Calla Humphries
Women’s Track
Calla Humphries ran away from the competition and into the Queen’s record books at the St. Lawrence Open on Jan. 14. The fourth-year Phys Ed student won a gold medal in the 500-metre event, adding to the plethora of medals won by the track team at the Open. Her time of 1:16:72 is not only her best ever —it is also a new Queen’s record.
“[Breaking the record] is a goal I have always had, and I needed to achieve it,” she said. “It was my personal best.”
Humphries said she began running track seriously when she attended Char-Lan High School in Williamsville, Ontario.
“Last year was a breakthrough season for me,” she said. “I won a silver at the OUAs in the 600 metres.”
The OUA does not have a 500-metre event, so Humphries runs the 600-metre during the provincials. She is also a member of the 4 x 400-women’s relay team.
“It’s a very promising team,” she said. “We have some veterans, but we also have two new very talented rookies.’
Humphries has applied to the Queen’s Faculty of Education and said she hopes to pursue her teaching degree during her fifth year of eligibility with the team next season.
“I don’t know where I will end up, but Queen’s is my first choice,” she said.
Humphries attributes her success on the track to the quality of coaching she has received at Queen’s. She said she is particularly grateful for the and inspiration she has received from head coach Melody Torcolacci and sprints coach Wayne Bulak.
Brady Olsen
Men’s Hockey
It is safe to say that Brady Olsen is the linchpin of the Queen’s men’s hockey team’s offense. Olsen has ed for nearly a third of the team’s production, scoring 15 of the Gaels’ 49 goals so far. He is the only player on the team with more than five goals, and ranks second in Ontario and fourth in Canada in scoring.
The second-year economics major from Ernestown High School in Enterprise, Ont., said he doesn’t pay attention to how much he scores.
“I never thought about it—I didn’t know how much I’d been scoring until coach [Kirk Muller] mentioned it,” he said.
Olsen said the team, who sit at 6-12-1 and are thirteenth in the OUA, have a chance to improve vastly in the second half of the season.
“We have a really good chance to win every game this term, as long as we come with [intensity] everyday,” he said.
His consistent scoring, which included four goals and two assists in the three games played last week, is all the more impressive given that he has not had the same line mates all season. Early on, he played on the top line with captain Brad Walford and tenacious winger Jamie Brock. When Walford went down with an injury, Muller placed him with Andrew Gilbert and Jeff Bigelow, and Olsen continued to thrive.
“It’s a little bit of a different mix, but we seem to work well together,” he said. “With [Walford] out, I’ve been playing a lot more on the powerplay. It’s a confidence-booster.”
He also said that the atmosphere has been different this year under Muller’s direction.
“It’s been a different intensity level, and we’re coming to the rink with a little more serious attitude.”
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