Preston Condie, a former member of the Carbon High School basketball team, was the recipient of the “Heart of a Champion” award at Northwest College. Condie graduated in 2021, where he scored 17.4 points per game, as well as 7.7 rebounds and one steal per game in the 2020-21 season.
After he graduated, he went on a mission in Argentina, before beginning his journey playing for the Northwest College Trappers in Powell, Wyoming. He was recruited by the late Jay Collins, who was the head coach of the Trappers, before suddenly passing in 2022.
To honor Coach Collins, the school now gives out the “Heart of a Champion” to award athletes that are the toughest, most hard-working member of the team. “I was very surprised to be honest. It was a huge honor,” said Condie.
Northwestern current head coach, Andy Ward, commented on Condie receiving the award: “He exhibits all the things that Coach Collins would appreciate. He’s a great teammate, he’s a hard worker and he’s all about us trying to win.”
Condie was the last recruit from Coach Jay Collins. “I actually never realized I was the last recruit. I remember the day when he (Collins) came over to my house the day of my graduation in high school back in 2021 and I still remember the day my dad told me while I was serving my LDS mission in Argentina about the death of Coach Collins. I was very sad at the moment, he was a really great guy,” Condie said. “It was awesome to see that I was still able to come to Northwest and be able to represent him this weekend, that we honored him by playing these two games.”
Condie has entered into his sophomore year better prepared, having doubled his scoring average to 10.9 points per game early in the season while increasing his shooting splits, as he and the Trappers continue to improve.
“I’m way more prepared this year. I put my time in the gym,” Condie said. “We have progressed a lot. We definitely have a tougher schedule this year and we played a lot of tough teams already. Some of them just got away from us, but we just have got to keep plugging away and keep going.”
Recently during the holiday break, Preston joined his father, Curtis Condie, to commentate on some local games for the ETV News broadcast team. The father and son duo brought their basketball knowledge to the ETV broadcasts at Carbon High School, followed by a trip to Emery in the Spartan Center later in the week. “I enjoyed not only calling some of the games, but also being able to do the broadcast with my father,” said Condie.
He ended with a what he enjoyed as a member of the Dinos basketball team, “My favorite thing about playing for the Dinos was playing with my teammates/best friends for all the years I was there.”