Bisons striding for success
A preview of the Bison indoor track and field season 2005-06
Vuthana Suon, STAFF
Photo by David Lipnowski.
Though winter brings with it intense cold and snow, this is a very welcome sight to the members of the Bison track & field team, as it also ushers in a new season.
With the loss of several key members, the women’s track & field team, which finished third in last year’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rankings, looks to rebuild on youth. In contrast, the men’s team is going in the other direction, as they look to improve on last year’s seventh-place finish with the addition of a number of notable rookies and the return of many pivotal veterans.
“We lost quite a few of our top female competitors last year, so we’re hoping our women may still be a top three to 10 team, but we’re looking more so towards individual results,” said Bison coach Claude Berube. “We’re hoping for a top three or four finish for our men’s team, though.”
Expectations are high for the men’s squad primarily because of the return of track veterans Kristjan Hunter and Samuel Jerema. Both are previous medal winners and are leaders on the team, with Jerema being one of the men’s co-captains. Though the departure of Brian Walker, a CIS bronze medal winner in the 3000m event, stings, Berube hopes a new crop of rookies, along with the experience gained by last year’s squad, will temper the losses on the men’s side.
The women may have a tougher time adjusting without the athleticism and leadership of graduating veterans Darolyn Trembath, Lisa Whalen and Ruth Ezirim. However, coach Berube hopes some new additions will neutralize the losses. With the soccer season over, rookie Caley Miskimmin should provide the women with speed on the track after a successful high school career at Maples Collegiate. Co-captains Kja Isaacson and Sharon Drake lead the women’s team.
Middle distance and long sprint events are the Bisons’ strength this season, said Berube, although, the team is starting to make strides in some of the field and shorter sprint events.
“I would say that we’re a few steps ahead of where we were last year because of the opportunities a lot of these athletes had over the summer in competing at the Canada Games; some even competed internationally,” said Berube. “It looks like we have a good, cohesive group here.”
There are a number of events the Track & Field athletes mark on their calendars, including the Cargill Games, held at the U of M in early February, the Iowa State Classic and the Canada West and CIS championships.
“Our first big meet is the Cargill Games, which is definitely one of the biggest meets in the country and is an opportunity for us to shine at home,” said Drake. “It’s an event we’re all super excited about”.
Jerema concurs with his teammate over the excitement for the Cargill Games, but he also looks forward to other meets.
“I also really like the Iowa State meet because you get exposed to some NCAA athletes and the competition is always really deep,” said Jerema. “The championship events are also going to be big and are going to be pretty emotional for me, because it’s my last year running for the team and I want to do well.”
