King's Student-Athlete Riley Bell wins gold medal at national championships

When Riley Bell made the transition as a student at Western to King’s University College in his second year, the results were nothing but positive for him. He found the atmosphere at Western to be a difficult adjustment, and when his roommate suggested that he switch to studying Criminology at King’s, the change was a pivotal point in his undergraduate career. “King’s was more attractive to me. I had a friend in first year who loved it, so I decided to give it a go,” the third year student from St. Thomas says. “It’s an easier place to learn than a 500 person lecture hall.” It was a great opportunity, as King’s students are eligible to play on the Mustangs’ teams.

Riley Bell is a member of the Track & Field team at Western, and his studies at King’s University College have helped him to excel in both his academic and athletic career. He believes that, “being at a smaller school, it’s good that they allow us to do varsity sports at main campus, and I think that it helps a lot of student athletes who go to King’s.”

The smaller classes and approachable professors have helped him balance his schooling and his commitments with the Track and Field team. “Here the teachers interact with you, and they want you to learn. They aren’t at King’s to brag, they’re just trying to help you,” he says.

For Bell, the athletic season has been up and down. In December he achieved a personal best for Long Jump, and followed it up by tearing his hamstring in the following competition. “It wasn’t looking good, but we have a great medical team so I was able to get back into it by February – that was my first meet back, and everything kept getting better from there. It was up and up.”

At the Canadian Interuniveristy Sport (CIS) Championships that took place March 9th-11th, 2016, Bell achieved a distance of 7.40 meters in Long Jump, taking home the Gold Medal in his event, and helping Western University to a seventh place finish in the All-Canadian Championships.

This marks an outstanding end to what has been an excellent third season for Bell, and the future looks bright. “I’m enjoying what I’m doing right now, and things are working. We’ll see where I am and hopefully the summer goes well, and coming into next year we’ll have another good season.”

When Bell finishes his undergraduate degree at King’s University College, he is interested in studying to become an OPP officer. As a third year student, though, he is focusing on maintaining his academics and athletics for his fourth and final year. “I don’t think too far ahead. Fourth year will be important. Depending on where I am at the end of my collegiate career, I’ll take it from there.”