UNIVERSITY OF REGINA HONOURING TWO OF ITS BEST
Picton, Wiebe joining select company in the Hall of Fame, says Darrell Davis.
Noah Picton and Kelly Wiebe don't know each other, but the University of Regina Hall of Fame inductees certainly know about each other.
“There's a bit of a gap between us, but I recognize him,” said Picton, whose legendary football career with the university's football team started the year after Wiebe ended his stellar track career.
“He would still be in the gym when I was there lifting weights. And running around on the track, even outdoors. I'll be walking my dog or doing something and you see Kelly running. So I don't think I've ever met him but certainly know who he is.”
Picton and Wiebe were scheduled to be honoured Friday during a luncheon inducting them into the U of R Hall of Fame. Picton, who works in Regina as a financial analyst with PFM Capital, was planning to attend the event.
Wiebe couldn't get there because he's the construction manager for a plant being built to power an LNG (liquid nitrogen gas) facility in New Orleans. Wiebe was sitting under a monstrous crane on a December day when he was told about his induction. He planned to send a thank-you message through one of his former coaches, Graeme Mcmaster.
“What I remember the most is training with my team, competing, going on bus trips, having a good time and becoming best of friends,” said Wiebe. “Beyond that, I was able to compete internationally all over the world with my coach, who we called `Doc.'
“A lot of those races had a huge impact on my life. I'll never forget the great people and experiences that were once-in-alifetime.”
During his final season with the Cougars, Wiebe won the Canadian Interuniversity Sports cross-country championship in 2012 and the 3,000-metre run in 2013. A four-time conference champion in the 3,000, Wiebe also won the U of R's President's Award and was named its male athlete-of-the-year in 2013. He still works out and runs regularly.
“I remember coming into the university in my first year,” said Wiebe. “I went into the main gym and looked up at the Cougar logo and the banners and everything. I said, `One day I'm going to be up in those banners.' And I did!
“With every fibre in my body I just wanted to put everything I had into it. I'm glad it paid off and I had some effect on people.”
Picton and Wiebe are aware they're joining select company. From a university that has produced thousands of athletes and hundreds of coaches, only 23 athletes, 14 builders and five teams were previously enshrined. Among the builders are former basketball coaches Sheila Beckie and Christine Stapleton, hockey coach Reg Higgs and administrators Neil Sherlock, Ernie Nicholls and Dick White.
Among the athletes are basketball players Cymone Bouchard, Bree Burgess, Kevin Gilroy, Glen Nelson and Chris Biegler, football players Teale Orban, Jason Clermont and Neal Hughes plus track athletes Janine Polischuk and Shawn Peters.
“It's a short list and I grew up watching lots of those guys, like Clermont and Hughes, and I was a big fan of Teale's when he was playing,” said Picton. “It's an honour to be included with those guys. And I'm not a basketball player by any means, but I certainly know the names Chris Biegler and Glen Nelson, so it speaks volumes to the legacies those guys left behind.”
Picton played quarterback for the Rams for five seasons, ending in 2018, with the highlight being the first U of R athlete to win the Hec Crighton Trophy as U Sports' outstanding football player after being chosen as Canada West's player of the year in 2016. He set numerous records and remains the U Sports alltime leader with 11,494 passing yards.
After a tryout with the CFL'S Toronto Argonauts, Picton joined the business world and had a short stint coaching quarterbacks with the Rams. He still instructs young quarterbacks in clinics and wouldn't completely rule out a return to coaching. Asked for a favoured memory from his college career, Picton recalled the Rams playing the first football game in new Mosaic Stadium, a 37-29 win against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2016:
“The October first game, the game in new Mosaic,” said Picton. “To be the first team there playing a rival, the Huskies, with nearly 17,000 people in the stadium. A beautiful October day, a good game, that's probably the one thing that jumps out to me, to experience that with my teammates.”