Bison Sports - 2009 Year in Review

The Manitoba Bisons varsity teams had yet another very successful year. During the 2009 calendar year, two teams captured a Canada West Championship title, while numerous other squads accomplished impressive results in their programs. A majority of the teams were ranked in the CIS Top 10. Individually, one male athlete was honored as a National award winner by being selected as the 2009 Russ Jackson Award winner. In addition, one Bison team, one female Bison athlete and one male Bison athlete were recognized as nominees for Manitoba Team and Athlete of the Year. Here is a recap of major highlights by the Bisons over the past 365 days.

Bison athletes continued to exhibit strength on the playing field, in the community and in the classroom. Bison Sports established a new all-time school high in CIS Academic All-Canadians. There were 79 of the 306 University of Manitoba student-athletes (71 was old record) maintaining a 3.5 grade point average or better in their field of study at the University of Manitoba. This represented over 25% of the whole Bison Sports student-athlete total. Plus, student-athletes women's track & field Diana King and women's volleyball Erin Nieuwenburg completed their Bison careers by earning this prestigious honour during all five consecutive eligible years. A Bison student-athlete earning this honour during her first four Bison years was women's soccer/track & field Jennifer Campbell, plus eight other Bison athletes were named CIS Academic All-Canadians for a third time.

Bison athletes had a big impact in the community as they continued the “Bisons Against Bullying” program. The extensive program completed the fourth stage and started the fifth edition in 2009. Over 60 Bison student-athletes visited over 30 schools with a focus on grade 4-6. Bison athletes visit a school, perform a one-hour presentation that defines bullying and provide some strategies for people who are getting bullied or who witness bullying. “Bisons Against Bullying” marked a milestone with a visit to the 100th local school in early 2009 and continues to expand. Over 5000 students have been part of program throughout the five editions.
 
Running from October 17-25, the Manitoba Bisons women's basketball team designated a 'Breast Cancer Awareness/Prevention Week' to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. During this week, the team carried out several activities. The team wore special pink Bison uniforms for two games and then auctioned them off. Also unique to this special week was a three hour players' clinic plus specially designed, limited collectors' edition pink T-shirts that were available for purchase while the squad hosted the Bisons Invitational Tournament from October 23-25. The focal point of the tournament was 'Pack the Place Pink Night' when Manitoba played Winnipeg. The end result was over $8,750 amount was raised over the week long event.

The Bison student-athletes expanded their volunteering at the Siloam Mission with all teams assisting for a week during the holiday season for the fifth consecutive season. Bison Sports continues to have “Tin for the Bin” events during selected Bison events and have donated several food hampers to Winnipeg Harvest during the year. Bison women's basketball team and the Skownan First Nation continue to grow their partnership with the “Running with the Bison,” an initiative that revolves around friendship and bison. The team fostered community outreach with Skownan, which included a basketball camp and a retreat.

At the end of 2009, fifth year women's hockey player Stacey Corfield and second year Thomas Hall earned recognition as nominees for 2009 Manitoba Athletes of the Year. Manitoba Bisons Women's Hockey has been nominated for Manitoba's Team of the Year.

The Bisons football squad (2-5 regular season record) had their 2009 season end prior to the playoffs after an official 2-5 Canada West record due to an eligibility violation that led the conference to rule that Manitoba had to forfeit three game results. Despite no post-season action this season, the Bisons were recognized with four selections to the 2009 Canada West Conference All-Star Team and one selection for CIS All-Canadian Team. Defensive end Everton Black, interior lineman Eddie Steele, halfback Pete Adams and kick returner Jeremy Botelho earned conference selection for the first time in their career. Steele was named as 2009 CIS Football Second Team All-Canadian, first All-Canadian status in his three year career.

The Manitoba Bisons football team was awarded with one of the five CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) football player awards for the 2009 season. Bison second year linebacker Thomas Hall was the recipient of the 2009 CIS Football Russ Jackson Award. Hall is the first Manitoba Bisons football player to receive the prestigious Russ Jackson Award since its inception in 1986. The Russ Jackson Award is presented to the CIS football player who best exemplifies the attributes of academic achievement, football skill and citizenship. It is named in honour of CFL Hall of Famer/Ottawa Rough Rider and McMaster University Quarterback, Russ Jackson.

