers of this weekend's OCAA championship dubbed it "The Bear."

"The Bear? It's a grizzly, actually" groaned Luke Groulx, whose fifth-place finish was Sault College's best performance in the men's eight-kilometre race.

Competitors disagreed only on whether it was worse going up The Bear, or down.

The evil Coach Smith made them do both.

Wrong spikes?

For Groulx, it was the soggy descent in short spikes that scared him.

"I started slipping around a lot. I made a decision to go with five-millimetre spikes. It could have been the wrong choice. I started feeling it going down the steepest hill. I started sliding a lot, going down. I almost fell about three times," Groulx said.

"That is one of the toughest sections I've run in a cross-country race," said Rob Asselstine, the St. Lawrence Kingston runner who won the men's race in 26:41.

"It was definitely very tough. From the bottom of the steep hill all the way up to the end of the gradual one, it must be close to a kilometre. It definitely has you questioning how you feel and if you're going to be able to hang on."

"I had pretty big pins in my spikes," Asselstine said. "That was a judgment call. I decided to put the bigger ones in. I was happy with that."

Asselstine was strongly challenged by Fanshawe's Seth Marcaccio (last year's silver medalist) and Fleming's Riley Olesky (2014 gold medalist).

It was only in the last 50 metres of the race that he was able to get - and stay - in front of Marcaccio

After 17 years as head coach, Zabukovec is passing on the reins to Ryan Van Dyl.

Northern Ontario runner rules women's race

First-place winner in the women's race, Emily Marcolini from Cambrian, also felt the fury of The Bear.

"It's a much longer, steeper hill than what we're accustomed to running in cross country. It's steep and long. It has different pitches," Marcolini said.

"It's a tough hill, for sure," agreed Sault College's Anna Greve, who finished third behind Loyalist's Ashley Bickle.

Marcolini's strategy was to set the early pace and see who stayed with her.

She respected the Sault's Greve for doing that,

But there was a glitch at the beginning of the race that cost Marcolini precious seconds.

"I had a bit of a slow start," she says. "I didn't hear them say 'go' until the gun went off and everyone was going. I was just standing there," she laughed.

Marcolini is not sure whether she'll be back for more cross-country next year.

"My primary sport right now is road cycling. I may be focussing solely on that next year."

'It's Crimson Ridge. There's a ridge'

Sherri Smith concedes that The Bear is "long and ugly," but she adds: "We didn't hide it. It's Crimson Ridge. There's a ridge. And for every uphill, there was a downhill. It gave as much as it took."

"I don't think you could have got a worse day for weather. I don't think you could have got a worse week for setting up. That Hurricane Patrica really impacted the weather patterns," Coach Smith said.

The women's team competition was won by Humber, followed by Conestoga and St. Clair.

Humber was also the top men's team, with Fanshawe second and Centennial third.

Sault College placed fifth among women's teams and sixth among the men.    

The national collegiate cross country championships take place November 14 in Brockville.  

Sault hopes to host 2016 nationals

"I think the OCAA is really strong this year," Ontario men's champion Asselstine told SooToday. "I think it's going to be a lot of the same people today up there."          

"I know there's some fast girls out west. I'll just run with them and see what happens," said women's champ Marcolini.

Sault Ste. Marie is hoping to host next year's national championships at Crimson Ridge.

Saturday's event also included a five-kilometre, 42-entrant community race, won by Jose Carvalo in 17:45. 

Carvalo was followed by Brendan Hancock (18:28),  Jordan Reinke (20:39) and Zamir Getierrez (20:40).

The following are individual rankings and times from Saturday's two OCAA championship races:

