Thomas signs with D1 Marshall
Lauren Thomas has joined the Thundering Herd.
On Wednesday, the Grade 12 student at Blessed Trinity signed the paperwork committing her to attend NCAA Division 1 Marshall University in Huntington, W.V., on a track and field scholarship.
Signing the papers Wednesday was a big moment for Thomas.
“I’m a little bit nervous because it is a big step. I am committing and there is no backing out now not that I want to back out. It is a huge commitment but it is interesting.”
The 17-year-old Grimsby resident went through the recruiting process and quickly discovered Marshall was a perfect fit.
“I was looking for a smaller school where I wouldn’t get lost in the system and they were actually looking for up-and-coming heptathletes that they could train,” the Athletics Niagara member said. “They were very interested that I started off at 4,000 points in my first year of multi and that was a huge thing for them. From there, I went down to Huntington and it was just amazing. It felt like home.”
She also made official visits to Oakland University (Michigan) and Central Michigan but the Marshall visit was the clear winner.
“It was such a tightknit community and it felt like everyone was so respectful. The town is so involved in the university and it was an incredible experience to be down there. Everyone was just so kind.”
Signing with Marshall is the first step for Thomas in her post secondary career. Now the hard work begins.
She hasn’t set any performance goals for her freshman season.
“For my first year, I just want to feel things out. It’s a hard thing becoming a student/athlete in university so it will be just balancing everything, being healthy and not getting injured.”
She is looking forward to getting started with Marshall.
“It’s going to be great being part of a professional team and actually getting the training and recovery facilities that I need and having everything be in the same spot.”
Her goal away from the track is to become a pharmacist and she is planning to study pre-pharmacy. It will be a challenging academic and athletic schedule but she’s confident she can pull it off.
“I’m very organized and very good at time management so I am not too worried about that portion.”
Thomas started her athletic career with the Lincoln Leapers competitive jump rope team from ages six to 12 and won two world championship medals and set a national record.
In her last year with the Leapers, she was competing in elementary school track and field and wanted to switch to that sport. She joined the Niagara Olympic Club training as a sprinter but during the COVID 19 pandemic she wanted to branch out into new events so she joined Athletics Niagara and began training in multi-discipline events.
Thomas qualified for the 200 metres and 400 metres at Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations in Grade 10 and has had lots of success in the multi-discipline events. She won Athletics Ontario titles in the heptathlon this January and the pentathlon in June.
