WolfPack recruit cross-sport athlete

(via TRU Athletics)

The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack have added their first multi-sport athlete in nearly a decade after recruiting Simon Crossfield from Vancouver this week.

Set to graduate from Sir Charles Tupper Secondary in June, Crossfield will be coming to Kamloops in the fall to help out both the men's basketball and baseball teams.

"What attracted me the most to Thompson Rivers were the competitive environments of both teams,” says Crossfield in a TRU release. “As well as the coaching experience that both Coach (Scott) Clark and Coach (Ray) Chadwick have. I was also very impressed with the athletic facilities.”

A small forward for the Tupper Tigers, he helped the team finish fifth in the BC “AAA” high school basketball championships in his junior and senior years.

"I think he is a great guy with a ‘team first’ attitude," says Clark in the release. "Even though he has a lot of individual accolades, when you watch him play he competed, he wanted to do well but he wanted his teammates and the team to do better. He is going to be fun to coach.”

On the diamond, the left-handed Crossfield plays both pitcher and first base for the UBC Thunder. It looks like he'll have a chance to play at the one bag in his first year.

"I saw Simon in a couple of games on the coast and I can tell you from a baseball perspective, he can play here right now," says Chadwick in the release. "And he’s coming in with a great shot to start right away (both TRU first basemen — Liam Shibata and Cole Paquin will be graduating this year) and being a left-handed hitter is a bonus for us.”

The last multi-sport athlete at TRU was Tim Unaegbu who played both basketball and soccer (2010-11).