BURNABY, B.C. – Two outstanding sprinters make up the first group of 2023-24 men's recruits for the Simon Fraser track and field program, as Red Leafs head coach Brit Townsend has signed Washington state star Jacob Hall and BC champion Liam O'Donnell to National Letters of Intent.
 
"We are extremely excited about these two young male sprinters who will be joining us this fall," said Townsend. "They have made tremendous improvement already in the last few months and will make an immediate impact on our sprint program and the relays.
 
"We are going to have more men under the 11-second barrier than ever before. They are all hard-working and looking forward to being part of our NCAA team. I know they will be a fantastic fit both on and off the track."
 
Jacob Hall
Hometown: North Bend, Washington
High school: Mount Si High
Events: Sprints
Height: 6-0
Club team: GLS Speed TC


 
Hall placed fourth for Mount Si High School in the 100 and 200 meters at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State 2A, 3A, 4A Track and Field Meet in May.
 
In the 100-m preliminaries, Hall ran a personal-best time of 10.63 seconds. That is equal to the mark posted by Red Leafs sprinter Jesaiah Penson-McCoy in April as fastest time recorded with fully automatic timing in SFU history. Hall got to the finish of the 200 meters final in 21.93.
 
"When I found out SFU was an NCAA university, I was very interested because I'd be able to compete in the US while experiencing cultural differences," said Hall. "I have dual citizenship which I want to take advantage of to study internationally, and SFU has a great sciences program which I have a great interest in."
 
Hall has competed in the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships the last two years. At last month's meet, he helped his GLS Speed club team to a fourth-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay (Men's 17-18 years old) event. Hall also competed in the 100 and 200 meters.
 
He was ninth and 11th, respectively, in the 200 and 100 meters at the 2022 Washington state high school meet. Hall captained the Mount Si track and field team the last two years, and was its MVP the previous three. He was the 4A King County/West County district champion in the 200 meters last year.
 
Liam O'Donnell
Hometown: Surrey, B.C.
High school: Clayton Heights Secondary
Events: sprints
Height: 6-1
Club team: Vancouver Thunderbirds
 
O'Donnell is one of Canada's top young sprinters, and had an excellent 2022-23 season.
 
The multi-sport athlete from Surrey, B.C., ran a time of 10.77 seconds to place seventh in the final of the men's under-20 100 meters at the 2023 Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships in Langley, B.C. He posted a personal-best of 10.71 in the preliminaries of last month's meet. O'Donnell then led Team BC to a victory in the men's U-20 4x100-m mixed team relay.
 

He won the provincial title in the U-20 100 meters at the 2023 BC Championship Jamboree in Nanaimo last month, getting to the finish line in 10.72, and was second at the 200-m distance (22.20).
 
O'Donnell concluded his high school career in style by winning the 100-m dash at the BC championship meet in Langley in June. The Clayton Heights Secondary School student ran 11.20 against a -2.6 meters per second headwind in the event final to become the province's fastest boys' high school runner. O'Donnell also took third place in the 200 m with a time of 22.42 seconds in the final.
 
"I chose SFU because it has one of the leading Criminology programs in Canada, and I am very impressed with the Red Leafs Track and Field program," said O'Donnell.
 
Running for his Vancouver Thunderbirds club, O'Donnell posted an impressive time of 10.88 in heavy rain and wind to place fourth in the 100 m at SFU's Emilie Mondor Invitational in April. He was 10th in the 200 m, reaching the finish in 23.14.
 
O'Donnell helped his club win the U-20 4x100-meter relay at last year's national championships. He ran the second leg for the Thunderbirds, and handed the baton off to current Red Leaf Nicholas Monro as the team completed the race in 43.52.
 

 
Hall and O'Donnell join a rising SFU sprint group that placed three finalists in both the 100- and 200-m finals at the 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor championships, led by Men's Track Athlete of the Meet Penson-McCoy.
 
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