At the 1987 Ontario high school cross-country championships, Georgetown’s Bob Donker edged Westdale’s Jason Bunston by a little more than a second to win the junior boys OFSAA title.
Donker’s success at Georgetown District High School, where he also turned in several top finishes at the OFSAA track and field championships, caught the eye of several U.S. colleges.
One school in particular wanted the star runner, but couldn’t offer him as much as their rivals. West Virginia University coach Marty Pushkin would not be denied though.
According to a 2005 story on WVU’s website, “Donker had developed a close relationship with Dave Emmons, who was coaching high school track in Minnesota. Donker was one of Canada’s top distance runners and was getting full-scholarship offers from several American schools. Pushkin’s solution was to bring both of them in together: Donker as his top recruit and Emmons as his graduate assistant coach.”
Pushkin’s gamble paid off. Donker chose to join the Mountaineers.
“He passed up a lot of full-ride opportunities to come here for less,” said Sean Cleary, a teammate of Donker’s at both Georgetown and West Virginia and now the Mountaineers’ track and field coach.
It would be a good decision for Donker. He would become one of the Mountaineers most successful runners, winning individual honours, leading the team to conference championships and establishing many program firsts before graduating and representing Canada at the 1995 Pan American Games.
Recently, Donker took his place among the Mountaineer greats when he was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be inducted into the hall of fame,” said Donker at his induction ceremony. “I’m super proud to be a Mountaineer, to bleed blue and gold, and thanks for this wonderful honour.”
Donker, who now lives in Colorado after almost two decades living in Norway, won three consecutive Atlantic 10 Conference cross-country titles between 1991 and 1993. He remains the only three-time winner in conference history. He also led West Virginia to two conference cross-country team championships.
Donker established another first, becoming the first Mountaineer to earn three all-American honours in a single season, for cross-country, and both indoor and outdoor track and field. That season included a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m at the NCAA championships.
He would be named Atlantic-10 student-athlete of the year and was awarded the McCoy Award as the top track and field athlete in the state.
Donker would also become the first West Virginia male athlete to win at the prestigious Penn Relays, when he took first place in the 5,000m.
He earned all-American honours again in his final year after a sixth-place finish in the 5,000m at the NCAA indoor championships.
Donker said Pushkin was the reason he chose to attend West Virginia.
“I was confident under coach Pushkin, that it was the right place to develop my running, get a good education and grow as a young adult,” he said. “I knew he would look after me and always did. He was always there in good times and bad times.”
Donker also thanked his family and teammates for supporting him, but saved extra praise for Cleary.
“There was no one who supported, encouraged and believed in me more than Sean,” Donker said. “I’m not at all surprised he is considered probably the best developer of distance runners in North America. I take a little bit of pride that my impact on West Virginia was not just being a student athlete, but I was able to convince Sean to come here. He stayed, he’s coached and now we have one of the best women’s programs in the country.”
Following graduation, Donker won the 3,000m at the Canadian indoor championships and then represented his country at the Pan American Games in Argentina, where he finished 13th in the 5,000m.
