Dalhousie Tigers men’s track and field head coach Rich Lehman is pleased to announce the commitment of Zachary James for the 2021-22 season.

A sprinter from Windsor, N.S., James won gold in the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation (NSSAF) intermediate boys 100m, 400m, and 800m events in 2019. He then earned a spot on the Nova Scotia/Nunavut 2019 Canadian Legion Track and Field Championship Team and went on to place in the top eight in the 800m and was a member of the 4x400m relay team that placed fourth.

“I’m excited to join a competitive training group and compete as a Tiger,” says James. “It’s a special opportunity to be able to follow in my parent’s footsteps and strive to excel as a student-athlete at Dalhousie.”

James will be joining his brother Noah who is currently in his third season with the Tigers. They come from an impressive track lineage, as parents Ed James and Paula Peters were both record-holders and award-winning athletes on the track during their time as Dalhousie Tigers. Paula is a nine-time CIAU medallist (including three gold), while Ed was the national champion in the 600m run in the 1992-93 season.

A multi-year honours with distinction student at Avon View Highschool, James will be pursuing a Bachelor of Science while at Dalhousie.

“We're excited to add Zach to our long sprints and middle-distance program,” says Lehman. “He is a tremendous competitor who is always at his best in championship situations. He also has the best range of any track athlete I've seen in Atlantic Canada having won provincial championships in every distance from 100m to 800m. While we will not be asking him to run cross country, the fact that he was top five in Nova Scotia in 2020 gives us the confidence that he can be a national level 800m runner while at Dalhousie.”

The 2020-21 season has been cancelled due to COVID-19.