Lakehead Running Adds Two More for Next Season

The Lakehead Track team announced today that two more athletes have committed to the 2018/19 season. Both Thunder Bay Locals, Madison Smodis and Madison Newman will be joining the Wolves in the fall and have trained with Coach Joe McDonough at the club level.

“I chose Lakehead because I’ve already been a part of the track club for several years now and I’ve steadily grown as a sprinter each season under the guidance of my coach. Academically I chose LU to do my undergraduate work in Kinesiology because they offer everything I want. I’m really looking forward to starting my career as a Thunderwolf!” – Madison Smodis

Smodis of Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute has a personal best of 8.05 in the 60m, 12.83 in the 100m and 26.43 in the 200m. She also placed 15th in the 200m dash at the 2017 U18 Nationals in Quebec.

“I’m very pleased to hear that Madison will be continuing her career here at Lakehead. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching her for the past 3-years and each year she’s managed to surprise me more and more with her hard-work, dedication and improved performances on the track – I know she’ll be a great addition to the team in every way,” says sprinting coach Joe McDonough.

Madison Newman, from Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute, also competed at the 2017 U18 Nationals in Quebec placing 15th in the 100m. Newman has a personal best of 8.18 in the 60m, 12.82 in the 100m and 26.10 in the 200m.

Newman states, “I chose Lakehead because of all the opportunities it can give me through academics and athletics. I believe Lakehead has everything I need to reach my full potential as both an athlete and student. I’m definitely looking forward to taking my training to the next level and seeing how far I can go in the sport!”

Newman will study HB Social Work at Lakehead. 

“Madison Newman has been a great addition to our club group over the past 2-years, but last summer she really came into her own as an athlete with massive personal bests in both the 100m and 200m. With more serious training under her belt, I’m excited to see where she goes from here. Both Newman and Smodis are expected to contribute immediately in both the 4x200m, 4x400m relays alongside Tia Lampo, as well as their individual events. Both Madison’s are already registering competitive times and have been very successful at some other competitive competitions, so expect a lot of noise from these girls in the future,” – Joe McDonough

 

“Joe has done an excellent job building the junior development sprint group in our club and it is awesome to see some of these athletes choosing to stay in Thunder Bay and attend Lakehead. Both Smodis and Newman have shown great improvement over the last year and will immediately contribute on the track,” adds Head Coach Kip Sigsworth.