Barring any moves, career-ending injuries or change of heart, more history could potentially be written for the UNBC Timberwolves.
Specifically to its women’s soccer team, if the COVID-19 curve is flattened enough in allowing a 2021-22 season, the Kirkness and Nystedt families will be well-represented on the Prince George pitch.
Today (Jan. 26), Celeste Kirkness officially announced her five-year commitment to the lady T-Wolves; older sister Kalista signed her papers to wear green and gold in December 2018.
The Chilliwack siblings have played together before at Sardis Secondary, where Celeste will graduate in June and two years after Kalista.
There, support only came naturally in wanting to boost each other’s game to the next level.
“I think it will be a great experience,” said Celeste in a UNBC release.
“We have had the opportunity to play together in the past, and it has been really great. I am actually pretty excited to be playing alongside her. She has always been very supportive of me and I know it will be good. I hope she enjoys playing with me as well.”
The timing may be as perfect as it could be for the Kirknesses as Kalista didn’t suit up in a game during her 2019-20 rookie year and, of course, the 2020-21 campaign was cancelled altogether with COVID-19 causing travel, public and health concerns.
Head Coach Neil Sedgwick has had his eye on Celeste for three years and, depending on his game plan moving forward and how well her Canada West game meshes with Kalista’s, he could put the Kirkness pair together on the same field.
“She obviously has a connection to big parts of the team with her sister Kalista here and Celeste’s knowledge of the group,” he explained of the 17-year-old new recruit, noting he sees her hunger for growth and opportunity.
“I think that she will take what she knows and use her great athletic ability to truly develop into an excellent contributor.”
It appears UNBC enjoys the sibling connection on its sports teams.
In the case of women's soccer, there’s also the Vancouver Island pairing of Hallie and Avery Nystedt.
Hallie is a veteran defender with the Timberwolves, who was set to play in her fourth year prior to the cancellation, while Avery, a midfielder, has yet to suit up in a Canada West match.
The possibility of all four playing at Masich Place Stadium may be far fetched, but the chance to write another anecdote in UNBC’s history books could also be encouraging.
Before the Nystedts, the Emmonds, Madison and Hannah, were the last siblings to grace the same grass for two season of UNBC women’s soccer, 2017 and 2018.
It would also mark three official sibling duos for current UNBC Athletics programs.
If Madison Landry moves her final year of eligibility to 2021-22 by way of the pandemic, she would rejoin her sister Rebecca on the women’s basketball team.
Just like her sister Kalista, Celeste Kirkness is also a fullback.
She’s described as smooth, speedy and athletic by UNBC coaches and considers herself a driven player eager to make the big plays.
“I love looking for spaces and making runs [...] That is something you can look out for when I am out on the field,” the Coastal FC (Surrey) product explained.
“Going from club to U SPORTS is going to be such a drastic change. I know the abilities are going to be so much higher; athletically, technically, everything. I am going to be working very hard to get there, improving whenever I can.”
Celeste has twice attended Timberwolves identification camp in Prince George, where she became familiar with current student-athletes on the roster.
She’s set to enroll in UNBC’s Political Science program and will make her way to both campus and training camp in August.
