Scan through the roster of the University of Saskatchewan cross country team and the surname Cross Child will stick out for how frequently it appears.
Three Cross Child siblings — 22-year-old Jaira, 20-year-old Kinley and 19-year-old Jayvin — are running for the Huskies for the second year in a row.
The three Saskatoon athletes and their younger high-school-aged brother Jarrett grew up watching parents Celeste and Tarrant run — “I thought it was just something everybody did,” Jaira recalls — and are always trying to keep up with each other. Kinley credits Jaira for getting him to start taking track seriously when he was in Grade 7. “Before then I occasionally joined my sister for a run and didn’t like how she gapped me on runs so I trained,” he says.
Jason Reindl, head coach for the Huskies track and field and cross country teams, says it is “quite uncommon to have three siblings on a university varsity team at the same time.”
“One would only need to think about the stars needing to align in regard (to) academic program alignment for all to be at the same university at the same time, age/year proximity, to having the performance abilities to earn varsity roster positions. So to have three Cross Childs is awesome.”
Jaira, who is in her final year of USPORTS eligibility, is in her first year of a Masters of Physical Therapy after finishing her undergraduate degree at the U of S College of Kinesiology last spring while Kinley and Jayvin are both undergraduate students; Kinley in his third year of an environment and society degree and Jayvin in his second year studying computer science. The three were attracted to U of S because it was close to home and its track and cross country teams had good reputations. Plus, once Jaira was there, they had each other.
“One of the great things of having them all on the team is that they are already so close as a family (and everyone in the running community knows their family) that they already have built in team camaraderie,” says Huskies assistant coach Jamie Epp who used to train with Tarrant and was on the Huskies team with Celeste. “They are extremely positive around practice and they are competitive against each other, they don’t say much about it, but you can tell they push each other in their training and competitions, but are also very happy for the others when they do well.”
The U of S cross country season kicks off Sept. 28 with the Dakota Classic at the Dakota Dunes Resort. In advance of the meet, Jaira, Kinley and Jayvin took a moment to speak to the Brainsport Times about their relationship and their goals for the season.
How would you describe your relationship with each other?
Jaira: I think there is a bit of friendly competition between Jayvin and Kinley, but not so much with me. They are significantly faster than me now. The last time I beat either of them in a race was many years ago.
It’s been pretty cool to watch Jayvin and Kinley race each other over the years. They are always going back and forth, some days Jayvin wins and some days Kinley wins. It could get pretty competitive, but watching them race I see them push each other and cheer each other on. When racing each other, after crossing the finish line, the first thing they always do is high five and say “good job” to each other. When one of them is racing and one isn’t, the one who isn’t racing is the loudest cheerer at the venue. They are always happy for each other when someone runs a personal best time or does really well in a race. There is definitely a bit of competition between them, but I think it pushes them to run their best.
Kinley: Me and Jayvin are pretty competitive with each other and in each season we go back and forth. In cross country I am “significantly” faster than him, but in track he still gets me occasionally. It’s a nice competition since it pushes us both as we don’t like getting beat by the other. But, at the end of the day, we want each other to succeed. And, when someone beats me, I would rather it be my brother than a random runner.
Jayvin: We always have a good relationship with one another. I am more competitive with Kinley since we are around the same level of fitness. We love to see who can win the most races out of one another. We still always support one another and encourage each other to try our best.
What are the best — and most irritating — parts of having your siblings with you on the cross country and track teams?
Kinley: Best parts are my siblings are really fit so it’s always a fun time to go on trail runs together and don’t have to worry about getting dropped. This summer, me and Jaira did the Tamarack Trail in waterton as a run and it was really nice to be able to run together. Training is really nice with Jayvin since we are similar speeds and we can run similar paces during workouts. The most irritating part are injuries since you know they can’t run and can’t race.
Jayvin: It makes it a lot of fun with the competitiveness. Hasn’t ever been irritating for me.
Jaira: The best part of having siblings on the team is having a support system that understands you really well. For example, when I was injured during track season, Kinley and Jayvin understood how tough it was to miss training and races. Although they obviously couldn’t fix my injury, it’s nice to have family around when things get tough.
How has being teammates affected your relationship?
Jayvin: Because we all share the same love for running and competing, it helps us stay close and have a good relationship with another.
Kinley: The relationships are strong since we can do similar things with each other. Whether that is doing a big trail run or summiting a mountain we can all do it together. Being able to push each other positively affects each other.
Jaira: We have always talked about running a lot, but since becoming teammates, the majority of our conversations are about running. We like to talk about training, upcoming races, and goals. It helps keep us accountable in our training and it’s nice to get advice when you need it. For example, telling each other it’s okay to take a rest day! We also train together quite a bit since being teammates, so we spend a lot more time together now.
Is there anything your siblings have accomplished that you are particularly proud of?
Jaira: I was really proud watching my brothers race at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in summer 2023. All three of my brothers represented Saskatchewan at NAIG, which I thought was pretty cool. They all raced really well, but just having three Cross Child brothers at the NAIG games made me proud.
Kinley: I was proud of Jayvin when he won his three golds at NAIG. Even though he beat me, I was really proud since the season before he could not run faster than me so seeing him push himself to be able to achieve those medals was a good moment. When Jaira won the Community Service Award at Canwest 2023 it was a sense of awe and I was so proud as they listed her large list of services. The speaker spoke a whole paragraph and kept on going on when Jaira was announced as the winner. That was the proudest moment.
Jayvin: Kinley winning the Canada West Rookie All Star award and Jaira winning the Canada West Community Service award made me proud.
What are your goals for this season?
Kinley: Get a team medal at Canwest 2024 at Camrose. It’s a hilly course and it will test my abilities and my summer in the mountains.
Jayvin: Our Canwest Championship will be at a difficult and very hilly course where last year I stopped mid-race to puke. This season, I hope to conquer the hills and not puke during the race, and also improve my times!
Jaira: My goal is to run another cross-country season feeling strong and healthy. I also want to help the women’s team medal at the Canwest championships. Since this year is my last year of eligibility, my main goal is to just have fun with my team.
