Cariann Bryant’s Virtual Track Club wins top honor at Flywheel student competition

WENATCHEE — What began as a family connection to track and field has grown into a business idea that earned Central Washington University student Cariann Bryant the top honor at the first-ever student pitch competition held during the Flywheel Investment Conference.

Bryant, founder of Virtual Track Club, received the Judges’ Choice Award and a $2,500 prize May 20 at Pybus Public Market after presenting her idea for an online coaching and recruiting platform designed to help track and field athletes access affordable training and support year-round.

The competition was part of Flywheel’s new student entrepreneurship program, which brought high school and college founders together with investors, business leaders and established entrepreneurs from across the region.

For Bryant, the idea behind Virtual Track Club grew directly out of her own life in athletics and her family’s long-running involvement in coaching back home in Nevada.

“Track and field has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Bryant told judges during her presentation.

Bryant said she began helping coach younger athletes while working in her family’s track club business as a teenager, eventually taking on both coaching and marketing responsibilities. As the club grew, she noticed increasing numbers of families from outside the Reno-Tahoe area reaching out online with questions about training, recruiting and technical development.

“The demand was there, but there wasn’t really a solution for that demand,” Bryant said.

Her pitch centered on what she described as a “coaching gap” that leaves many athletes without guidance during much of the year, particularly outside the traditional high school season.

Virtual Track Club aims to address that through a subscription-based online platform offering training plans, technique instruction, recruiting guidance and community interaction through athletes’ phones and computers. Bryant said the goal is to create a more affordable alternative to expensive in-person club programs, which she said can cost families thousands of dollars annually.

“Our long-term vision with Virtual Track Club is to give athletes access to high-level track and field coaching, no matter where they live or what resources they have access to,” Bryant said during the competition. “Every athlete deserves to train like an All-American all the time.”

Judges questioned Bryant about scaling coaching operations, protecting student data and expanding into other sports. Bryant said her background in a family-run coaching environment gives her access to experienced coaches already prepared to support the platform as it grows.

She also described plans for recruiting education, coach partnerships and athlete community-building features designed to help students navigate what can often be a confusing recruiting process.

Bryant said the company plans to launch its first pilot program June 1, with a broader launch planned later this year following feedback and revisions.

The student competition marked the first time Flywheel formally incorporated student founders into the conference, a move organizers said was intended to strengthen North Central Washington’s long-term entrepreneurial ecosystem.

NCW Tech Alliance CEO Sue Kane told attendees the event was designed to give young founders access to mentorship, professional networking and encouragement often unavailable to students with early-stage ideas.

“You belong here,” Kane told participants during opening remarks.

By the end of the day, Bryant’s idea stood out in a field that included student ventures focused on healthcare technology, software development and sustainable consumer products.

As judges announced the award, they praised the founders for presenting with “passion and commitment,” qualities they said are essential to entrepreneurship itself.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media