Hall, 19, has had an amazing couple of seasons at Manitoba on and off the field. His award is highlighted by numerous endeavours that Hall has performed in the academic, community and athletic fields. The Winnipeg native is in his third year in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management and earned his first CIS Academic All-Canadian status in his first year of eligibility with a GPA of 4.00. Hall was instrumental in creating a new annual event called “The Challenge for Life” for CancerCare Manitoba that has increased awareness for all cancers while raising over $2 million to date after only two years. On the football field, Hall shone in his first full season as a starter at the linebacker position. He led the team and tied for 13th in the Canada West conference with 38.5 total tackles (32 solo) during the 2009 season. Hall also had 3.5 tackles for losses plus had one interception for a 59 yard TD return, one fumble recovery and tied for third most in Canada West with two forced fumbles while playing and starting all eight conference games in 2009. The 6'3, 223 lbs. linebacker played multiple positions at linebacker and he was selected as Canada West Defence Football Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 1.

A highlight for the Bison Football Bisons was kick returner/receiver Jeremy Botelho, who set a new Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) record when he returned a missed field goal 129 yards for a touchdown on Friday, September 11. Under the current CIS rule, this is the longest possible return of a missed field goal and Botelho notched his first ever touchdown in his CIS career. Head coach Brian Dobie earned his 60th career regular season win in his 14th season. The team went 3-1 at home and won consecutive games twice during the 2009 campaign.


The women's soccer team (7-6-1 record) started the 2009 season with five wins in the first seven conference games. The Herd defeated the then No. 3 ranked Victoria Vikes on the road for the first time in the program's five year history. In addition, the squad earned their first ever win at Fraser Valley for Manitoba during the program\'s five year history. The Bisons led the conference standings and reached a high of No. 8 in the CIS Top 10 poll. Manitoba missed the four team playoffs by one point after a 5-2 win over Lethbridge to end their season. The team tied the program's high of 22 points set last season.

Fifth year Desiree Scott was named as 2009 CIS First Team All-Canadian at the midfielder position. This is the first ever CIS All-Canadian recognition for the program and Scott in the five year program's history. She had an accomplished fifth and final season with the Bisons. She was also selected as a 2009 Canada West First Team All-Star, her fourth conference All-Star recognition (First Team: 2008, 2009; Second Team: 2005, 2006) along with being named Canada West Rookie of the Year in 2005. Scott was second in 2009 Canada West scoring with 13 points (3g, 10a) in only 12 conference games and her ten assists was the most in Canada West.

Scott, Caley Miskimmin and Dana Baker were named as 2009 Canada West All-Stars. Miskimmin was named as a Second Team All-Star at the striker position and Baker earned Second Team All-Star selection at fullback position. Miskimmin earned her second conference All-Star recognition in her fifth and final season. In the 2009 campaign, Miskimmin finished tied for third in conference scoring with 12 points (7g, 5a) plus tied for fifth with seven conference goals, tied for third with 43 conference shots and tied for third with three game-winning goals in Canada West. Baker was selected to a conference all-star team for the first time in her fifth and final season with Manitoba.

Both Scott and Miskimmin were invited to attend the Canadian National Women's Soccer camp that occurred from Nov. 3-13 in Florida. This was the first camp invitation for both Bisons at this national level. Scott was also selected and started for the 2009 Summer Universiade Canadian Women's National Team, which played in Belgrade, Serbia.


The Bison cross country teams completed their 2009 season at the CIS Championship in Kingston, ON on November 14. The Bison women's team placed seventh overall and it was an improvement of six places from last season's 13th place finish while the Bison men's team completed the race in 15th overall place.

The Bison women\'s squad also placed third in Canada West. They were led by third year runner Katrina Bruckschwaiger in 15th overall in the 5km race at the Fort Henry Hill course in a time of 17:42. Bruckschwaiger finished second overall for Canada West women runners and earned her second consecutive Canada West First Team All-Star recognition.

In addition to Bruckschwaiger, the Bison women's cross country team had strong performances from third year Melanie Gregoire who finished in 24th overall (sixth for Canada West) in a time of 18:10 and captured her first ever Canada West First Team All-Star honour. Third year Lacey Ginter earned Canada West Second Team All-Star with a 41st overall finish (13th for Canada West) with a run of 18:38.

The men's squad was fifth in Canada West, led by third year runner Colin Shepherd in 29th overall in the 10km race at the Fort Henry Hill course in a time of 32:44. Shepherd was ninth best in Canada West, which earned him Canada West Second Team All-Star. Fourth year Chris Belof was 51st overall (14th for Canada West) in a time of 33:25 for Canada West Second Team All-Star honour.

This 2009 season, the women's cross country team was second twice (Roy Griak Invitational, U of Sask Open) and a third (Stewart Cup) while individually, Bruckschwaiger placed second, fourth and fifth prior to the CIS Nationals.


