BC High School Hurdle Champion will join Thunderbirds in the Fall

Katherine Tourigny looked at many universities in search of the perfect athletic and academic fit but it was the school in her very own backyard that had her captivated.

“The day I walked around UBC with Nigel and Addison, it showed me how a large school can have a great atmosphere and sense of community, something that was lacking at other campuses I looked at.”

Coming off a provincial championship win in the girls 400m hurdles in early-June, The graduate of West Point Grey Academy looks to be one of the Canada’s brightest up and coming female hurdles and her times certainly show it. Her personal best time of 1:01.53, achieved in her winning performance at the BC High School Championships in Burnaby, currently ranks her #6 for Canadian Junior Women 400m hurdlers.  She also holds personal best times of 15.12 in the 100m hurdles and 12.47 in the 100m. Tourigny credits her successful season to hard work and motivation.

“I was out all last track season and into the fall with a stress fracture and was surprised at how frustrated I was that I couldn't train and compete. This year, I really focused on staying healthy, and the time off I think if anything served as motivation to do well this spring.”

UBC Track and Field Head Coach, Marek Jedrzejek is thrilled to have Tourigny on the team: “Katherine has the potential to be an NAIA finalist in her first-year. She has a lot of talent on the track but she is also very ambitious with her studies.”

Having been recently featured as her school’s valedictorian in The Province Newspaper’s annual ‘Head of The Class’- honouring BC’s top graduating high school athletes- demonstrates her willingness to excel off the track. You can find her speech here: http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/06/18/katherine-tourigny/

Tourigny plans to study Pre-med in the Faculty of Science.  She will volunteer at a UBC research lab beginning in the fall.