Baiton decided to stay near home
Oct. 2, 2009 - Regina Leader-Post
By Tim Switzer
Wyatt Baiton has officially been a member of the University of Regina Cougars cross-country team for only a month.
That's plenty of time to develop heaps of confidence.
"You should watch out for us because it will be really good -- there's no doubt in my mind," said Baiton. "Everyone is really fit and better than ever before."
Baiton has already made himself rather conspicuous on the university cross-country scene. He won his first race, the Cougar Trot Open, on Sept. 19. He proved he could compete in large-scale events, too, when he placed third in a field of 239 runners at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Saturday.
"I knew I was in shape from how my training had formed over the summer, but I probably didn't expect it to be as good as it has been," said Baiton, an 18-year-old Lumsden resident who will look to keep his streak alive Saturday at the University of Saskatchewan Open in Saskatoon. "Looking back, I'm not really surprised (at his success), but at the time, I was a little bit."
The transition to university cross country may be a little smoother than in other sports. Baiton trained with and raced against most members of the Cougars team in the past and knew where he stacked up against those athletes.
It was a rather impressive group with which Baiton knew he could keep up. After several years as also-rans, the Cougars became a force in Canada West last season and were ranked as high as No. 8 in the country.
After deciding in Grade 12 that he would stay in Canada, Baiton also looked into attending the University of Victoria, the University of Guelph and Lakehead University before settling on the U of R.
"Why would you move out of your parents' house when you don't have to?" Baiton said with a laugh. "If your mom is doing your laundry and cooking your food -- it's the same idea. I don't have to change anything that is already working."
The Cougars top five (the numbers of runners who make up a team entry in cross-country meets) is coached by Graeme McMaster and consists of Baiton, Kelly Wiebe, Dale Wig, Iain Fyfe and Eric Benjamin. Wiebe, who is recovering from a knee injury, won four races last season to lead the Cougars' resurgence.
"These guys were running so good, it made my choice easy," said Baiton. "Just looking at how they progressed ... they've done so well in such a short period of time, you just think, 'How could that not be good for me? How could (McMaster) not make you a better runner too?' "