Two Weyburn athletes are embarking on a new journey and will soon begin the next chapter of their academic and lacrosse career as the first two Weyburn Lacrosse players to play field lacrosse at the college level.
Radville's Blake Becker and Weyburn's Sawyer Leko each received scholarships to play Division 2 Lacrosse from a new team at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.
Leko, 17, who plays offensive attack and midfield, is in his second season with the Junior B tier one Regina Queen City Kings. He is currently playing at the Founders Cup National Championship in Calgary.
"We beat the [Calgary] Shamrocks by one [Monday], but we took a tough loss last night in overtime to St. John. That was a tough one, I'm not gonna lie. That one stung a little bit. But we play BC on Thursday, so we're gonna do our best out there. I think we've still got a shot for the A side. Our pool right now has been pretty split."
On the move to Pittsburgh to play field lacrosse, Leko said, "I love the school, love the campus, everything like that. So I thought, why not just give it a shot and check it out?"
"College football, of course, is the king, but they do love their college lacrosse down there. And they do take it pretty seriously. I know we're pretty box-oriented up in Canada, but they love field lacrosse. It's kind of their thing. For colleges, it's a pretty big sport down there, so I'm happy to be a part of it."
Leko will be studying pre-med with a major in Biology with goals to either become a medical doctor, a nurse, or even a physiotherapist. However, he said he may also want to consider work that involves some travel, like working for STARS air ambulance.
"I'm pretty blessed to have them give me some good money with that. To get a good education out of it and just get some good money, and not to pay an arm and a leg for school, that makes it a whole lot better. So you play the sport you love, and you also get to get a good education out of it. And at the end of the day, that's all you can want."
While there is still time to decide, he is glad to have this opportunity and, no matter what he decides, Leko said he knows he prefers hands-on work.
"I couldn't sit behind a desk. I just think being a nurse, being always hands-on, I'm pretty good with people. I like talking to people, hearing people's stories."
Leko will be heading to Pittsburgh right after finishing up the Founders Cup games, and he said having Becker going to the same school will make the transition a little easier.
"We've got some other guys from our school in Virginia coming down, too, so I know quite a few guys that are going," he noted. "I'm actually pretty happy about that."
Before going in 2024 to Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia for their Grade 11 and 12 years, Becker and Leko were both part of the Weyburn Lacrosse Association's field lacrosse program, playing for the Rattlers and also playing for the U-17 Team Sask field team competing at Prince Edward Island in 2023.
Sawyer graduated with his Grade 12, while Blake re-classed to his Grade 11, but then worked through online classes from home, achieving his Grade 12, allowing him to go to college. It was while playing at Fork Union that they were recruited with academic and athletic scholarships by Point Park coaches.
Goalie Blake Becker, 18, played this summer with the Weyburn Razorbacks and is in Pittsburgh now, ready to meet the team and begin practice before school starts next week.
He said he is there to study Psychology, as he is a good communicator and wants to help people.
Becker got into the sport later than most, making Team Sask his second year. He started talking with schools and played for travel teams, including the Regina Royals, which took him to San Diego, and he played on the Saskatoon Sentinels before going to school in Virginia.
"I'm very grateful that lacrosse has given me the opportunity to pursue an education and do the sport I love."
Becker was only recently made aware of the milestone of he and Leko being the first Weyburn Lacrosse players moving on to play the sport at the college level.
"One thing I always found it was hardest for me playing the sport was, I had no sort of mentor," he explained. "I play goalie, and there was no goalie in south Saskatchewan, not a single one. So I found it hard to pave my own path. But now that I have, I think that I can help anyone else who needs it, and maybe be that coach for somebody else, to influence others to look into playing in the states and looking for college and university opportunities."
He said most of his new teammates have never played box lacrosse, and the further south you go, the more popular field lacrosse has become.
"There's a thing going around right now, it's called 'Grow the Sport'. Everyone is trying to make lacrosse a more popular, more diverse sport, and more accessible to everyone. Because it really is a good sport, and it has a lot of unique things that set it apart from other sports."
Becker agreed with Leko that having some friends from Fork Union at Point Park is a huge bonus, as is having the previous experience of living away from home.
"Going to school in Virginia gave me a kind of really good idea of what to expect living away from home and living away from parents, and also still keeping a structure that was maintained by staff and faculty. This is just the next step with that, being independent. I have high hopes. We all have a tight schedule, but I'm sure I'll be able to make it work and have a good time down here."
He coached last summer and this summer with the Weyburn Rattlers, and this summer with Team Sask practices in Regina as a little goalie coach.
"I can definitely see myself in the future helping and coaching lacrosse because I don't think I could ever step away from the game."
"Thank you to my parents, my family, for getting me through this," Becker said, adding that it feels good having his hometown of Radville cheering him on as he continues on his next chapter.