The Bison golf team competed in the three round, rain-shortened 2009 RCGA (Royal Canadian Golf Association) Canadian University/College Championship. After all three rounds, the Bison men's golf team finished in 16th place (out of 20 CIS schools) with a combined score of +84. In a tightly bunched group, the Bisons had a tough third round and were only six strokes back of 13th place finisher University of Western Ontario and four strokes back of a tie for 14th with University of Calgary and Holland College.

For the Bison men, the final tournament results had Jesse Skelton as top Bison with a +17 score (tied for 32nd overall) and 14 stokes back of second and 20 back of first place. Nathan Wazney was second for the Bisons at +19 (T-39th) followed by Ryan Cook at +22 (T-52nd), Eric Johnson with a +26 score (T-71st) and Bobby Wiebe at +30 (T-81st) among 103 golfers. On the par 72 course, the low round by a Manitoba golfer was Wazney firing a 75 (+3) in the second round.

In the 2009 season, the women's team won the St. Cloud State University Husky Classic to finish the season, the fourth tournament title in the nine year program's history. They also had a third place in the Cobber Open and fourth in the Concordia Invitational. For the men's team, a split squad opened the season with a second and third at the Concordia Invitational and another split squad went tied for second and seventh at the Bemidji State Invitational plus the NDSU Erv Kaiser Invitational. The men's side also had a fifth place at St. John\'s Fall Invitational, ninth at Frank Wrigglesworth Blugold Collegiate Invitational and ended the season with a tied sixth at the Twin Cities Classic.

Individually, Mindy Lichtman became the first Manitoba Bison women's golf player to earn the Smitty's Bisons Sports weekly honour. She finished the week with an individual victory at the St. Cloud State University Husky Classic that ran from October 4-5. Lichtman led the Bisons to a first place finish among five schools and was the tournament winner after posting a +13 score on the Par 72, 5849 yards St. Cloud Country Club course. She defeated 25 other golfers after she fired a final round 75 (+3), the best score by any player in the whole tournament. She earned the victory after being in a tie for second and three shots off the pace before the final round. Earlier this 2009 season, Lichtman had two other Top 10 finishes when she was tied for seventh at Concordia Invitational and a tie for fourth at the Cobber Open.

Faye Zachedniak was fourth and Lauren Rousseau was tied for fifth at the St. Cloud State University Husky Classic. Lindsay Stewart was tied for second at the Concordia Invitational and fourth at the Cobber Open.

Nathan Wazney became the first Manitoba Bison golf player to earn the Smitty's Bisons Sports weekly honour. He started the week with an individual victory at the NDSU Irv Kaiser Invitational that ran from September 21-22. Wazney led the Bisons to a second place finish among eight schools and was the tournament winner after posting a -5 score on the Par 72, 6833 yards course. He defeated 48 other golfers after he posted a final round 69 (-3) and birdied the last hole to win by one stroke. He was consistent throughout the three rounds, as he started with a 70 (-2) and 72 (E) score before he winning third round. Wazney was one of only three golfers in the field to break par during the NDSU Irv Kaiser Invitational. Earlier this 2009 season, Wazney earned a tie for ninth at Concordia Invitational and a tie for 15th at the Bemidji State Invitational.

In the one day tournament, Bobby Wiebe was tied for first with a -2 score at the Twin Cities Classic plus was tied for ninth at the Concordia Invitational. Jesse Skelton was tied for sixth at the Bemidji State Invitational, tied for seventh at the Concordia Invitational, eight at the NDSU Irv Kaiser Invitational and ninth at the St. John\'s Fall Invitational. Eric Johnson was also was tied for sixth at the Bemidji State Invitational. Riley Unger was fourth and Ryan Cooke was sixth at the Concordia Invitational.


Women\'s hockey (2008-09 season: 21-2-1; playoffs: 5-3 and 2009-10 season: 10-2-0), made team history during the 2008-09 season. The Bisons accomplished a historic season with their first ever Canada West Championship in the 12 year program's history after winning 3-2 in triple overtime against the Alberta Pandas in game three. With the series win, Manitoba advanced to the six team 2009 CIS Championship held at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia from March 19-22.

In game three of the 2009 Canada West Final best-of-three series, Manitoba battled back twice from one goal deficits and rookie Nellie Minshull fired the series-winner at 5:29 of the third overtime period. Bison goalie Stacey Corfield made 46 saves in the conference series finale. Manitoba won game one by a 3-1 score.

For the Bisons, this was the first conference championship series win after facing Alberta during the last five consecutive seasons. The Herd earned their first two victories ever in Clare Drake Arena (U of Alberta campus).

