Simard headed to Manhattan College

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This article was published 25/04/2022 (1438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Andrew Simard knows he’s nowhere close to his track and field ceiling.

He only started focusing on running two years ago and his untapped potential is exactly what appeals to Manhattan College coach Kerri Gallagher, who signed the Neelin senior for the 2022-23 NCAA Division I track and field and cross-country season.

“She really liked how raw I was because starting so (late), not having the best situation and putting up times like this where she’d recruit them regularly, having all these barriers and still being able to succeed,” Simard said of the short outdoor season and rough winter conditions.”

He’s currently ranked fifth in Canada in the under-20 men’s outdoor 800-metre after a personal-best of 1:56.82 in South Carolina last month.

Simard said he was late to the recruiting game but worked diligently, building a spreadsheet with 100 schools that had both a strong track and field team and engineering program. He contacted about 150 schools. Some didn’t respond, others replied with something along the lines of “talk to us when you’re faster,” but he stuck to it and found what he feels is a terrific fit.

“Lots of rejection, but the big strategy was cast a big net and see what you get,” Simard said.

Rejection sparked his track career.

Encouraged by his father, Glen, who’s a physical education teacher, Simard played everything from hockey to baseball, basketball, volleyball and more. When he didn’t make the Neelin JV hoops team in Grade 10, he shifted his focus to the track and connected with coach Dave Rowland.

Simard caught on quickly, winning a silver medal in the 1,500m and bronze in the 800m at indoor high school provincials in March 2020. He won a virtual cross-country provincial championship in a five-kilometre race in October that year and topped the 15- to 19-year-old division in the Manitoba Half Marathon with a time of 1:36:22 a year later.

Simard finished the 2021 indoor season ranked first in the country among U18 men in the 400m and 800m, though COVID-19 concerns limited competition schedules.

He thinks back to one of his first practices with Rowland, running a set of 10 400m sprints and going pale.

“(Rowland’s) like ‘Are you all right? We can tone it down a bit.’ … since then it’s been awesome and I’ve been really growing with the training and he’s been pretty impressed,” Simard said. “Just to see myself come this far, now I’m running 60- to 70-mile weeks, I couldn’t have even imagined that two years ago.”

Simard visited the campus earlier this year and was impressed by the facilities, including the gorgeous Van Cortlandt Park, where the Jaspers’ outdoor track is located. (It’s home to the first CFL game played in the United States and only one in New York City, when the Hamilton Tigers defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 11-6 on Dec. 11, 1909.)

Manhattan College’s campus is in the Bronx and is a quick two-subway ride to Yankee Stadium, which Simard intends to frequent.

He’s excited to finally have a team as well. He has competed as an unattached athlete and usually runs alone. Since Brandon doesn’t have a regulation indoor track, Rowland encouraged Simard to get in a gym and get stronger. He discovered Rocked Community Fitness and has been training there for more than six months. Simard said the coaching and programming have been great and have translated into faster races.

“It’s kind of surprising how much it actually (helps),” Simard said. “But especially in the 400 and 800 and faster races, you’re building the upper-body strength and letting your body fight that lactic (acid) so you really feel it at the end of the race, when everyone else is slowing down, you just keep going with your pace.

“… It’s like night and day.”

Simard’s training will vary throughout three unique college seasons in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: Indoor and outdoor track and cross-country. While varsity boys cross-country races are 5k, college ones are 8k. His six-foot-two, 160-pound build is near ideal for outdoor and a bit tall for the tighter turns in indoor.

Simard said athletes typically aim to peak for two of the three as the adjustments don’t happen overnight.

In the meantime, he’s working towards the outdoor 800m standard of 1:50.80 to make Team Canada for the U20 worlds, which he has two summers to accomplish and thinks it’s possible.

He can’t wait to make the move and get started with his teammates.

“Especially being away from home that’s such a big thing, feeling like you’re looked after,” Simard said. “Having a bunch of guys there for you is a big thing when you’re in a new place.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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