(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS men’s track and field team is naming a duo of Atlantic Canadians to their recruiting class of 2023.
Fredericton sprinter Jackson Banks and middle-distance runner Kalan Mockler, from Berwick, Nova Scotia, have signed U SPORTS Letters of Intent and will join the REDS ahead of the 2023-2024 Atlantic University Sport season.
“Jackson and Kalan will make immediate impacts in their event groups with us,” said Chris Belof, head coach of UNB’s track and field and cross-country teams. “Both come from strong high school and club programs, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have them joining us in the fall.”
Banks was one of the few New Brunswickers named to both the Canadian Legion Youth Championship and Canada Games teams as part of Team New Brunswick in 2022.
Mockler was a member of the Horton High School team that won the 2022 Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Cross Country Championship and won a silver medal at the 2022 Atlantic Track & Field Championships.
“Growing up in Fredericton, I saw UNB hockey games, soccer games and was exposed to the REDS teams, the logo, and academic standing in the community,” said Banks. “In Grade 11, I was given the opportunity, through my high school coach, to participate in practices with the REDS track group. After spending time with the coaching staff and the team, I felt that this would be a good fit for me.”
“The focus of the group was what appealed to me,” said Mockler. “Everyone is out there encouraging each other and pushing each other to do better. The coaching staff, and Coach Belof’s attention to detail in all of his athletes, is second to none.”
18-year-old Banks will be graduating from Fredericton’s Leo Hayes High School in June, while 17-year-old Mockler is completing his Grade 12 year at Horton High School, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
The two aspire to contribute to the REDS success, both on and off the track, throughout their university careers.
Banks will study Forestry while attending UNB while Mockler will study Kinesiology.
PHOTOS: Submitted