FIVE SPARTANS TO REPRESENT CANADA IN PARIS

LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western University will be well represented in Paris this summer, with five Spartan alums set to don the red and white on the world’s biggest stage. 

Canada’s men’s volleyball team will have the largest contingent of Spartans with a quarter of the 12-man roster that will compete in Paris hailing from TWU, including Brodie Hofer (’23, Langley, B.C.), Eric Loeppky (’20, Steinbach, Man.) and Lucas Van Berkel (’14, Edmonton), while a pair of track and field alums will also wear the Maple Leaf, with Regan Yee (’18, South Hazelton, B.C.) racing in the 3000m steeplechase and middle distance runner-turned-cyclist Alison Jackson (’14, Vermilion, Alta.) competing in the road race. 

For Hofer and Loeppky, Paris 2024 will mark their Olympic debuts, while Van Berkel, Yee and Jackson will all be representing Canada for the second time at the Olympics. 

In 2020, Van Berkel helped Canada’s men’s volleyball team to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual silver-medal winning ROC. In Toyko, Jackson finished 32nd overall in the road race, while Yee finished 30th in the 3000m steeplechase. 

There have now been a total 10 Spartan alums who have competed for Canada at the Olympics, including men’s volleyball alums Ryan Sclater (2020 | ’17, Port Coquitlam, B.C.), Steven Marshall (2016 & 2020 | ’13, Abbotsford, B.C.), Rudy Verhoeff (2016 | ’12, Calgary), Dan Jansen Van Doorn (2016 | ’12, Langley) and Chaim Schalk (2016 | ’09, Red Deer, Alta.).

Paris 2024 Schedule 
Men’s Volleyball | Canada
July 28 vs. Slovenia – 12pm (PT)
July 30 vs. France – 12pm (PT)
Aug. 3 vs. Serbia – 12pm (PT)
Aug. 5 – Quarter-Finals – TBD 
Aug. 7 – Semifinals – TBD
Aug. 9 – Bronze Medal Match – 7am (PT)
Aug. 10 – Gold Medal Match – 4am (PT)
 
Alison Jackson – Road Race
Aug. 4 – 5am (PT)
 
Regan Yee – 3000m Steeplechase
Aug. 4 – Round 1 – 1:05am (PT)
Aug. 6 – Final – 12:10am (PT)

Brodie Hofer – ’23 
As a Spartan, Hofer was a three-time U SPORTS medallist, winning gold in 2019 and 2023 and silver in 2022, and was a four-time Canada West medallist, winning gold in 2020 and 2022 and silver in 2019 and 2023. Individually, Hofer was a two-time U SPORTS All-Canadian, earning First Team honours in 2022 and Second Team honours in 2023. 

Hofer played his first year of professional volleyball in Poland, in 2022-23, with Enea Czarni Radom, and will join Gioiella Prisma Taranto in Italy’s top league for the 2024-25 season.

Eric Loeppky – ’20
Loeppky graduated from TWU having also earned three U SPORTS medals, capturing gold in 2017 and 2019, and four Canada West medals, winning gold in 2017, 2018 and 2020 and silver in 2019. Loeppky capped his TWU career by being named the U SPORTS Player of the Year in 2020, finishing his time as a Spartan as a three-time First Team All-Canadian. 

Loeppky will be entering his fifth year playing professional volleyball in Italy this fall, having signed with Cucine Lube Civitanova for the 2024-25 season after playing with Mint Vero Volley Monza in 2023-24.

Regan Yee – ’18
Yee finished her Spartans career as a three-time national champion on the track, winning U SPORTS gold in in the 3000m in both 2016 and 2018 and in the 1500m in 2018. Individually, she finished her Spartans track career with five U SPORTS medals and eight Canada West medals in her five years at TWU. Yee holds TWU’s indoor school records in the 800m (2:07.97), the 1000m (2:42.99) and the 3000m (8:58.29). Including team accomplishments, Yee earned a total of 20 medals as a Spartan. She was part of TWU’s run of four consecutive Canada West gold medals (2013-2016) plus a CW bronze medal in 2017. She also won three U SPORTS team medals in cross country, winning silver in 2014 and 2015 and bronze in 2016. On the track, she helped TWU win two Canada West gold medals in 2014 and 2015 and two U SPORTS medals, earning silver in 2015 and bronze in 2014. 

Yee currently races professionally with UA Mission Run Dark Sky Distance. She has a personal best time of 9:24.82 in the 3000m steeplechase, which she clocked last summer in Langley when she won the Canadian Championship. She is ranked No. 30 in the World Rankings for the 3000m steeplechase.

Lucas Van Berkel ’14 
Van Berkel was a two-time national champion with the Spartans, winning back-to-back in 2011 and 2012, and also earned a national silver medal in 2010. He was a four-time Canada West medallist, winning gold in 2012 and silver in 2010, 2013 and 2014. 

Van Berkel is coming off his 10th season of professional volleyball, having played on 10 different teams in eight different countries. Most recently, he played with Sporting CP in Portugal over the 2023-24 campaign. 

Alison Jackson – ’14 
While with TWU, Jackson was a two-time Canada West gold medallist in the 3000m (2013 and 2014) and a Canada West gold medallist in cross country in 2013. She also earned Canada West silver medals in the 1500m in 2013 and in cross country in 2014. As a team, Jackson was instrumental in helping the Spartans women’s cross country team to Canada West gold medals in 2013 and 2014 and a U SPORTS silver medal in 2014. 

Jackson currently races professionally with EF-Oatly-Cannondale. Her biggest career win to date was in 2023 when she captured the famed Paris-Roubaix title. She has raced nine times in the world championships, including a sixth place finish in 2021.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women’s rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men’s rugby and women’s and men’s disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

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