Rawling Wins National Gold
/StFX Track & Field star clinches first in 3000m race
This past weekend, Angus Rawling of StFX University won gold in the men’s 3000m race at the USPORTS National Track & Field Championships. The championships were held in Windsor, ON on March 8 through 10. The Calgary native went into the tournament ranked second overall after having qualified with a personal best time and StFX record time of 8:08:06 recorded at a Boston University meet earlier this season. Rawling also won silver in both the 1000m and 1500m races at the AUS championships earlier this year and was part of the 4x800m relay team that won bronze. In the 2017 Cross Country season, he was the AUS athlete of the year, champion of the 10km race and also competed at the USPORTS cross country meet.
In Windsor, Rawling finished his race with a time of 8:18:11, ahead of Sergio-Villanueva of McMaster University and Royden Radowits of University of Alberta. Interestingly enough, Rawling and Radowits competed against each other in high school. Rawling claims that Radowits was the faster runner every time they completed back in the day. After having finally outrun Radowits in Windsor, Rawling attributes his success and improvement over the years to hard work, time dedication, and good coaching. “Bernie is really great at developing his athletes over time,” Rawling explains.
Rawling was accompanied by his coaches, along with his teammates Allie Flower and Hayley Wilson. Flower, fourth-year sprinter and AUS Champion in the 300m event, competed in and placed 11th overall at the national meet. Wilson, fifth-year jumper and sprinter, was also an AUS Champion in her triple jump event, but could not compete at nationals due to injury. Rawling explained that many alumni living in the area came out to support. He says, “It was awesome to have so many friendly faces despite being so far away.”
This successful year for StFX Track and Field will have been the last of Coach Bernie Chisolm’s long and gratifying career. “It’s sad to see Bernie go after so many years. It was nice to have had him there and win that one with me,” Rawling states. Rawling’s win at USports Nationals will be one of many accomplishments that Chisolm and the team have seen over the years. While Rawling was the first runner to win a national gold medal for StFX, X-Women athlete, Erin Maclean won three national medals (bronze, silver and bronze) in the 3000m event in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2004, Eric Gillis won bronze in the 1500m race and silver for the 3000m. Gillis went on to compete at multiple Olympic Games and will be taking over Chisolm’s Head Coaching position in the coming years. Rawling says he’s “excited to see what Eric will bring to the table considering his many years of experience.”
Rawling is a third-year business student doing an honours degree in accounting. He competes with both the X-Men Cross Country and Track & Field teams. He keeps a tight schedule between school and sports, and it proves to be tough throughout both seasons. With Cross Country and Track & Field both occurring while their respective semesters are in full swing, the school workload tends to pile up with all the hours put into practices and travelling. Professors and faculty have proven to be quite understanding and accommodating for this student-athlete. “The professors are amazing here, and I can’t complain,” Rawling said in discussing his success in school and sport
