VICTORIA – For the second time in three weeks Joanna Williams (Campbell River, B.C.) walked away a winner, finishing in first in the women's race to lead the Spartans at the Vikes Invitational at Elk Lake.

The fifth-year Spartan finished the six-kilometre race with a time of 22:21, beating out 43 other competitors in a field, which featured the University of Victoria, Calgary, MacEwan and Thompson Rivers. Williams' win was her second of the year, having won the Central Washington Cross Country Invitational (Sept. 14).

Third-year Jouen Chang (Langley, B.C.) was the second Spartan to cross the line, finishing fifth with a time of 23:16. Jennifer Kits (Burnaby, B.C.) and Mikaela Smart (Maple Ridge, B.C.) both finished behind Chang with time of 23:35.  

On the men's side, it was Nick Colyn (Langley, B.C.) once again leading the Spartans in the eight-kilometre race. The fifth-year runner placed fifth with a time of 23:45. Josh Woolgar (Ladner, B.C.) who finished with a time of 27:56, and Levi Osterwalder (Camrose, Alta.) who finished with a time of 29:26 rounded out TWU's top three.  

Spartans Results at the Vikes Invitational
MEN
5th – Nick Colyn – 25:45
21st – Josh Woolgar – 27:56
29th – Levi Osterwalder – 29:26
35th – Connor Byrne – 31:59

WOMEN
1st – Joanna Williams – 22:21
5th – Jouen Chang – 23:16
7th – Jennifer Kits (Shannon) – 23:35
8th – Mikaela Smart – 23:35
11th – Christina Sevsek – 23:47
20th – Julie Sevsek – 24:21
22nd – Natalia Wazny – 24:24
24th – Cassidy Hutchison – 24:30
30th – Rachel Ward – 25:41
33rd – Maddie Gibson – 26:12

QUOTABLE
Shane Wiebe – TWU Director and Head Coach – Track & Field and Cross Country
"I thought we had a solid effort from both teams today. I saw a lot of improvement today from the women's side. Joanna again came out really strong throughout the whole race, Natalia and Jouen both had great races, the Sevsek's stepped up, and the rest of the women all did really well.

"The boys were in a bit tougher, competing against a team in Calgary who showed how strong of a team they are. Nick had a great race, while our younger men stepped up to the plate today and improved from two weeks ago, which as a coach is really all you can expect. Now we've got three weeks to prepare for Canada West, as today we got a good taste of what that's going to be like."
David Jackson – TWU Assistant Coach – Cross Country and Middle Distance

On the women's 6k race:
"Obviously nice to have a winner again as Joanna won her second in a row. Jouen wasn't far behind in 5th. All around the women were really strong today competing against some of the stronger Canada West women's teams.

On the men's 8k race:
"It was nice to see another competitive performance by Nick today. All our rookies also looked stronger this week. They're all getting used to the competition and coming along really well, so we're excited to see where some more training can put them in preparation for the Canada West meet."

NOTABLE
•    The Vikes Invitational was previously held at the Beacon Hill Park, with this year's iteration moving to Elk Lake in Saanich, B.C.
•    The Spartans were coming off a season-opening meet two weeks ago (Sept. 14) in Yakima, Wash, where both Williams and Colyn placed first in their events.
•    Nick Colyn won last year's men's race, placing first with a time of 31:30.

NEXT UP
The Spartans will partake in the Canada West Championships in Calgary on Saturday, Oct. 26.  
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