WolfPack Cross Country recruit three runners from Abbotsford/Langley
For Release:  May 2, 2019
 
KAMLOOPS, BC---The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack have gone to the Central Fraser Valley for their first three cross-country recruits for the 2019-20 Canada West season.
Head coach Carmin Mazzotta has received commitments from Langley, BC's Richard Midgley along with Abbotsford, BC's Reid Johnston and Riley Hall.

Hall will be graduating this June from Abbotsford Christian School, Johnston from Abbotsford Senior while Midgley is currently attending Walnut Grove Secondary.

"I am very excited about being a part of the WolfPack and running with the team," says the 5'8" Midgley who will be taking courses aimed at earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Thompson Rivers.

"Running at a university will be a step up in terms of frequency of races and practices, "states the 5'10" Hall. He is taking courses with a goal of receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree.
"Very excited about running with the team," adds the 6'4" Johnston who runs with the Valley Royals track and field club.  " Carmin's recruitment highlighted the benefits of the school along with a great location.   Johnston will be joining new teammate Midgley with an eye to a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Says Mazzotta about his first three recruits
:
Reid Johnston:  "Reid was our first recruit to commit in 2019. He has been training well this spring under a good coach in Scott Svelander and will likely put up some strong performances in the upcoming high school track and field season before he graduates. Reid gelled really quickly with the guys group on his recruiting trip, and his can-do attitude will fit in really well with our program. "
 
Riley Hall: "Riley is a very good cross country runner who is dedicated and committed. He comes from a good program at Abbotsford Christian that has a history of putting up strong team and individual performances in the BC High School Cross Country Championships. In Riley I see an individual with a strong work ethic, who is mentally tough and will handle the transition to the university level quite well."
 
Richard Midgley:"Richard is a top all-around athlete at Walnut Grove in Langley. He is extremely talented and will likely be at or near the front of the pack when we are doing faster intervals this fall. He had a great race at the BC High School Cross Country Championships last fall and is really just starting to build his aerobic capacity in the sport. Richard has a ton of upside with a lot of potential moving forward."
 
Overall:

It takes time to develop an athlete to be able to really deliver at the 10K distance, so this fall will be about growth and development for these three recruits. However, as Troy's (Morgan,Hythe AB) recent leaps in performance in local 10K races have shown, with good training, commitment to the program, and a strong work ethic, we will get there. We have also never had the quality of talent in our program that we now have. The coming years are going to be pretty exciting for this group.
 
The WolfPack have a number of veteran runners returning to the men's squad including Calum Carrigan (Kamloops, BC), and Liam McGrath (Vernon, BC).
More recruit announcements for cross-country will be coming in the near future.