Manitoba began 2008-09 with the best start in the 12 year program's history after a perfect 17-0-0 record. To reach the 17-0-0 mark, Manitoba became the first Canada West team to sweep Alberta women's hockey squad over a weekend when they won 6-2 on Oct. 31/08 and won 3-2 on Nov. 1/08 with both games played at Manitoba.

The Canada West Championship capped a 2008-09 season, which produced team records for wins (21), points (43), goals for (97), goals against (38) and shutouts (7). The Bisons finished with a final regular season record of 21-2-1 (.896 winning percentage), the best regular season record in the 12 year program's history.

This was also the third consecutive season (a team record) that the team has reached the CIS Nationals. It was the fourth time in the 12 year program's history (first one: 2004-05 season, won bronze) that the team has advanced to the CIS Championships and all appearances have occurred during the five years of Bison women's hockey head coach Jon Rempel tenure.

Manitoba finished fourth at the 2009 CIS Championship after pushing the eventual CIS champion McGill Martlets to the brink with a 2-1 overtime loss to start the Nationals. This was the first game that went into overtime against the Martlets during their current 54 game winning streak, dating back to December 2007. There were 16 current Bisons on this season's roster who played in the 2008 CIS Championship, with five players completing their fifth and final year of eligibility with the Herd (co-captains Leanne Kisil and Katherine O'Rourke, forward Sarah Stebeleski plus defencemen Brenna Leary and Amanda Schnell).

Manitoba was led by goalie Stacey Corfield who had numerous accolades throughout the season. The 21 year old netminder was a 2008-09 Bison Sports Female Athlete of the Year (second time winner), 2008-09 Canada West First Team All-Star, 2008-09 CIS Second Team All-Canadian (first time a Bison women's hockey player has received this recognition), 2008-09 Team MVP. Corfield also backstopped Team Canada to a gold medal win at the 2009 Winter Universiade (World University Games) in Harbin, China in February. She played every minute except nine during the regular season and playoffs.

As well, the Bisons boasted 2008-09 Canada West First Team All-Stars Addie Miles (forward) and Brenna Leary (defence), and Nellie Minshull made conference all-rookie team.

In the 2008-09 conference regular season, Miles led the Manitoba Bisons in scoring for the second consecutive season and tied for fifth in Canada with 32 points (a ten point improvement from rookie season with 22 points). Miles was fifth in conference with 14 goals (up from ten from last season), third in conference with seven power play goals plus second in Canada West with four game-winning goals. Miles was named as 2007-08 Canada West Women's Hockey Rookie of the Year. Leary led Manitoba defenceman in scoring (set new team record for defenceman scoring) and second among Canada West defenceman with 20 points in the 2008-09 conference regular season. This was the largest point total in her five year career (last year she had 13 points). Overall, Leary was 13th in conference scoring with 20 points and tied for seventh in the conference with 17 assists. Minshull led the Manitoba Bisons in rookie scoring and third in Canada West among rookies with 19 points in the 2008-09 conference regular season. Minshull was tied for fourth among Canada West rookies with six goals and second among Canada West rookies with 13 assists. Her 13 assists were also tied for 12th best overall in the conference. Minshull follows fellow Bisons forward Miles, who was selected last season to this conference all-rookie team. Brade was the team top goal scorer by setting a new Bison mark with 19 goals in a season. She finished seventh overall in the conference with 28 points (19g, 9a), third highest goal total in Canada West and had a ten game goal scoring streak (Oct. 4-Nov. 21/08) earlier this season.

At the end of the 2009 year, the Bisons have six rookies on the roster, are in second place in the conference with a 10-2-0 start, and are rattling off a ten game winning streak into the holiday break. Manitoba is ranked #4 in the latest CIS Top 10. They have been ranked in the Top 10 since the start of the 2009-10 season, which is 11 consecutive weeks, and the highest rank has been third. Overall, Manitoba has now been ranked in the CIS Top 10 poll for the last 45 consecutive weeks, dating back to Feb. 27/07.


Men\'s hockey (2008-09 season: 13-9-6; playoffs: 0-2 and 2009-10 season: 9-3-2), ended the 2008-09 season with 32 points. Former head coach Don MacGillivray leaves the program in good hands for incoming head coach Mike Sirant, who returned after a three year leave of absence. In the highly competitive Canada West conference, Manitoba win total rose the past two seasons and the Bisons men's hockey team completed the conference 2008-09 regular season in third spot with a 13-9-6 record and since the New Year, Manitoba had rattled off a 6-2-2 mark prior to the playoffs.

