PROMISING medals in the arena, producing when it matters in the classroom

By IAIN KING

PROMISING medals in the arena, producing when it matters in the classroom.

Capers Track and Field Head Coach John Hudec feels his dedicated squad are on the brink of a thrilling month in February.

This weekend our athletes are in Saint John, New Brunswick, for the UNB University Invitational.

It's the start of a hectic four-week period that will culminate in the 2024 AUS Championships in Moncton.

For Coach Hudec as he prepared for practice this week it was also a chance to reflect on how far the program has come from their days as a track and field club.

John smiled: "My journey with this program started back in 2012, a group of students had a club going and they were looking for a faculty advisor to monitor the budget and other tasks.

"The club started to become a bigger entity in 2019 and in the first AUS Championships we attended we were placed last in most events but the big fact was that we were there. It was a start.

"Now we have established a Varsity team and this week I was so proud to have 10 out of 14 in the team named as Academic All-Canadians.

"That's 71 per cent and something we should all reflect on and cherish."

John and his coaching staff now have a 19-strong squad aimed at progress across the disciplines and this week was a special one as stars of the past returned to CBU to celebrate the current crop's academic successes.

The 2022 AUS 60metres hurdles silver medal winner Balwinder Singh Sethi was back on campus alongside women's program stalwart Chloe Symons.

John said: "To have our our alumni back this week in Balwinder, who was our first ever AUS medal winner, and Chloe? Well, that was exciting for us.

"Now this weekend we are in Saint John with the likes of Faustina Amoako and I can remember way back to the first time she tried the Weight Throw event.

"I hope Faustina can be on the AUS podium this year but it hasn't been a quick success for her, she has been working on this for years."

For a program in its infancy there have already been key landmark achievements to help inspire the next generation.

None more than Promise Akuchukwu's AUS 60metres gold medal back in 2022 that took even Hudec by surprise.

John reasoned: "Balwinder's path to a medal was much the same as I see with Faustina now.

"It was a gradual process of their mastery of their event growing and their confidence building, which is great for any coach to witness, but Promise just came out of nowhere!

"He came right through the ranks to win AUS gold and then threaten to make the Nationals Final but he tripped in qualifying.

"When I look back on that it was a big learning moment for myself and also the program.

"The problem was that Promise hadn't run much in spikes because we trained in the gym and my coaching lesson was that I should have found a way to get him some more track time before Nationals.

"So each day is an education in this sport, in an overview for 2024 I feel we are in a rebuild year but we do have potential for AUS medals.

"We have a wider strength and depth in the squad now even if we can't focus on a couple of stars."