Meadow Lake track star Avery Pearson races to first pro contract

For the past five years, Avery Pearson has put her shoes through thousands of kilometres on the track.

Now with a professional contract in hand, the Meadow Lake, Sask. product can look back at how far she’s come.

“I put in the honest work to get to this point,” Pearson said. “I’m definitely thinking of my humble beginnings from Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, small-town girl.”

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The 23-year-old middle-distance star has joined running brand On as the newest member of On Athletics Club, and will train and compete professionally in Boulder, Colo. alongside a group of Olympic and world champions.

It’s a big jump for Pearson, who first discovered track while at Carpenter High School in Meadow Lake, but it’s a goal she’s had in mind for the past few years.

“I didn’t necessarily know how I was going to make it happen,” Pearson said.

“I didn’t have it all figured out, but I just kind of took the next step and took each year as it was. Just took the small improvements, the big improvements, the big jumps in performance and all those lessons in between.”

Many of those lessons came during her four seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies track and field team, led by head coach Jason Reindl and elite endurance coach Jamie Epp.

“It really has been a goal of hers since she was in high school,” Epp said.

“This is kind of where she wanted to be. She wanted to go have that high-level university career and then move onto professional, into Olympics.”

Former University of Saskatchewan Huskies track star Avery Pearson won multiple U Sports and Canada West medals over her four years with the program. (Rachel Albertson/Huskie Athletics)

In her four seasons with the Huskies, Pearson became one of the top middle-distance runners across Canada in her age group with five Canada West gold medals, two U Sports medals, three school records and U Sports female rookie of the year honours in 2022.

All from an athlete who only ran on outdoor tracks and was coached by volunteer teachers prior to her recruitment by the Huskies.

“When I started university I had never run on an indoor track,” Pearson said. “I had never done indoor competitions, where a lot of people have had that exposure in high school. I think that U Sports was a great transition.”

According to Epp, Pearson showed an early work ethic which came through in the medals she was able to win for the program between 2021 and 2024.

“It seemed like every day she showed up at practice, she was just working hard and then that kind of progressed into her performance on the track,” Epp said.

Along with her success at the U Sports level, Pearson has also represented Canada several times on the international stage including the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland and the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay, where she won gold in the 4×400-metre relay and silver in the 800-metre event.

That opened the door for Pearson to make the move south of the border last year to complete her collegiate eligibility at the University of Colorado.

“I had that slow progression and that exposure to nerves, to high competition and that higher level of training,” Pearson said.

“I think it was a great transition before I decided to take that jump and go to the NCAA for my last season.”

Pearson was able to lower her personal best to 2:00.76 in the 800 metres while with the Buffaloes and was named an All-American after she captured the 2026 Big 12 indoor title in the 600 metres.

She said it was gratifying to see her success with the Huskies translate into strong results against NCAA talent.

“I just approached it as the time is now, this is my opportunity,” Pearson said. “My marks, my times, my personal bests when I was going in. I was like, ‘I can be competitive at the NCAA level too.’”

Now set to turn professional in 2027, Pearson has rocketed up the 800-metre world rankings, where she is listed 81st among women across the globe.

That has Pearson’s mind locked on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with the opportunity to now train year-round in preparation for qualifying.

“My mind goes there every day and it has since I was in high school,” Pearson said.

“I am not taking this opportunity lightly that I can train for the Olympics as my full-time job. The goals are set, I’m not afraid to vocalise (that).”

Epp said having Pearson as a homegrown star who is now achieving success at the professional level is a legacy he hopes will rub off on other student-athletes in the program.

Avery Pearson has joined On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado after four years with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and one season with the University of Colorado Buffaloes. (Asa Fletcher/On Athletics Club_

“All the younger athletes can look at them and say, ‘Well if they can do it, so can I,’” Epp said. “It’s great to see these athletes developing into that level.”

While she said it’s tough being so far away from her home province, Saskatchewan and the Meadow Lake community are helping drive her towards a sub-two-minute time on the track.

“I want to also take this time to be a role model to other girls who are in Meadow Lake who have big dreams like I do, and like I did growing up in that community,” Pearson said.