The Herd tied last season's mark of 13 conference wins and accumulated 32 points, the most points for Manitoba since the 2004-05 season. The Bisons fell short of their desired goal of reaching the University Cup (CIS men's hockey National Championship) after being upset by the #6 seed Regina Cougars 2-0 in the best-of-three Canada West Quarter Final series at the start of March.

There were many positive highlights throughout the season. Goaltender Steve Christie was named as a 2008-09 Canada West Second Team All-Star plus team MVP. Christie started all 28 conference games for the Bisons and was in the Top 3 in several conference categories during the season. At the end of the 2008-09 Canada West regular season, the Winnipeg native was first in minutes played at 1669, first with 766 saves, tied for first with three shutouts, second with .920 Save Pct., third with 2.41 Goals Against Average and tied for third with 13 wins. The third year netminder had only been out of the Manitoba nets for 43 minutes in conference action.

At the 24th Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, three Manitoba Bisons men's hockey players were on the silver medal Team Canada team after Russia beat them 4-2 in the gold medal game in men's hockey on Saturday, February 28. In the gold medal game, all three Bisons (forwards Mike Hellyer, Rick Wood and defenceman Stephane Lenoski) played in the game with Wood registering two penalty minutes. In the semi final match, Canada beat Slovakia by an 8-1 margin on Friday, Feb. 27 to advance to the gold medal game and Wood had a goal and +1 rating, while Lenoski scored a goal and registered a +3 rating while Hellyer had a +1 rating in the win.

In addition, the Herd beat the eventual Canada West champion Alberta Golden Bears by a 2-1 score on Saturday, February 14 night at Clare Drake Arena. It was Manitoba's first win at Clare Drake Arena since Oct. 14, 1995 – over 13 years. The Golden Bears had posted a 30-0-1 record against the Bisons prior to Saturday's Manitoba loss. The Bisons also defeated CIS ranked team Saskatchewan, Lethbridge, Calgary and Wilfrid Laurier during the 2008-09 season. 



The team finished the first half of 2009-10 season with a 9-3-2 conference record and second place in Canada West standings. Manitoba have defeated No. 2 ranked Alberta and won five of the last seven conference games prior to holidays. The Bisons are ranked number seven heading into the 2009 holiday break. Manitoba started the season being ranked as high as number three and have been in the CIS Top 10 poll for the nine consecutive weeks.


The women's volleyball team (2008-09: 13-7 regular season; playoffs 0-2 and 2009-10 season: 7-2) completed the 2008-09 season in fifth place in the Canada west standings and lost a heart-breaker to Trinity Western Spartans on the road in the 2009 Canada West First Round by a 2-0 result during the best-of-three playoff series.

The Herd were ranked for all 13 weeks of the 2008-09 CIS season and reached a high of number three (Nov. 4/08) during this season. Manitoba finished with a 13-7 conference record and entered the playoffs winning five of their last eight matches since 2009 began.

At the end of the 2008-09 conference season, Manitoba was first in Canada West hitting percentage (.268), second in assists (12.3 per game), first in kills (13.54/game), fourth in blocks (2.05/game) and second in digs (14.5/game). Voth was first, Erin Nieuwenburg was eight and Morrissette was tenth in hitting percentage while Loewen was second in assists.

Morrissette earned her first CIS All-Canadian recognition when she was named a CIS Second Team All-Canadian. The left side hitter completed her third year with the Bisons and had also received 2008-09 Canada West First Team All-Star recognition for her first time (she was also a Canada West Second Team All-Star in 2007-08 season). In the 2008-09 season, Morrissette finished first in Canada West in kills with 3.93 per game (71 games/279 kills), first in conference in points with 4.27 per game, eight in Canada West in digs at 2.99 per game and tenth in conference with .294 hitting percentage over the conference regular season. Setter Sam Loewen was named as a Canada West Second Team All-Star. She earned her first conference All-Star selection after being named CIS and Canada West Rookie of the Year in the 2007-08 season. In her sophomore season, Loewen continued to lead the Bisons as she was second in Canada West in assists with 10.46 per game (74 games/774 assists). In team stats, she was tied for fifth on the Bisons with 93 kills and second with 19 service aces over the conference regular season.

Loewen and left side hitter Ashley Voth were selected for Team Canada Senior Women's Volleyball team for the 2009 International Volleyball season. Voth earned her fourth consecutive selection to the Team Canada Senior's Team. In the 2008-09 season, she battle health problems in the first half and still rallied to have another solid CIS season in her third year with Manitoba. She was first in Canada West in hitting percentage at .394 plus third in team stats with 113 kills in conference regular season. Loewen earns her second consecutive selection to the Senior Team after a fantastic sophomore campaign with the Bisons.

