In the relatively short season of high school track and field, it’s no wonder teams like the Lloydminster Comprehensive Barons frequently count on multi-sport athletes.
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The Barons qualified 28 athletes for this week’s Saskatchewan high school track and field provincials in Moose Jaw, and most of them come from diverse sporting backgrounds. In some cases, they’re juggling multiple sports — and school — during the compact spring track season.
“We really do our best to work with them, as best we can,” said Barons coach Cole Bloxam.
“It’s that time of year. Kids are super busy. As a coach, you need to have some understanding there and be able to work with them.
“I think that’s one thing we do really well as a program. We work with multi-sport athletes. We encourage it.”
Bloxam and his coaching associates with the
Barons like the focus of students who not only mix sports but also take breaks from one activity or the other and meet new people outside of their comfort zone.
“For me, I always like it when kids do multi sports, because it keeps their focus,” said Bloxam, who not only coaches track but also the junior
Barons football program.
“They don’t get so hyper-focused on one thing. It allows them to have a nice mental break. That’s why multi-sport athleticism is very important for kids.
“It makes a big difference. A different social group. A totally different sport, so it allows them to take a break from something they’ve been doing for such a long time. That’s the feedback I’ve been getting from our multi-sport athletes.”
Many of those students will board the bus at noon Thursday for the trip to Medicine Hat, where the provincial meet runs Friday and Saturday.
The wider scope of track athletes gave the Barons a bountiful entourage during the past few weeks of meets at the city and district levels in Lloydminster, and now provincials.
“We carried a roster of 68 kids this year, a fairly sizeable roster,” Bloxam reported. “We had between 50 and 60 kids at the district meet that qualified on from cities.
“We were very fortunate to have a roster of that size. They’re a good group. They’re a talented group. I think the future is definitely bright, for sure.”
Some of the Barons’ brightest talents in track and field also excel in other sports, such as Katherine Thiessen in softball, Joseph Kelly in football, Lincoln Kvill in hockey and previously football and Bennett Amos in lacrosse and hockey.
Not to mention Kaden Penner, a hockey and baseball player who hustled back from ball practice in Sherwood Park and punched his ticket to track provincials.
Intermediate girls’ quad athlete Maya Macnab (featured on Page 17), who competes in triathlon and hockey outside of school, has also brought her limitless skill set into Lloyd Comp’s diverse track mix. Along with other students, of course.
When the Barons line up in Moose Jaw, Thiessen will shoot for her second straight senior girls’ provincial gold medal in the multi-event quadrathlon. Her athleticism extends to softball. She’s off to Southeastern Louisiana University to study and play NCAA Division 1 ball.
Joseph Kelly, best known as the junior Barons’ quarterback, steps up to the senior football team this coming season. For now, the Grade 9 student is making big strides in quadrathlon, in which competitors gain a cumulative score from their performances in four events (shot put, long jump, 100 metres and 800 metres).
‘PERFECT ATHLETE’
Bloxam said that while Kelly is a promising football player, the intermediate athlete’s adaptation to multi-discipline track reflects his versatility overall.
“We just got Joe training for the quad this year,” the LCHS coach said. “Every week, his scores are getting better, his performances are getting better, so he’s almost the perfect athlete you want to put in the quad, because he fits all the events so well. He’s had a great season.”
After track practice Monday afternoon, Kelly immediately changed into his football gear to join the opening day of the Barons’ spring training.
A couple of Kelly’s fellow Grade 9 students, Kvill and Amos, are also bringing multi-sport qualities to the track domain. Last winter, they were teammates with the U15 AAA Lancers hockey team.
Kvill is a determined athlete in whatever he pursues, Bloxam said. “He just loves sports. That’s Lincoln’s background. He’s also very competitive. He wants to do well, so he’s got a good attitude towards it.
“He’s really embraced it, like Bennett Amos, another Grade 9 kid. They both really sunk their teeth into track this year and really started to get better as they put more time into it and trained harder.
“It was really good to get a buy-in from those two guys, Bennett and Lincoln, because they’re so busy with other sports. But they made time this year and they’re on a very strong path moving forward.”
The Barons are going to provincials without senior girls’ sprinter Kate Fink, a multiple medallist at the district meet. Fink, a track specialist, is bound for another meet this weekend as she prepares to make the jump to NCAA athletics.
“She’s a very talented athlete,” Bloxam said. “She’ll be running somewhere down south, for sure.”
Senior boys’ athlete Kyle Graf, another abundantly skilled Baron, posted four gold-medal finishes in a prolific district performance.
At the senior girls’ level, Lexia Chambers has mined provincial javelin gold for the past two years, so she’s hoping to complete the hat trick in Moose Jaw. She dominated her field events at districts.
Damien Priest has had a solid season as a senior boys’ sprinter.
Among the young guns are Grade 10 standouts like Liam Edwards and Jasmine Kohlman, “who’s had a very good year,” Bloxam said.
“We also have a junior girl by the name of Cameryn Larre. She’s a very good triple-jumper and a very talented sprinter. She’ll probably be another positive performer at provincials.”
Bloxam was reluctant to try to list each of the Barons’ top track achievers, for fear of missing one or another.
“Honestly, I could go on and on,” he said. “I always feel badly because I’m going to miss someone.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Bloxam estimated some 600 students from almost 20 schools competed in the district meet.
“It went very well,” he said. “Very smoothly. No issues.
“The LPSD itself was fantastic in helping host the meet.”
From an LCHS perspective, “we had a very successful two days,” the Barons’ coach said. “I’m very fortunate to have a great supporting staff of coaches.”
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