Fast out of the Blocks
A strong start for track and field and cross country at twu
On the heels of a triple CIS medal-winning season at Trinity Western—with gold in men’s volleyball, silver in men’s basketball, and bronze in women’s volleyball—the Spartans track and field and cross country teams made a whole lot of noise of their own this summer.
The Spartans first made their mark in track and field a decade ago. In 2001, sprinter Laura Wilson took home the gold in 60m, and the following year Ian Sharp earned silver in 1000m, while Justin Beanblosson secured bronze in 600m. Now, in just their second year back in the TWU fold, the team has taken great strides toward becoming a fierce competitor.
It all started with the hiring of former Scottish Athletics Head Coach, Laurier Primeau. The Surrey, BC, native has been both a Canadian national team coach—responsible for jumps, combined events, and relay (2002-2009)—and an athlete, competing in the 400m hurdles and 4×400m relay (1990-1998). He came to TWU after leading Scotland’s national team for two years.
Primeau’s first move at TWU was to bring over two Scottish athletes—high jumper Emma Nuttall and sprinter Callum Innes—both of whom immediately bring legitimacy and the possibility of future medals to the Spartans program. Nuttall signed to TWU with a personal best leap of 1.83m—a height that would have won her last year’s CIS gold medal by five centimetres. Innes joined TWU with a personal best of 10.67 in the 100m.
“The intention for me is to build a well-rounded program and to recruit the best athletes in this country who are the right fit for this university, regardless of what their best event is,” Primeau says.
The new coach also brought on former Canadian champion long-distance runner Mark Bomba as the team’s Endurance Director. Then he signed an impressive cast of Canadian athletes, including distance runner Fiona Benson (Dawson Creek, BC), who competed at the 2011 IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships in Spain; decathlete Jake Powrie (Vancouver, BC); and horizontal jump specialist Eric Dupuis (Myrnam, AB).
With quality coaching and impressive athletic talent, this team is poised to once again rank among the best university teams in Canada.
Watch an interview of emerging high-jump star Emma Nuttel.
by Mark Janzen
Back to Top Table of Contents
Share This Story
Feature Stories
From the Ground Up
TWU’s President Emeritus looks back at the school’s transformation from dairy farm to university campus.
A Future of Gold and Water
TWU is North America's hub of Septuagint studies, thanks to a significant gift - a library of ancient and beloved books.
Looking Forward to 50
In anticipation of TWU’s 50th anniversary celebration, we visited the archives to give you a look back on the history of Trinity Western University.