Morrissette was also named to Team Canada 'B' team, which represented Canada at the 2009 Summer Universiade (FISU Games) in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1-12. Loewen was also named to the 12 member squad for Canada at the 2009 Summer Universiade (FISU Games).

Head coach Ken Bentley was one of 11 staff members honoured at the University of Manitoba\'s annual Outreach Awards in 2009. The award recognizes Bentley\'s involvement as a leader in the area of sport development and coaching at the local and provincial level, his mentoring of female Junior Bison Club Volleyball coaches, his efforts to increase the number of females participating and coaching at the elite level in the Province of Manitoba, and his continued efforts to increase the skill and competitive level of young female athletes and teams through his coaching at both the Club and University levels.

At the end of 2009, Manitoba remains the No. 3 ranked team in the latest CIS Top 10 poll and they have been ranked for the first eight weeks of the 2009-10 season. The Herd is currently on a five game winning streak and has already beaten four CIS ranked teams in the first half of 2009-10.


The men's volleyball team (2008-09: 4-14 regular season and 2009-10 season: 5-4) completed the 2008-09 regular season and did not qualify for the post-season. They battled with several teams for the final playoff spot and missed the playoffs on the second last weekend of the conference regular season. Bison men's volleyball head coach Garth Pischke, in his 28th season at the helm of the Bisons, had never missed a post-season as head coach at Manitoba.

Manitoba won a match against two teams (Winnipeg and Brandon) that made the 2009 CIS Championship. The Herd had a young squad, with at times as many as four rookies as starters on the court during the 2008-09 season. They battled hard but lost three matches in tight five set results.

Individually, Bison first year left side hitter Chris Voth was selected as CIS Men's Volleyball Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 campaign. Along with this honour, Voth was also named to the CIS All-Rookie Team. Voth had already been named Canada West Rookie of the Year. Voth is the third Bison to earn CIS Rookie of the Year (Dan Lewis, 1995-96; Trevor Dmitruk, 1991-92).

In the 2008-09 season, Voth was one of four rookies who started for the Manitoba Bisons men's volleyball team. Despite the team missing the Canada West playoffs, in his first Canada West season, Voth was ranked ninth in conference kills with 3.00 per game (68g/204k) and tenth in conference points at 3.35 per game. In addition to his conference rankings, the left side hitter led the team by playing in every set during the season, first on the squad with 94 digs, tied for second with ten service aces and sixth with 23 total blocks.

Voth has had an amazing 2008-09 season, with numerous awards and accolades through the last 12 months. Voth was named to his first National Junior squad in his young career (he made the Youth squad in 2006). He was named by Sport Manitoba as 2008 Manitoba Male Junior Athlete of the Year on May 21/09 and later on June 7/09, he was honoured by receiving the Mark Tennant Award Winner, which is presented annually to the outstanding Manitoba Under-20 Male Volleyball Player of the Year at the Manitoba Volleyball Association's annual award banquet.

Head coach Garth Pischke, in his 29th season at the helm of the Bisons, was honoured with a couple of awards during the year. Pischke was a recipient of the 2009 Royal Canadian Legion Sports Foundation's C.A.P. (Coach, Athlete and Performer) award which honours an individual for outstanding service in the roles of coach, athlete and promoter of a selected sport; in this case the sport of volleyball. In addition, Pischke was also named to the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2009 as one of the inaugural inductees.

In the 2009-10 season, the Bisons started the season ranked #5 in the CIS Top 10 (first time ranked for the program since the 2007-08 season) and have been ranked for the first eight weeks of the 2009-10 season. The Herd won two of the last three conference games prior to holidays and has already beaten three CIS ranked teams in the first half of 2009-10.


The women's basketball team (2008-09: 8-14 regular season; 1-2 playoffs and 2009-10 season: 3-6) finished their 2008-09 season after losing two games to one in the Canada West Divisional Semi-Final against the Winnipeg Wesmen on the road. The Herd entered the playoffs as the third place finisher in the Great Plains Division tied with Winnipeg with 16 points.

The Bisons lost a heartbreaker in the best-of-three Great Plains Divisional Semi-Final against Winnipeg. The Bisons lost in game three to end their 2008-09 season. In game three, the Herd was defeated in a squeaker 62-61 when the Wesmen were awarded two free throws with no time left on the clock to seal the series victory. In game two, Manitoba won 64-62 with the Bisons rallied from an fourth quarter ten point deficit and Kait Flett hit a jumper at the buzzer for the final points and led the game with 19 points. In game one, Manitoba lost 82-66.

