What once was a goal to run in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Cross Country finals has turned into earning a spot on Canada’s Under-20 roster for the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championship—a recent achievement for two of Queen’s rookies.
Ethan Rashid-Cocker, Comm ’27, and Angus Skinner, ConEd ’28, are roommates and teammates on the Queen’s Men’s Cross Country team, where the two became close friends.
In an interview with The Journal, they shared their experiences in cross country, side by side.
“We kind of just do everything together now. We run together, we go eat together—we’re very close friends,” Rashid-Cocker said. “When I wake up in the morning, it’s Angus. When I go to bed, it’s Angus.”
However, going back in time, Queen’s wasn’t the first place the two crossed paths. Having both competed for Ontario high schools, they ran against each other in races before becoming teammates at Queen’s.
“It’s always nice to have someone by your side who has the same kind of determination as you and the same interest—having him as a roommate,” Skinner said.
“When it’s pouring rain or it’s dark out, you don’t want to get up and [practice],” he continued. “But to have someone who’s equally, if not more driven than you—it definitely helps a lot.”
Both Rashid-Cocker and Skinner expressed their appreciation for the Queen’s Cross Country team in helping prepare them for their races and aiding in their success.
“We trust our coach, and things have been working for us, especially through the fall season. I think, if we stick to what we know, stay honest to our training, then it should all work out,” Skinner said.
The pair agreed whatever they were doing was working, as it has gotten them to their current level of competitiveness.
“We’ve just got to keep on going, staying consistent, and hopefully, healthy,” Rashid-Cocker said. “There’s really nothing we can do. No magic or nothing special.”
However, the two mentioned their nerves going into this race aren’t nearly as high as they could be, as both have competed in high-stress races before.
“It looks really cool going to this world championship, having tons of people racing from all around the world. So, there’s lots of sparks involved. But at the end of the day, it is just another 8k,” Rashid-Cocker said.
While they have each other to lean on throughout this experience, they explained the role their fellow Gaels have had on their success.
“It’s just a super healthy training environment going to practice. Sure, yeah, it’s super hard, but the people on the team are making it a lot of fun for us. It’s something we look forward to on a weekly basis,” Skinner said. “The upper years have taken us in and kind of showed us their experience.”
“[We] trust our teammates, and learn from them, and trust that they’ll lead us on the right path. And they did,” Rashid-Cocker said.
Going into their first season at Queen’s, qualifying for the Canadian roster was an extra goal of each of theirs.
“Obviously, we cared a lot about our Queen’s season, but this was our last race—that cherry on top,” Rashid-Cocker said. “It felt really good crossing that finish line with Angus and just knowing that we get the opportunity to compete for Canada.”
Rashid-Cocker and Skinner are excited for the race, which is set for the end of March in Belgrade, Serbia.
“I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone other than Ethan,” Skinner said. “ [I’m] just really happy to see us both getting this opportunity.”
Rashid-Cocker had a similar statement.
“I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anybody else. And just, hopefully, Team Canada lets us room together when we’re in Serbia.”
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].