ON TRACK FOR FUTURE
High school track stars Matthew Exner, Chloe Mceachern and Vaughn Taylor stand in their grad clothing (and athletic shoes) at the Canada Games Athletics Complex. Dubbed the Three Amigos, the friends are each headed to different universities in the fall.
Chloe McEachern, Matthew Exner and Vaughn Taylor have so much ahead of them, yet one chapter is ending.
The Regina track and field athletes — dubbed The Three Amigos — are closing the book on high school while preparing to compete collegiately in the fall.
“It feels like it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” McEachern says.
McEachern is poised to graduate from Campbell Collegiate, while Exner and Taylor are in their final few weeks at Michael A. Riffel Catholic High School.
In September, McEachern is to begin studies at Western Michigan University. Taylor and Exner will attend the University of Victoria and University of Manitoba, respectively.
They were introduced while training with Queen City Striders running coach Steve Gersten. He died in 2016, but his influence is still felt.
“He meant a lot to me,” McEachern says. “He had a really good connection with me. He helped me with my university decision. Even though he isn’t here anymore, he was good friends with my university coach and they communicated when I was younger. That wasn’t the only reason why I made the decision, but it definitely was a factor.”
Taylor says Gerston “influenced me to try my hardest. We always watched movies about legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine and he always told us to put our hearts on the track. It didn’t matter to him if you had a good day or a bad day. As long as your heart was in it, it was all right with him.”
Exner and Taylor are preparing for the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association championships, to be held in Prince Albert on Friday and Saturday, after excelling at the Regina High Schools Athletic Association meet.
McEachern has chosen not to compete at provincials due to a recently diagnosed iron deficiency. Despite that issue, she won the senior girls 800 metres at the city meet and help her Campbell girls team win the 4x400m relay.
At university, McEachern plans to study speech pathology. Taylor will major in business, while Exner will take classes in the sciences.
To the extent that technology allows, they will also stay in touch despite living a considerable distance from one another.
“We know that we’ll always be there for each other, even though we’ll be at different schools,” Exner says.
While nodding, Taylor concludes: “I don’t think these friendships will ever stop.”