By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Callie Steen runs the 3,000-metre race at SHSAA provincials. |
Going into
her Grade 11 year at Hanley Composite School in the fall of 2021, Steen hadn’t
been a regular in track and field or cross country running. She was a highly skilled
water skier who had made trips to nationals in summer and a figure skater in winter
months.
Around the
time Steen was starting Grade 11, she was talked by a friend in Elizabeth
Wright about getting into track and field and cross country running at the club
level by joining the Riversdale Athletics Club based in Saskatoon. The
Riversdale Athletics Club is one of a number of Saskatoon and area track clubs
that does the bulk of its outdoor training at the Track and Field Track at the
Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
Steen
remembered that her initial results in cross country competitions weren’t anything
that would light the world on fire, but she enjoyed running. Growing up on a
family farm by Blackstrap Lake, Steen was always involved with helping out with
farming activities. She wanted to see what would happen if she applied the work
ethic she learned with her farm life to a new main sporting joy she discovered.
“I was getting like 42nd in cross-country
provincials,” said Steen. “I was just an average runner, but I really enjoy the
work ethic involved in running.
“I grew up in agriculture, and I do 4-H. The lessons that
have been taught through 4-H have helped me succeed in running just that
everyday work ethic and drive. When I started running, I worked really hard at
it.”
Within in a year, Steen was finding herself on or at the top
of the podium in a lot of the events she competed in. She attended Athletes
Canada’s Indoor U16-U18-U20 Championships in late March of 2022 in Sherbrooke,
Que., and finished fourth in the under-18 female 1,500-metre run and 3,000-metre
run.
Competing for Hanley Composition School at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) Track and Field Provincials held in Regina in June of 2022, Steen, who was 17-years-old at that time, won gold in the senior girls’ 1,500-metre race in a time of four minutes and 49.56 seconds. She claimed another gold in the senior girls’ 3,000-metre race in a time of 10:41.40.
In August of 2022, Steen competed at the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que., which is the track and field nationals for athletes in the under-16 and under-18 age categories. In December of 2022, Steen signed on to join the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Women’s Track and Field team, which competes in the NCAA Division I ranks.
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| Callie Steen signs with UND. (Photo courtesy Callie Steen) |
“Last August, my coach said I had a lot of potential, so I
contacted pretty every single Division I school in the States,” said Steen, who
stands 5-foot-7. “I sent out 50 emails, and I just gave them my times and a
little bit about myself and what I believe in.
“I got lots of coaches feedback. It was probably the coolest
thing I’ve ever done. I chose North Dakota.
“I got to go on an official visit there. The coaching staff
believes in me, and I believe in their program. I’m so excited to move in
August.”
Steen said her parents in father, Dan, and mother, Erin,
were the biggest influences on her work ethic. Along with her brother, Lane,
Steen raised steers and took part in showing off those steers at 4-H competitions
since she was eight years old. She said she learned about responsibility from
those types of activities pretty quickly.
“I believe I got my work ethic from 4-H and the constant thing that the cows need to be fed before you get to eat,” said Steen. “You’re always working with them and putting them first.
“From a young age, that is what my parents have instilled in me is a harder work ethic will always beat every talent and everything else.”
When it comes to the world of track and field, Steen said
Edwards has been her biggest mentor in showing her the way.
“RossAnn Edwards is the main reason I’m here today,” said
Steen. “I love her so much.
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| Callie Steen runs the 1,500-metre race at SHSAA provincials. |
Steen said the workouts Edwards has the athletes at Riversdale
do makes everyone at the club improve.
“I really believe in consistency,” said Steen, who turned
18-years-old this past January. “I don’t ever miss an off-day run or anything
like that.
“I work really, really hard. I do strength training twice a
week. My coach gives us these really hard workouts, but they are super
beneficial.
“My teammates and I are always PBing (posting personal
bests) because of those hard workouts.”
Steen
wrapped up her high school track and field career at the SHSAA Track and
Field Provincials held on June 2 and 3 at the Track and Field Track as she
entered the final month of her Grade 12 school year closing in on graduation.
She once again claimed gold in the senior girls’ 1,500-metre race with a time
of 4:52.66 and took silver in the senior girls’ 3,000-metre race with a time of
10:44.91.
Steen said it
was special to close out her high school career on what has become her home
outdoor track at the Complex.
“It was a huge advantage when I found out that provincials
were going to be here this year,” said Steen. “We’re here three times a week.
“It is the perfect track. I believe it is one of the best
tracks in Saskatchewan. The facilities are great.
“To have like world class facilities right here in Saskatoon
is huge.”
She added she did feel bittersweet knowing she had raced in
her final high school competition. At the moment, she isn’t expecting to run
another 1,500-metre race until she joins the Fighting Hawks in the fall. Knowing that
tidbit, she was pleased to win gold in the 1,500-metre race at the SHSAA
provincials.
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| Callie Steen plans to chase down big track and field dreams. |
“To finally see all my work start to pay off in the outdoor
season is the most rewarding thing ever.”
Looking to
the future, Steen said she has dreams about running in the Olympics one day.
She knows there is a process to getting there, but she is willing to put in the
work to make the steps to get to that point.
“Of course, it is always in the dreams in the back of my
mind,” said Steen. “Right now, I would love to attend junior worlds.
“That would be my top goal right now is working towards
being on that team.”
