REDS Wrap Recruiting With Four
(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS men’s track and field team is rounding out its recruiting class of 2024 with sprinter Jack Mellish, jumper Logan Smith, hurdler Ronan Cornell, and thrower Owen Minihan.
The four have signed U SPORTS Letters of Intent and will join the REDS ahead of the 2024-2025 Atlantic University Sport season.
“We’re excited to welcome the final recruits for next season’s squad,” said Chris Belof, the head coach of the REDS track and field and cross country teams. “All four hail from different event groups and strong development backgrounds through their clubs and school programs, and we’re excited to see them grow as REDS for years to come.”
17-year-old sprinter Jack Mellish, of Salisbury, NB, is finishing his Grade 12 year at Salisbury Regional School.
“UNB has a reputation of being a great university both academically and athletically,” Mellish said. “After visiting the campus and meeting with the team and the coaches, UNB seemed like a perfect opportunity to succeed in my studies and to continue development in the sport.”
Mellish has spent the last six of years training with ASEA (Athlétisme Sud-Est/South-East Athletics) and holds provincial records in the U16 indoor 300-metres and outdoor 200-metre hurdles.
Having been a member of various provincial teams, Mellish will bring a strong work ethic and drive to succeed to the REDS. He looks forward to university life as a student-athlete and to pushing himself and his teammates to new successes.
Mellish will study Science, with a focus in Mathematics, while at UNB.
Jumper Logan Smith, also 17, of Bathurst, NB, is finishing his Grade 12 year at Bathurst High.
“Having already worked with multiple UNB coaches and athletes at various events, I’ve known for a while that the REDS have a high-level program,” said Smith. “The REDS community is second to none and something that I want to be a part of. They offer the perfect environment for me to develop as a student-athlete.”
In addition to his club Athlétisme Chaleur Athletics, Smith has been a member of multiple provincial teams, including the 2022 Canada Summer Games team and the 2022 and 2023 Legion Youth National Championships teams. Smith is a talented multi-sport athlete with a background in cross country, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and track and field, and was named Athletics New Brunswick’s Spirit of Sport Award recipient in 2022.
In 2024, he was the recipient of the New Brunsick Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Raymond Légère Excellence Award and the NBIAA’s William S. Ritchie Excellence Award.
Smith’s goals include contributing to the REDS team success at the AUS level.
Smith will be pursuing a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering while attending UNB.
17-year-old hurdler Ronan Cornell, of Peterborough, ON, is completing his Grade 12 year at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School, in Peterborough.
“What appealed to me about UNB, and the REDS, was how kind all the coaches, staff and athletes were as well as the environment of the campus and training facilities,” said Cornell.
Cornell is a member of the Peterborough Legion Pacers Track and Field Team and has had some progressive improvements as a hurdler, most recently having finished 15th in the 400-metre hurdles at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships and first at the central Ontario high school championships in that event.
Looking forward to the team atmosphere with the REDS, Cornell hopes to bring extra motivation to the speed group on campus.
His goals are simple. Get stronger and improve his times on the track, and move into the 300 and 600 metre distances during the indoor season.
Cornell will be studying Kinesiology while at UNB.
18-year-old thrower Owen Minihan, of Sydney, NS, is graduating from Sydney Academy this year.
“The welcoming nature and competitiveness of the REDS appealed to me,” said Minihan. “After meeting some of the team, faculty and seeing around, I knew I would be able to make great progress during my education at UNB and wanted to be part of the team.”
Minihan has had quite a few successes over the past few years.
As a member of his high school team, he was the gold medallist in the shot put and discus at the 2022 School Sport Nova Scotia Championships and was a bronze medalist at the 2023 and 2024 event.
As part of Celtics Athletics, he’s been a member of Team Nova Scotia for the 2022 Legion National Youth Championships, and in 2023 was a silver medallist in the shot put at that event.
Minihan looks forward to finessing his technique under the guise of REDS coaches and hopes to compete at the U SPORTS level.
Minihan will study Computer Science while attending UNB.
STORY: Julia Loparco/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS: Submitted