Hailie Eisan ready to tackle AUS competition

Pictou County thrower commits to CBU track and field program

Hailie Eisan ready to tackle AUS competition

By Corey LeBlanc

Hailie Eisan laughs when she shares, "I am not a runner."

Although she – like most track and field athletes – started her experience in the sport with sprints (she ran the 50 and 60-metre races in middle school), the 17-year-old remembers knowing early on that running wasn't her niche.

By the time she began her high school career at North Nova Education Centre in New Glasgow, the then Grade 9 multi-sport athlete – she also plays volleyball and rugby – believed her time in track and field was over.

"She introduced me to throwing," the native of Trenton, Pictou County remembers of her friend, Keighan Decoff, who encouraged her to try out for the Gryphons – the school team – in those disciplines.

And the rest – as they say – is history.

"I don't know really," Eisan offers, when asked what attracted her to throwing.

Nevertheless, she explains that she "stuck with it," and steadily improved, while her passion for the disciplines deepened.

Eisan notes that the "strong environment" created by the highly-regarded Pictou County Athletics (PCA) – something that she has really enjoyed during her time with that organization over the years – also helped with her development.

"It has been really fun."

With the Gryphons and PCA, Eisan has competed in the shot put, javelin and hammer, while adding the weight throw to her arsenal during the indoor season.

"We are really excited," CBU head coach John Hudec says of adding Eisan – "one of my first recruits."

Noting her abilities as a multi-sport athlete, he adds that the new Caper student-athlete's diversity will be beneficial.

"She is really talented," Hudec continues, offering that she has been really "keen" about getting started with her training to prepare for varsity competition.

Eisan will join a growing collection of CBU female throwers.

"It is a bit of a focus [for us]," Hudec says of that element of the Caper track and field program.

As she continues to recover from tendinitis in her throwing shoulder, which prevented her from making the 2022 School Sport Nova Scotia provincial meet, Eisan says she can't wait to start her Caper student-athlete experience.

When it comes to her decision to attend CBU, Eisan explains that she wanted to "go away" for university, but not too far away. With the Sydney campus less than three hours from Pictou County, it fulfilled that requirement. And, as for the chance to compete as a thrower in the AUS, it could be best described as the clincher.

"Everyone was really great," she remembers of the traditional campus visit, one she made to CBU last October.

Eisan, who had Hudec as her tour guide, says the athletic and academic facilities – along with the residences – impressed her.

The soon-to-be first-year Caper will study in the Bachelor of Science program, while majoring in biology.

"I always knew I wanted to be in the science realm," Eisan informs, noting that becoming an educator topped her list of career choices for "quite some time."

As she started to "see what was out there," epidemiology – which has garnered a lot of attention during the COVID-19 global pandemic – came on her radar.

"I think it is something where I can make an impact on peoples' lives."

Eisan says she is "really excited" about becoming a Caper, including getting better acquainted with the teammates that she met last fall.

"It already feels like a home away from home for me."

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