In playoffs history, this was the fourth consecutive season that the Bisons and Wesmen have met. In 2008, the Bisons lost another heartbreaker in the best-of-three Great Plains Divisional Semi-Final at Winnipeg. The Bisons lost 69-67 in overtime in game three. In game two, Manitoba lost 86-75 in overtime with the Bisons rallied from an early 14 point deficit but fell short in the extra five minutes. In game one, Manitoba overcame a three point deficit with just over a minute left and the Herd earned a 53-51 victory.

Michele Hynes was the 2008-09 team MVP as the fourth year guard averaged over 29 minutes, led the team in assists and had most points in the first game during the 2009 playoffs. The co-captain led the team in assists and tied for 15th in Canada West with 2.9 per game and started and played in all 25 games (regular season plus playoff matches.

At the end of the 2009, Manitoba is in a tight battle for a playoff spot as they hold a 3-6 record for six points with victories over Brandon and Winnipeg so far in the 2009-10 season. In the 2009-10 season, Kayla Klassen leads the team and 12th in Canada West scoring with 14.2 points per game plus first in Canada West with 3.1 per game in 3-points made. Hynes is first in conference assists at 5.8 per game, third in Canada West with 2.4 per game in 3-points made and third with 33.4 conference minutes played per game.

In conference regular season 2009-10 stats, Manitoba is sixth in team scoring at 71.4 points per game (up eight points from last season). The Bisons are tenth in team defence at 77.1 points per game. The Bisons is fifth in 3-point percentage at .330 and was second in team assists with 18.0 per game. The squad is fifth in steals at 12.0 per game while second in turnover margin at +4.44 and second in assist/turnover ratio at 0.9. Manitoba was also second with 7.7 average per game on 3-points field goal made.


The men's basketball team (2008-09: 4-18 regular season and 2009-10 season: 3-6) completed the 2008-09 regular season and did not qualify for the post-season for the fifth consecutive season. They battled with Winnipeg until the last weekend of the 2008-09 season for a coveted playoff spot. Manitoba finished with eight points and was two points back of third place Winnipeg in the Great Plains Division. The Bisons had five games where they lost by six or less points this conference season and did beat McMaster, Lethbridge, Thompson Rivers and Winnipeg.

Bisons Men's Basketball Head Coach Rick Suffield coached his final season and was replaced by Kirby Schepp. In November 2008, Bison men's basketball head coach Rick Suffield announced his decision to make the 2008-09 season his final season at the helm of the Bisons. Suffield had been head coach of the Bison men's basketball program for 23 years (25 years involved with Bison Sports). Suffield, 57, had coached the Bisons since 1983, producing over 400 wins as well as a 148-44 win/loss record at the high school level at Montreal and Winnipeg. At the University of Manitoba's Board of Governors meeting held on April 27, 2009 the Board approved the Bison Sports and the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management recommendation to the Governors that Kirby Schepp become the new Manitoba Bisons Men's Basketball Head Coach. Schepp was appointed to the full-time position that started on May 1 2009. Schepp was also named as assistant coach of Team Canada Cadet National Team in April 2009.

At the end of the 2009, Manitoba has almost equaled last season's win total in just half of the 2009-10 season. The Bisons are in a tight battle for a playoff spot, with a 3-6 record for six points with victories over Victoria, Winnipeg and Brandon so far in the 2009-10 season. Manitoba defeated the Brandon Bobcats 80-74 at the Brandon University gymnasium on October 30/09; this was the first victory by the Bisons on the road at Brandon since 1994.

In the 2009-10 season, 2008-09 team MVP, co-captain and fifth year guard Nathan Dixon leads the team and 11th in Canada West scoring with 15.0 point per game, seventh in conference assists at 4.4 per game plus tied for second in Canada West with 3.0 per game in 3-points made. Co-captain Eric Garcia is second in conference steals with 3.0 per game and fourth in conference assists at 4.9 per game.

In conference regular season 2009-10 stats, Manitoba is eighth in team scoring at 75.1 points per game. Manitoba is 14th in team defence at 87.4 points per game. The Bisons are seventh in 3-point field goal percentage at .338. Manitoba lead Canada West in assists at 18.3 per game while fifth in steals at 10.1 per game. The Herd is also third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.0.  In 3-points made, the Herd is second at 10.3 per game.


The swimming teams finished the 2008-09 season at the 2009 CIS Swimming Championships in Vancouver. Fifth year Jenna Houssin finished her Bison career in style with an eighth place finish in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 32.72. That time established a new Manitoba Bison team record by .72 seconds, and broke a 14 year old mark (Debbie Matejicka swam 33.44 in 1995).

