Bisons cross-country
The Bisons cross-country team had impressive finishes in the Stewart Cup on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Alberta.
The herd had four Bisons in competition. In the women’s 6k, Angela Kroeker finished ninth with a time of 24:25 and rookie Lena Klassen finished a second behind in 10th place. In the men’s 8k, Justin Kroeker had a fantastic race, finishing in second place, just five seconds behind the leader. Teammate Noah Fillion finished 14th with a time of 27:56, with all Bisons placing within the top 15 of their respective races.
This last Saturday, Oct. 21, saw the team have a successful Chris McCubbins Provincial Championships at home.
On the women’s side of the team under the Bisons banner, Natalie Fournier placed first in the women’s 6k U20 (under 20) race, three minutes ahead of the rest of the pack. Bisons Sophia Alexander, Amy Shier, Maisey Williams and Lily Francis placed second through fifth in order, all recording times under 30 minutes. In the women’s 8k Senior race, Annika Niblock placed first in the race, clocking in at just under 36 minutes, while Shayna Giesbrecht placed a close second and Aspen Shier third.
On the men’s side under the Bisons banner, Wylie Garchinski placed first in the men’s 8k U20 race. Jonah Leppelmann placed second, just five seconds behind Garchinski, while Alejandro Civetta placed third. In the 8k Senior race, Gavin Maxwell placed second, just eight seconds behind first. Unai Apraiz Zenon placed third, just six seconds behind Maxwell, while Dylan Peters placed fourth.
The herd’s next race is the CanWest Championships on Oct. 28 hosted by the University of British Columbia-Okanagan Heat in Kelowna, B.C.
Bisons football
The season will come down to the last game this week for Bisons football after the team’s 35-25 loss against the University of Alberta Golden Bears last Friday night at IG Field.
With a Bisons win or University of Calgary Dinos loss on the out-of-town scoreboard this past weekend, the herd would have punched its ticket to the post-season. However, the Dinos squeaked their second win on the season last Saturday afternoon, meaning the Bisons’ and Dinos’ seasons will be decided on Saturday as the clubs go head-to-head at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The victor will play the Hardy Cup semifinal.
The herd kept the game impressively close against the CanWest Conference-leading Golden Bears. The Bisons defence forced a two-and-out to start the game before the offence capped off its first drive of the game with a major. The Bisons scored two touchdowns in the first half, with quarterback Jackson Tachinski calling his own number in the first quarter before finding receiver AK Gassama in the second.
For the majority of the second half the teams exchanged field goals before running back Breydon Stubbs punched in the herd’s third touchdown of the night, pulling within a field goal of the Golden Bears’ lead. Unfortunately, the Golden Bears blocked the tying field goal attempt, and even though the defence got the ball back in the QB’s hands for a final push into field goal range once more, Tachinski threw an interception that would ultimately result in an Alberta touchdown on the Golden Bears’ final drive.
Bisons women’s volleyball
The Bisons women’s volleyball team picked up right where it left off last season in the regular season and home opening series Friday and Saturday at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The herd swept the University of Regina Cougars, winning three straight sets in both games.
In Friday night’s match, Katreena Bentley registered a massive 31 assists. Bisons 2022-23 Female Rookie of the Year Raya Surinx registered 13 kills, three blocks, three aces and eight digs, while veteran Julia Arnold was quick on the defence with 11 digs.
The herd dominated the opening set before changing leads with Regina in the second, the Cougars forcing extra points. The third set was close, but Manitoba ultimately came out on top in the first shutout of the weekend.
On Saturday, the first set of the game started off close but the Bisons would gain momentum mid-set and dominated the rest of the game to record the second sweep of the weekend. In the second contest, Ella Gray led the team in the attack alongside Surinx and veteran Light Uchechukwu, who registered 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
The women’s team will be on the road next weekend, hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in Abbotsford, B.C.
