Bisons Recruit Six Provincial Champions

CARSON JEREMA STAFF

The Bison track and field team recently recruited six high school provincial champions to help bolster the sprinting team and to give the squad more depth. Head coach Claude Berube is confident in the new recruits and says that they will all contribute in their first season, something that has not always happened in previous years.

“I think all six of these guys in one way, shape or form have a possibility of having an immediate impact on the team,” Berube said.

The new additions to the track and field men’s team include three from Manitoba high schools and one from Saskatchewan. They include, Nathan Labbe from McCreary Collegiate, Quin Ferguson from Vincent Massey, David Szczepaniak from Miles MacDonald and Marlowe Brownlee from Sheldon-Williams Collegiate in Regina Saskatchewan.

Labbe, who placed first in the provincial high school championships in the long jump, triple jump and the 100-metre sprint, is seen as the choice pick for this year’s new recruits. His 7.41m jump broke a 20-year provincial record in the long jump.

Berube said that Labbe’s jumping levels and sprinting times make him a “tremendous pick” for the team, especially since other schools were trying to recruit him, including the University of Regina, known for having one of the top jumping programs in the country.

“He’s jumping at levels that would already make him very competitive at the CIS [Canadian Inter-university Sport] level . . . his sprinting ability is certainly going to be an asset also. He may be involved in the 4 x 200m relay,” said Berube.

Berube will also be looking to Ferguson and Szczepaniak to perform as sprinters, something which he admits the team has been lacking in recent years. Ferguson placed first in the 200m, 400m and 800m, while Szczepaniak ran the fastest 200m and fifth-fastest 100m before an injury forced him out of the provincial championships. Szczepaniak, was the 2005 provincial high school champion in the 100m and 200m.

“It is going to help our sprinting program. There’s no mystery that that was one area that was not as strong as we needed it to be, so they’re definitely going to fill some holes in that area,” Berube said.

Berube is looking to Brownlee the only out of province recruit (from Saskatchewan), to perform well in this fall’s cross-country season.

“I think he is going to be one of our top five almost right away . . . He will probably have an impact, be on our travelling team, and quite possibly be one of our scorers this year,” said Berube.

When asked if he felt any pressure to perform, Brownlee, who plans to major in environmental studies, said he is pleased that people are looking to see what he can do.

“It is sort of nice when people are looking at me to contribute well, because that is what I’m looking to do,” Brownlee said.

Brownlee, who had the opportunity to attend other universities, including Idaho State, explained why he chose the University of Manitoba:

“The program seemed really good and the people are really great and I have a lot of friends and family in Winnipeg already. The U of M had I what I was after academically,” he said, adding that the environmental studies program at the U of M is “better than anywhere else.”

For the women’s team, the Bisons picked up Meaghan Woo from Westwood Collegiate and Deondra Twerdun from Fort Ricmond Collegiate. Twerdun placed first in both the women’s long jump and triple jump at this year’s provincial championships.

Woo won the 200m, 400m and 800m at the provincial championships and placed first in the 400m and 800m at the 2006 Cargill Games Indoor Track and Field Championship this past May.

“[Woo’s] been around for quite a few years . . . She’s quite familiar with the Manitoba track scene . . . She will be a contributor to maybe two, maybe three of our relay teams,” said Berube.

When asked why he thinks track and field athletes are attracted to the U of M, Berube alluded to the well rounded nature of the team.

“Part of the reason that they come here, is that they know that this is a program that is always going to be competitive at the CIS level,” he said. Berube added, “not only are we interested in how individuals do, but we’re also trying to win some team titles, and not every school can put themselves in that position.”