Track and field
The University of Manitoba’s track and field squads competed in the yearly U-Sports championships, which took place on home turf this past week.
Women’s team
Last season, the women finished ninth at the U-Sports championships, achieving 16 points, placing just below the University of Windsor.
Looking to upgrade from 2023 U-Sports results, the women started with the field events.
Lara Denbow stood out in women’s high jump, placing first, earning a gold medal and jumping 1.78 metres.
Anna McConnell also medaled in the women’s shot put for the second year in a row.
McConnell placed second in the shot put this year with a throw of 14.96 metres, significantly longer than her chuck of 14.62 metres which secured her first place at last year’s U-Sports championship.
However, her throw at the 2024 championships did not cut it, as she faced steep competition.
Ultimately, the women finished this season’s U-Sports championship in 10th place with 18 points, tying with the York University Lions.
Men’s team
Last year, the men’s track and field team placed third with 83.33 points.
Naturally, the herd was looking to improve on last year’s stellar U-Sports championship results.
This U-Sports championship started off with the speedy Jordan Soufi securing first place in the 60-metre dash with a blistering time of 6.69 seconds, improving from his fifth-place finish last year.
The podium finishes just kept coming for the U of M, as Tristen Allen placed first in the 600-metre with a time of 1:17.96, while Dawson Mann obtained the bronze with a time of 1:18.44.
The herd kicked off the weight throw with two podium finishes, as Graham Wright and Joshua Suelzle placed second and third respectively. Wright attained a throw of 18.65 metres, and Suelzle, a throw of 17.77 metres.
Another huge performer for the Bisons at this meet was Max Speiser. Speiser won the heptathlon with a total of 5,270 points over all seven events.
These performances netted the Bisons’ men’s team a second-place finish, moving up one slot in the standings from the previous year. The team finished with a total of 82 points.
Swimming
This past week, the University of Manitoba swim team participated in the annual U-Sports championships, which yielded some fast swimming and some personal best times.
The women’s swim team started ripping up the pool last Thursday, as Ella Howe sprinted into eighth place in the 50-metre freestyle A-final with a time of 26.78. With that time, Howe qualified for the Olympic trials.
Another notable individual performance for the herd was Kelsey Fillion’s eighth-place finish in the A-final of the 200-metre freestyle, swimming a time of 2:08.91.
Fillion also performed well in the 100-metre freestyle, securing a time of 57.97, as she swam into sixth place.
The Bison women concluded the 4×100-metre freestyle with a blazing finish, as teammates Howe, Hannah Schanel, Fillion and Georgia Pengilly placed fifth and finished with a time of 3:55.70.
Overall, the women finished in ninth place at the U-Sports championships — a result it will look to improve on for next year.
The University of Manitoba swim team will next hit the pool as it starts wrapping up the season at the Western Championships, scheduled from March 21 to 24.
