Olivier Lavoie of Collège Lionel-Groulx has been named the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Cross-Country Running Coach of the Year.

Lavoie received the award this evening at the 2016 CCAA Cross-Country Running National Championships, hosted by Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

“Olivier is running a great program at College Lionel-Groulx,” said Bill Corcoran, CCAA Cross-Country Running Convenor. “He’s assembled Men’s and Women’s teams which were both going into Nationals ranked in the Top 8.”

The Nordiques Women's team successfully defended their provincial championship this season, while the Men's team finished third.

Lionel-Groux, hosts of next year’s CCAA Cross-Country Running National Championships, captured team gold in the Women’s event at CCAA Nationals in 2015. Meanwhile, on the Men’s side, strong recruitment has played a big part in the team’s overall improvement.

Lavoie, who also works with local athletes the Corsaire Chaparal athletic club, is focused on the long term athletic development of his student athletes as he hopes to get them to the highest level possible.

CCAA Coach of the Year winners receive a customized ring provided by Jostens Canada, the Official Ring Supplier of the CCAA National Championship Awards Banquet.

OTHER NOMINEES

Kari Elliott		Ashley Vandervecht		Joy Galloway-Jones
Red Deer Kings/Queens		Fanshawe Falcons		Dalhousie Rams
Elliott guided the Queens to a first-place finish in the ACAC, while the Kings placed fourth in the conference. Her goal is to recruit and train the top athletes in Alberta and develop a program that is known across the province for producing strong runners. Elliott takes pride in mentoring her student-athletes through stressful situations.		Vandervecht led the Falcons Men’s team to gold at the OCAA Championship and the Women’s team to a bronze-medal finish. She has had a tremendous influence on the program in her first year at Fanshawe, as the Falcons collected 15 medals overall. Vandervecht creates strength-building workout plans for the team as well as other runners in the community.		Galloway-Jones guided the Rams Women’s team to gold at the ACAA Championships. She encourages academic excellence and provides resources and support to inspire development of all facets of the student-athletes. Galloway-Jones continuously provides runners with off-season training opportunities and planning.