VikingsNation

Meet Your Rookies!Volleyball’s Kiera Lotoski

Issue 1.10January 30th 2013

Volleyball went up against Lethbridge

Both Basketball Teams defeat Kings

Follow us on Twitter @UOFA_AUGVIKINGS

Join our Facebook Fan Page!

The Cross Country Ski Team Competes at World U23 Trials

The cross country skiing team started 2013 with a self-funded trip to three races in Thunder Bay, Ontario January 3, 5 and 6. The competition was stiff as these were selection races for the World Junior and U23 Championships. The Augustana Viking skiers placed well, showing that they are in great shape this season and rank among the top of Canada’s student-athlete cross country skiers.

The competition began with the mass start pursuit, a race where everyone in a category starts at once and then switches from classic to skate ski equipment halfway through the race. In the women’s 15km pursuit, Lauren Brookes placed 22nd (10th U23), Maja Zimmermann 27th (after ridiculously skiing out of the exchange zone with one classic and one skate ski), and Ilona Gyapay 33rd. In a blatant example of odd gender inequality worthy of analysis by this semester’s Women in Sport class, the men’s pursuit race is 30km: twice as far as the women’s. Anyway, the hardy Vikings toughed out the long distance against a large and competitive field, with Kieran Baird racing to 40th place (23th U23) and Andrew Brisbin close by in 41th.

After a rest day during which Thunder Bay’s legendary Finnish pancakes were consumed, the game of log- and human-curling on frozen Lake Superior invented, and a sighting of former Viking biathlete Alison Bortolon in her natural habitat, the Vikings tackled the classic sprint race. The sprint, our shortest race at only 1.2km for women and 1.4km for men, begins with an individual-start qualification round where only the top 30 finishers go on to compete in six-person head-to-head heats.

Maja and Lauren qualified for the sprint heats and skied hard to finish an exciting 14th (4th U23) and 25th place respectively. Emma Norris was 33rd, less than three seconds from making the heats, and Ilona was 35th. Kieran was 34th, only 1.5 seconds from qualifying for the heats, and Andrew Brisbin was 37th while continuing to battle with sickness. A hairpin corner after a large downhill caused many spectacular falls on this sprint course, but the Vikings were able to keep on their feet.

On the final day, the women’s 10km and 15km skate race featured extremely cold weather. The individual start format, with each racer’s start time spaced 30 seconds apart, meant that it took hours to start the huge fields of 168 men and 103 women. The course featured laps of 5km, the first half of which was pleas-antly rolling, while the second half contained two extremely steep and long uphills: ouch!

Andrew and Kieran skied in the worst of the cold for continued impressive placings, 37th (19th U23) and 40th (22th U23) respectively. Despite start times of over an hour apart, Maja and Lauren fluke-ily finished less than a second apart in 17th (6th U23) and 18th (7th U23), followed by Emma in 34th (16th U23) and Ilona in 36th (18th U23).

Cross Country Competition, Literally! Vikings ski team competes at World U23 Trials in

Thunder Bay By Maja Zimmermann

The winter semester back at school started the very next day, so the Vikings hurried back to Alber-ta, some by road-tripping’ accompanied by coach Les’ musical performances and recommendations of hourly chocolate consumption, and others by plane via a night at the Bortolons’ wild-turkey-surround-ed house and a sunset hike to a hill with a great view of Thunder Bay.

The Vikings thank coach Les Parsons for volunteering his time to travel to this competition with us. He worked long hours to prepare us some fast skis and organize logistics! A friendly shout-out to Sam, the helpful new owner of the rather sketchy motel we stayed at on Cumberland Street, and our gratitude to Rose and Louis Bortolon for their continued wonderful hospitality to vagrant Augustana athletes!

The Vikings thank coach Les Parsons for volunteering his time to travel to this competition with us. He worked long hours to prepare us some fast skis and organize logistics! A friendly shout-out to Sam, the helpful new owner of the rather sketchy motel we stayed at on Cumberland Street, and our gratitude to Rose and Louis Bortolon for their continued wonderful hospitality to vagrant Augustana athletes!

Photo By Paul Inkila.

Mere days after returning from the cross-country (no pun intended) road trip back from races in Thun-der Bay, coach Les Parsons and the Augustana Vikings ski team headed to Drayton Valley, only a 2 hours’ drive away, for two Alberta Cup races. Though Alberta Cups tend to have smaller fields than na-tional circuit known as Nor-Ams, local rivals such as racers from the Alberta World Cup Academy, Univer-sity of Alberta Nordic Academy (the newly created varsity team at main campus), Edmonton Nordic, and Rocky Mountain Racers provide plenty of good competition for the Vikings on our provincial circuit.

