McCannel hopes to stay
Mar. 16, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
Bruce McCannel is in the running to be the head coach of the University of Regina Cougars track and field team.
He likely didn't hurt his cause at all on the weekend.
McCannel, who was named interim head coach in April of 2009 after Carla Nicholls went on leave to take a job with Athletics Canada, helped guide the U of R men's squad to a seventh-place finish in the team championship at this weekend's CIS meet in Windsor, Ont.
Now he has to play the waiting game as the school goes through the process of hiring a full-time coach. Nicholls resigned Jan. 27 to continue with Athletics Canada, leaving the U of R job vacant.
"Hopefully I'm the right candidate," McCannel said Monday. "(Waiting) will be a bit weird. I've got everything laid out already for next year. If a new coach comes in, they're going to have everything planned out for the fall.
"If that happens, hopefully I can stay on as a jumps coach."
With McCannel at the helm this season, the Cougars men's squad won the Canada West title for the first time in school history and accumulated a school-record 41 points at the CIS meet en route to its seventh-place finish.
Meanwhile, the Cougars women's team comprised nine athletes in Windsor and finished 15th with 14 points.
"The season was very satisfying," McCannel said. "With the men, there's nothing to be disappointed about. They won Canada West and (at nationals) they broke the team record for points and finished ahead of where anyone would have expected at the start of the year.
"The women -- for the number of athletes they had at Canada West and at CIS -- performed very well."
Nicole Breker had a stellar season for the Cougars, winning the women's long jump at the Canada West championships and finishing third in both the triple jump and 60-metre hurdles. At nationals, she finished third in the long jump, fourth in the triple jump and sixth in the 60m hurdles.
Amanda Ruller was another standout, setting the school record in the 60m and helping the 4x200m relay team reach nationals. Tennille Davis, Shalane Haselhan and Merissa Margetts also went to the CIS meet as rookies.
The Cougars women's team loses just three athletes -- Robyn Bauck, Melissa Petersen and Keisha Sharp -- to graduation. McCannel is hoping for big things from the returnees, as well as from incoming rookies such as Mercedes Rhode and Gina Jestadt.
On the men's side, Les Andersen, Eric Benjamin, Eric Clark, Ian Jestadt and Enyinnah Okere have completed their CIS eligibility.
Veterans such as Justin Baker (CIS gold in the 60m hurdles), Jeremy Eckert (CIS bronze in high jump), Connor MacDonald (fourth in high jump) and Kelly Wiebe (fifth in 3,000m) comprise a solid core, while the likes of Ethan Hardy and Matt Johnson could contribute as freshmen during the 2010-11 season.
Long before that, however, the team must hire a head coach. McCannel, of course, hopes he's given the chance.
"This is what I signed up for at the start of the year," he said. "When Dick (White, the U of R's director of athletics) and I talked about it, we didn't know if Carla was coming back or if I'd like the job. As it turns out, I really liked it."