Kodiaks women’s indoor track signs sprinter Patricia Mpoko

The Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks women’s indoor track team has added sprinting star Patricia Mpoko for the 2024-25 season. Originally from Cold Lake, Alta., she grew up training in track at both Assumption Junior High and École Voyageur.

Mpoko specializes in the 100-metre and 200m dash events, but with the change from outdoor to indoor track in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC), she will be running the 60m and 300m dash events.

Kodiaks assistant coach Taren Hayward reached out to Mpoko after watching her run in the 100m and 200m dash with impressive times at the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) Track and Field Championships in 2023. 

She then came out to watch the Kodiaks in action at the 2024 ACAC Indoor Track Championships in Edmonton. From that meet, she could tell that the Kodiaks student-athletes were not only talented but strong. She met the team and coaches and says she felt welcomed by the group.

“Patricia is incredibly determined and hard working,” says head coach Simon Schaerz. “I see her as a potential future leader on the team.” The Kodiaks indoor track coaching staff is excited to start working with her as they anticipate big things to come in her collegiate career.

In her first ASAA Track and Field Championships in 2022, she competed as a junior. She qualified and finished fourth in the 200m dash with a time of 27.10 seconds. Her times kept improving and this past high school season she competed in the 2024 ASAA Track and Field Championships Mpoko as a senior. She raced in the 100m dash finishing third with a time of 12.74 seconds and the 200m dash finishing fifth at 26.69 seconds.

“I'm looking forward at improving my sprinting skills and become better than I am right now,” says Mpoko. She will enrol in the Massage Therapy program at Lethbridge Polytechnic in the fall.

Kodiaks coaches actively recruit high school athletes around Alberta and neighbouring provinces. If one of our coaches hasn’t spoken to you yet, don’t worry. Simply fill out the form (https://gokodiaks.ca/recruitment) and they would be pleased to learn more about you.