The first recruits of the 2013 class have signed with Idaho track and field. A hurdler and two distance runners, all from the same Canadian province, were announced as the latest Vandals by Idaho coach Wayne Phipps on Friday.The commitments come from Tim Delcourt (Surrey, British Columbia), Meghan Palesch (Surrey, British Columbia) and Emma Balazs (Prince George, British Columbia).
“We’re very excited about signing these three,” Phipps said. “It’s a very important recruiting year for us, so it was important to find kids who can have an impact right away, and these three will do that. They’ve already performed well as juniors, and we expect that to continue for them this year and even more so once they get here and keep going down the road.”
Delcourt is a distance runner at Kwantlen Park Secondary, where he was the 2012 British Columbia provincial champion in cross-country as a junior. He also won the 1500-meters, 3000-meters and 1500-meter steeplechase to earn the Aggregate Award at the 2011 Fraser Valley Track and Field Championships.
“He really came into his own as of last track season, and had an amazing cross-country season earlier this year,” Phipps said. “It’s always good to have someone who is strong in cross country and can do well for you on the track in a wide range of events.”
Both of Idaho’s female recruits are Canadian junior national champions. Palesch won the 2012 Canada youth national title in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.22 while winning the 2010 junior national champion in the 200-meter hurdles in 25.77. She has shown her versatility in the hurdle events, as she already has the second-fastest junior time in Canada this season in the 60-meter hurdles.
“We’re very excited to get Meghan (Palesch) to Idaho,” Phipps said. “She has a great work ethic and we expect her to be able to come in, contribute right away and continue the tradition of strong Canadian hurdlers at Idaho.”
In 2012, Balazs won the Canadian youth national title in the 2000-meter steeplechase with a time of 6:57.65 while also snagging a bronze medal at the same meet in the 1500-meters with a time of 4:38.30. She was also the 2012 B.C. provincial champion in the 1500-meter steeplechase in 5:08.00.
“Emma (Balazs) is one of the top steeplechasers in Canada,” Phipps said. “Knowing her hometown, I know the difficulties that they have training through the winter and in adverse conditions more often than not, so I’m really impressed by her performances.”
All three recruits are set to run as freshmen in the 2013-14 seasons.
“We get a lot of great support from the coaches and clubs in Canada,” Phipps said. “We’ve had a lot of Canadians who have been successful at Idaho and have continued to be successful beyond. The coaches and the club teams see that and it makes it a lot easier to recruit here.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]