Consistently low temperatures made for easy kick waxing, but the effect of the cold snow was noticeable in our skis’ slower glide. Notably, teams at the Alberta Cup abided by the “low-fluoro gentlemen’s agree-ment” suggested by Vikings coach Les Parsons. In other words, everyone agreed not to use special ski waxes that are ultra-expensive, labor-intensive and environmentally harmful. Using these waxes can make one’s skis just a little bit faster, but if no one uses them, a more even playing field is achieved while saving money, time and minimizing environmental damage.

The newly widened Drayton Valley ski trails offer beautiful views of the North Saskatchewan River val-ley. The race course was characterized by relatively flat terrain, but each lap contained one lung-searing climb up the mighty North Saskatchewan’s river bank to the stadium.

Viking Skiers Medal at Alberta Cups in Drayton Valley, Home of Beautiful Trails and Awesome Volunteers

By Maja Zimmermann

Photo by Lauren Brookes

On Jan. 12, Kieran Baird won the men’s 15km mass start skate. Recent alum Joel Gervais, now coaching with both the youth team in St. Albert and the main campus varsity U of A team, was 4th. In the women’s 10km mass start, Lauren Brookes placed 2nd, only 6.5 seconds back from the leader. Right behind her was Maja Zimmermann in 3rd, followed by a succession of Viking names: Kalli Green in 6th, Emma Norris in 7th, Ilona Gyapay in 8th, Augustana alum Betsy Mawdsley in 9th and Johanna Ferrie in 11th. Because it was a mass start race, the Vikings got to practice the tactics and skills involved with skiing in a tight pack with their competitors. What a cool experience! In the sport category, Vikings rookie Taya Hoar was first. We hope more of our ski team rookies will join her for the next weekend of Alberta Cups in February!

The following day was an interval start classic race. The racers started 30 seconds apart, ranked from slowest to fastest from previous results, which make it like a catch-up game to reel in those ahead of you. Kieran won the men’s 15km again, and Joel was 3rd. The more numerous female contingent of Vikings skiers demonstrated their team’ depth and the variety of individuals’ strengths with an upset of the previous day’s results. Kalli claimed the bronze medal, Maja was 4th, Lauren was 5th, alum Betsy was 6th, Ilona 7th, Emma 10th, and Johanna 11th. Taya went 2 for 2 with another win in the sport women category.

Thanks again to our tireless coach Les for taking us to these Alberta Cups. Much gratitude is owed to Jeanette Radchenko and family who welcomed the entire team to invade their house. We crashed on the Radchenko’s floor and even in their children’s beds. Thanks to Jeanette we have also discovered the world’s most delicious tea (alpine punch from David’s Tea) and that the rhyming book accompa-nied by blue monster tickling mittens may not just be for children.

Photo by Lauren Brookes

Men’s and Women’s Volleyball vs. LethbridgeBy Siobonh Mckenna

This past weekend both the Men’s and Women’s Augustana Volleyball Vikings ventured South to Lethbridge College to play the Kodiaks. After a promising win during the first set of the women’s game, un-forced errors caused the lost of the following three and the women came out on the bottom, Jill Alcorn received Player of the Game. The men had difficultly executing on Friday, losing in three- Player of the Game was Ryan Strach. On Saturday the women had a rough start, losing the first two sets, but a miraculous comeback ensued and they ended up taking the win- Kiera Lotoski received Player of the Game. The men’s match was more interesting on Saturday afternoon, but had the same outcome as the night before; however, they did steal a set from the Kodiaks. Kieran Murphy got Player of the Game. Stay tuned for next weekend when the Vikes take on Olds Grizzlies!

Congratulations to the Women’s Curling team on winning the A Event in the Camrose ladies bonspiel!

The women out curled 16 other teams!

Men’s and Women’s Basketball vs. KingsBy Amanda Stonehouse

The Augustana Men’s team swept the King’s University on both evenings. The Thursday night game was intense with a large crowd showing up at Kings and bringing pressure for the men. Overcoming the opposing crowd, the game seemed to be in control by Augustana since they held a thirteen point lead by the end of the third. Howev-er, The Kings University did not give up and fought their way back into the game during the fourth quarter. Augustana lost some of their lead but held on strong to take the win. It ended with a score of 83-80. On Saturday night both team came out to play and were not giving up! The defense was tough with both teams having low scor-ing games. Augustana took a lead at the beginning leading 22-14 at half. The Kings were not about to give up this game either though and fought back into the game. Augustana was determined to win this game and pulled out with a one point victory of 57-56. Michael Swampy deservingly received player of the game with 17 points and pulling down 6 boards.

On January 24th and 26th, the Augustana ballers took on the King's University. The females were matched up against the only other un-defeated team in the ACAC. On Thursday and Saturday both games began close,for the Female Augustana team yet both nights they took a lead and never looked back. On Thursday, Augustana lead by one but after the third quarter they took control. There was a lead of 13 after the third and end with a victory of 87-74. The game was a battle and both teams came to play. Kelsey Lund deservingly earned player of the game with 25 points and 15 boards. The Satur-day game was exciting with the Augustana crowd in full swing. The ladies had a tough match with the Kings fighting hard and never giving up. At half the home team easy down by two but calmly start-ed their fight and ended up finishing the game with a score of 80-71. Kari Kubinec "k-k-fade-away" took the player of the game controlling her team with 19 points.