Women's 5K

1 Emily Marcolini          19:56 Cambrian                       
2 Ashley Bickle            20:57 Loyalist                       
3 Anna Greve               21:08 Sault                          
4 Natalie Omahen           21:16 St. Clair                      
5 Sharlane MacLeod         21:20 George Brown                   
6 Brianna Dolderman        21:23 Conestoga College              
7 Karlie Dolderman         21:31 Conestoga College              
8 Coby Phillips            21:32 Humber                         
9 Katherine White          21:49 Humber                         
10 Liane Ouellet           21:54 Fleming                        
11 Ivon Jaimes             21:54 Humber                         
12 Morgan Hendriks         21:58 Fanshawe                       
13 Hannah Carley           22:03 Humber                         
14 Ashley Bracci           22:09 St. Clair                      
15 Jillian Ciccone         22:15 Mohawk                         
16 Adrianna So             22:27 Redeemer                       
17 Heather Jaros           22:33 St. Lawrence Kingston          
18 Claire Brown            22:39 Humber                         
19 Emily Erb               22:46 Conestoga College              
20 Madison Sloan           22:50 Fleming                        
21 Joanita Louw            22:52 George Brown                   
22 Cara Coutts             22:53 Humber                         
23 Adrienne Scott          23:08 George Brown                   
24 Florine Nikound IMB     23:09 Seneca                         
25 Rachel Hoekstra         23:14 Redeemer                       
26 Alyssa Daragay          23:25 Centennial                     
27 Jennifer Richardson     23:33 Georgian                       
28 Bailey Debruin-Stam     23:39 Centennial                     
29 Jessie Gravel           23:46 Sault                          
30 Beth (Elizabeth) Horro  23:49 St. Clair                      
31 Evelyn Kokkinoa         23:54 George Brown                   
32 Danielle Plant          23:56 SLC Brockville                 
33 Tori (Victoria) Horrob  23:56 St. Clair                      
34 Mikaila Kennedy         23:59 Sault                          
35 Shelby Kent             24:04 SLC Brockville                 
36 Shea Sarafin            24:04 Sault                          
37 Laura Travaglini        24:07 Fanshawe                       
38 Jasmin Kornelson        24:09 Conestoga College              
39 Melanie Moise           24:11 St. Lawrence Kingston          
40 Shelby Cramer           24:13 Confederation                  
41 Annie Reader            24:22 Sault                          
42 Erin Kinninmont         24:26 Sheridan                       \
43 Melanie Dubois          24:29 Sheridan                       
44 Lauretta Campbell       24:37 Mohawk                         
45 Siriporn Sitkongchai    24:39 Fanshawe                       
46 Stephanie TenHove       24:52 Redeemer                       
47 Anna Maximova           24:57 George Brown                   
48 Sophia Merilainen       25:00 St. Lawrence Kingston          
49 Ella Strathdee          25:03 Conestoga College              
50 Sarah Duic              25:07 St. Clair                      
51 Hayley Shipp            25:14 Conestoga College              
52 Jenni Thompson          25:16 Loyalist                       
53 Meghan Howell           25:18 St. Clair                      
54 Emily Lorimer           25:27 Redeemer                       
55 Rebekka Aarsand         25:28 Cambrian                       
56 Alexandra D'Oliveira    25:31 Sheridan                       
57 Bree Peledeau           25:33 Fleming                        
58 Kate Perkins            25:44 Centennial                     
59 Ashanthi Joshua         25:47 Seneca                         
60 Daniela Casa            25:59 Sheridan                       
61 Kelly Kinton            26:05 Fleming                        
62 Tatyanna Hooper         26:10 Fanshawe                       
63 Starr Perry             26:13 Sault                          
64 Karen Leslie            26:15 Mohawk                         
65 Ana Gabriella Lopez Ca  26:23 Centennial                     
66 Josee Daze              26:24 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
67 Katie Hill              26:29 UTM                            
68 Cooper Lachance         26:33 SLC Brockville                 
69 Lanise Lywood           26:44 Centennial                     
70 Krista Simpson          27:01 Mohawk                         
71 Kelly Nesbitt           27:08 Mohawk                         
72 Olayinka Aloko          27:20 Niagara                        
73 Erin Maitland           27:37 Centennial                     
74 Jamie Emmons            27:38 Georgian                       
75 Vanessa Eisses          27:58 Redeemer                       
76 Katrina Palmer          28:03 Redeemer                       
77 Rebecca Wong            28:09 UTM                            
78 Listette Cabrera        29:00 UTM                            
79 Stephanie Chapman       29:14 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
80 Kristin McCullough      29:25 Fleming                        
81 Desiree Allen           29:51 Georgian                       
82 Marissa Lavoie          29:56 Confederation                  
83 Jennifer Siman          30:22 Niagara                        
84 Sandra Owen             31:16 Seneca                         
85 Paige Nichols           31:49 Georgian                       
86 Christine Ferguson      31:54 St. Lawrence Kingston          
87 Taylor McCullough       32:02 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
88 Hannah Frimeth          32:03 Seneca    

