A Clayton Heights track standout signed a letter of intent to bring his fast feet to Simon Fraser University this fall.
After stellar performances at provincials and the national championships, Liam O’Donnell has now set his sights on continuing his success in the NCAA. He’ll be racing against top American student athletes in the upcoming U.S. collegiate track season.
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O’Donnell was a provincial champion in the 100-metre dash, and also came third in the 200-metres while attending Clayton Heights. He finished with a time of 11.20 seconds in the final of the 100-metres. He did even better last weekend at the Canadian Track and Field Championships for his club team where he won the 100-metres with a time of 10.72 seconds in the final, and finished second place in the 200-metres.
“I was super excited when they gave me the offer to go to SFU because they send you the (letter of intent) and I’ve been working extremely hard to improve my times and getting that offer was, just super exciting,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell is looking forward to his first season in the NCAA — attending the bigger track meets and the camaraderie that comes with it.
“I’m just really excited to go to those bigger university meets where there are so many people there, like thousands of people watching you,” O’Donnell explained. “It’s kind of like that big atmosphere where everyone’s cheering for each other and everyone’s hoping everyone does good.”
O’Donnell also looks to take on a new challenge off the track. Attending university comes with the added challenge of balancing school and sport.
He said he’ll need to plan out his time and to make sure he doesn’t fall behind in his classes. He sees that as a big part of the transition to becoming an NCAA student athlete.
He plans to study criminology this fall.
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