Meet Your Rookies!Kiera Lotoski

What sport do you play and what’s your position?Volleyball, middle.

What program are you in?Bachelor of Science, Major in Biology

What has been your greatest achieve-ment in your sport so far?Playing on college sports team, with an amazing group of girls!

Who has been a role model to you?My biggest role model has to be my high school volleyball coach/ biology teacher, Sara Steinbach. She has always gone the extra mile for her family, friends, and students. From the day I met her, she made a lasting im-pression and she inspires me to be the best I can be, everyday.

Do you have any pre game rituals or superstitions?I like to listen to music, and go through the game plan in my head pri-or to the game.

Why did you choose Augustana and what’s your impression of it after spending a semester here?I chose Augustana because it is a smaller campus, and it’s close to home. I love it here! I have met so many new people, and have a great group of friends and teammates! I love that there are always new things going on around the campus that I can participate in, and that the forum is always busy with new events and celebrations!

Come out and cheer on your Vikings at this week’s games!

Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Vs. OldsFeb 1st @ 6:00 & 8:00 HOMEFeb 2nd @ 6:00 & 8:00 AWAY

Men’s and Women’s Basketball Vs. Grand PrairieFeb 1st @ 6:00 & 8:00 AWAYFeb 2nd @ 1:00 & 3:00 AWAY

Hockey Vs. Keyano Feb 1st @ 8:00 AWAYFeb 2nd @ 2:00 AWAY

Biathlon Calforex Cup Feb 2nd and 3rd

@ the Biathlon Range (South of Camrose on 50th St, then a quarter

of a mile west)

The Final Word:The Value of Leadership

By Josh Ryan

Most of you out there in Vikings Nation are probably aware of the upcoming Super Bowl. One of the defining story-lines leading up to this even has been that of Ray Lewis and his last run at a title before retirement. Lewis is one of the most recog-nizable personalities in the NFL, perhaps in all pro-sports, for his vivacious de-meanor and passionate pre-game speeches that get his teammates pumped up for each and every game. Because of his presence and respect amongst his teammates and the rest of the league, he is considered to be one of the great leaders in profes-sional sports in the modern era. Leadership is one of the most important aspects of team sports, without good leadership a team cannot go far. Therefore, in light of the Super Bowl coming up, I thought I would give a subjective view of what good leadership is using Ray Lewis as my example.1.Leaders are effective communicators:•In the dynamic of a team, there are varying personalities, social backgrounds and athletic abilities. Effective leaders are able to mesh with other players and help their teammates connect with one another. Ray Lewis, being very outspoken, is in constant communication with his teammates and seems to be very adept at recognizing when to raise someone’s spirits and when to get in their face.2.Leaders are confident in themselves:•In order to be a great leader, or a great athlete for that matter, you need to be confident in your ability to perform on the court, pitch, field or ice. When you have that confidence in yourself, it will spread to others. Anyone who has watched Ray Lewis knows that he has that kind of confidence.3.Leaders are also humble:•While being confident in one’s abilities is important, humility is an aspect of lead-ership that is almost always ignored. Teammates have greater respect for leaders that will admit mistakes, put team success ahead of individual success and treat others with respect. While he is extremely outgoing and confident, every person who has been asked about Ray Lewis has talked about his character just as much as his on-field exploits. You can also see it in his post-game interviews as he is quick to put his family, teammates and faith ahead of himself.4.Leaders come through in the clutch:•In order to lead and inspire a team, leaders must be able to play well and perform at crucial moments. One thing that separates a great play from a good one is the ability to execute at the most critical moment of a contest. In order to win champi-onships, this is a requirement. Ray Lewis has proven to be clutch for the Baltimore Ravens and as a result has a Super Bowl ring.

5.Leaders earn respect through example:•Words are never enough in competitive sports. You can talk all day about how good you are or hard someone else needs to be, but in order to earn the respect of others a good leader to must do so through example; through effort and execu-tion. While Ray Lewis jumps out at people more for his speeches and personality, he has earned the respect of the entirety of the NFL by showing up to play in each and every game. A leader puts in a full effort both physically and mentally.6.Leaders are able to inspire and instill belief in others:•In order to find success, a good leader must be able to inspire others to not only believe on what the team is trying to do, but to believe in themselves and each other. Ray Lewis does this through constant communication amongst his team-mates and knowing what to say at the exact moment it needs to be said. Being able to come up with the right words in order to pump up a team and motivate them to do their best is something that only truly great leaders are able to do. Lewis is arguably the greatest.That is all for now, enjoy the action this weekend as our Vikings team’s enter the home stretch before playoffs and the Super Bowl gets underway at 4:30 on Sun-day.