Men's 8K

1 Rob Asselstine           26:41 St. Lawrence Kingston          
2 Seth Marcaccio           26:42 Fanshawe                       
3 Riley Olesky             26:52 Fleming                        
4 Ryan Foott               27:35 Fanshawe                       
5 Luke Groulx              27:52 Sault                          
6 Luke Deighan             28:02 Humber                         
7 Matt Farquharson         28:06 St. Lawrence Kingston          
8 Adam Cole Czuchicki      28:08 Mohawk                         
9 Sam Kirwin               28:12 Humber                         
10 Gabriel Torres          28:22 Centennial                     
11 Andy Hein               28:23 Niagara                        
12 Simon Wells             28:24 Humber                         
13 Chris Caddey            28:42 Mohawk                         
14 Kale Heino              28:43 UTM                            
15 Their Nunquwenimana     28:51 Humber                         
16 Greg Kilroy             28:53 Confederation                  
17 Ali Ghadghoni           28:56 Humber                         
18 Jacob Campbell          29:06 Humber                         
19 Lugei Juma              29:14 Centennial                     
20 Haseeb Malik            29:15 UTM                            
21 Ryan Linkletter         29:23 Centennial                     
22 Jacob Buchan            29:29 Fleming                        
23 Josh Heuving            29:34 Fanshawe                       
24 Matthew Lozano          29:41 Centennial                     
25 Jamie McNorgan          29:52 Fanshawe                       
26 Kyle Maerz              29:54 Redeemer                       
27 Aric Emiry              29:56 Conestoga College              
28 Ahmed Ahmed             30:03 Conestoga College              
29 Nick Adamo              30:06 Sault                          
30 Saed Griffith           30:10 Centennial                     
31 Derek Veenstra          30:29 Conestoga College              
32 Aaron Hesman            30:36 Redeemer                       
33 John Berthelot          30:39 Sault                          
34 Gallagher Patterson     30:42 Mohawk                         
35 Nathan Bryant           30:45 Seneca                         
36 Kevin Dann              30:47 Fanshawe                       
37 Tyler Pacana            30:50 Sheridan                       
38 Maxim Kuntz             30:52 Centennial                     
39 Ramon Laruan            30:58 Seneca                         
40 Kyler Norton            31:00 Mohawk                         
41 Justin DeWeerd          31:09 Redeemer                       
42 Jun Takahashi           31:11 UTM                            
43 Justin Folkeringa       31:16 St. Clair                      
44 Joaquim Lourenco        31:17 St. Clair                      
45 Morgan Yeates           31:20 Niagara                        
46 Brendan Saunders        31:23 Sheridan                       
47 Alexander Hoftyzer      31:34 Loyalist                       
48 Mitch Visser            31:38 George Brown                   
49 Gavin Martin            31:39 Niagara                        
50 Tie Pylatuk             31:47 Conestoga College              
51 Malachi Clark           31:50 Niagara                        
52 Hamza Ali               31:51 UTM                            
53 Jacob Dayot             31:51 St. Lawrence Kingston          
54 Bryan Warick            31:52 Sault                          
55 Cole Sheppard           31:56 St. Lawrence Kingston          
56 Shane Singh             31:58 Mohawk                         
57 Matt Reeve              31:58 Sheridan                       
58 Tameen Hamid            32:01 UTM                            
59 Jeff Whaling            32:01 Mohawk                         
60 William Luis Curry      32:20 Fleming                        
61 Russell Gibson          32:35 Niagara                        
62 Jonathan Thiessen       32:37 Redeemer                       
63 Sean Baker              32:40 Niagara                        
64 Gonzalo Caviglia        32:43 Fleming                        
65 Dante Lapico            32:49 St. Clair                      
66 Joseph Tuskin           32:52 Fleming                        
67 James Sikkema           32:57 Redeemer                       
68 Brandon Pope            33:00 Sault                          
69 Edward Asabir           33:03 Seneca                         
70 Joshua Murphy           33:07 Cambrian                       
71 Benjohn Libardo         33:09 UTM                            
72 Alessandro Palumbo      33:20 Georgian                       
73 Shavaine Brown          33:21 Seneca                         
74 Sean Baricy             33:52 Georgian                       
75 Shaofeng Zhang          33:53 George Brown                   
76 Justin Schmidt          34:11 Georgian                       
77 Aidan Allard            34:12 Georgian                       
78 Tyler Boileau           34:17 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
79 Danny Ngo               34:35 Sheridan                       
80 Lucas Daniele           34:40 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
81 Ben Bronsema            34:40 Redeemer                       
82 Suraj Manjeshwar        35:01 Seneca                         
83 Forest Frair            35:05 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
84 Reece Fuhr              35:17 Conestoga College              
85 Alex Ball               35:33 Sheridan                       
86 Noah Middaugh           36:04 Loyalist                       
87 Joseph Gignac           36:31 St. Clair                      
88 Ricardo Wisdom          36:41 Seneca                         
89 Jorge Ryes Gallardo     37:05 Confederation                  
90 Samual Rouleau          37:10 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
91 Tyler Snyder            37:13 St. Clair                      
92 Leanro Arantes          37:16 Georgian                       
93 Rodrigo D'amico         37:51 Conestoga College              
94 Walter Papak            40:00 St. Clair                      
95 Alejandro Coutreras     40:10 Confederation                  
96 Jeffrey McAlear         41:01 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
97 Mike Cuoto              41:19 Sheridan                       
98 Danial Sabourin-Leduc   41:26 St. Lawrence Cornwall          
99 Clayton MacKinnon       45:27 SLC Brockville                 
100 Andrew Scott           51:40 SLC Brockville