Also, on day three and final day of the 2009 CIS Championship, Braeden Taylor, team MVP, smashed his third Bisons team record of the competition when he won the 'B' Final in the 50m breaststroke and finished ninth overall with a winning time of 29.01 (old team record: Dustin Boyachek swam 29.10 in 1990). Landice Yestrau, team MVP, also finished with a 13th place in the 200m backstroke in a time of 2:18.26.
   
In team standings, the Bison women's team finished tenth with 86 points (an improvement from last season's tied for 20th placing at CIS Nationals). This was the sixth time in seven years that the Bison women's team has placed in the CIS Top 10 at year-end. The Bison men's swim team finished 15th with 31 points.

During the 2009 CIS Championship, Yestrau also placed fifth in the 50m backstroke and sixth in the 100m backstroke. In addition, Taylor finished sixth in the 200m breaststroke and ninth in the 100m breaststroke with Emma Gaudet 14th in 50m backstroke and Kerri-Ann Bochen in 14th in 200m breaststroke.

There were seven Bison swimmers (women: Yestrau, Gaudet, Bochen, Rita Laszlo, Julie Therrien and Houssin; men: Taylor) at the 2009 CIS Swimming National Championship.

Swimmer Braeden Taylor finished the 2009 CIS Championship by breaking two provincial records and smashing three Manitoba Bisons swim record during the three day event. In the 100m breaststroke, Taylor set another Manitoban short course record (old provincial record: 1:02.89 by Dmytro Kraevskiy in 1997) plus Bisons team record with a winning time of 1:02.39. Earlier in day two preliminaries, he smashed a provincial short course record in the men's 200m breaststroke by swimming a new Manitoba time of 2:13.91. Taylor bettered the record by over a half of second set by himself (Taylor swam 2:14.56 on Dec. 6/08). It was also a Manitoba Bisons team record.

At the end of the 2009 Canada West Swimming Championship in Victoria, the Manitoba Bison men's swim team finished in fifth spot with 149 points in the seven team event. The women\'s team moved to fifth spot with 236 (16 points behind fourth place Victoria) and improved 99 points from last year's six place result in the seven team event.

The Bison highlights of the third and final day of 2009 Canada West Championship was the bronze medal performance by Taylor in 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:17.05. Plus, Yestrau just missed a podium finish with a fourth place in the 100m backstroke in a time of 1:02.87. Overall during the three day conference Championship, Taylor also finished fourth in the 100m breaststroke and fifth in 50m breaststroke. Yestrau swam to a fourth in the 200m backstroke while Emma Gaudet was fifth in the 50m backstroke. In 'B' Finals, Taylor was first and ninth overall in 200m IM; Yestrau was first and ninth overall in 100m freestyle; Kerri-Ann Bochen was first and ninth overall in 200m butterfly, 400 IM and 100m breaststroke plus Julie Therrien earned the CIS standard when she was first in the 'B' Final and ninth overall in 50m freestyle with a time of 27.17.

For the start of the 2009-10 season, there is a smaller women's team but a larger men's squad, which is led by Bison rookie Riley Pickerl. Pickerl smashed a couple of records at the 2009 Canada Cup in Toronto from Nov. 27-29/09. He set a new provincial swim record in the 800m freestyle event by swimming 8:10.81 and obliterated the 19 year old short course Manitoba record by over four seconds (past record: Jamie Stevens - 8:14.97). His 800m time is now the CIS fastest swim for that event so far this season.  In addition, he established a new Bison swim record in the 400m freestyle event. The Winnipeg native swam 3:57.95 and smashed the six year old record by over 1.5 seconds (past record: Elliot Macdonald - 3:59.5). His 400m time is now the CIS sixth fastest swim for that event so far this season.

The Bison men's swim team is ranked No. 13 in the latest CIS Top 10 poll prior to the holidays. At the annual 2009 Prairie Winter Invitational, Pickerl was rewarded with Swim of the Meet and Male High point award (attaining the most overall points in his age category), which ran from Dec. 3-6 at the Pan Am Pool. Pickerl earned the overall Swim of the Meet for his first place finish in a strong 8:18.35 in the 800m freestyle event to start the meet on December 3/09. He added another three gold medal performances (100, 400m freestyle and 200m backstroke) and two silver medal swims (100, 200m freestyle) during the four day meet. Kerri-Ann Bochen earned the CIS standard in the 200m breaststroke event (first Bison women swimmer to qualify for 2010 CIS Nationals) with a third place finish in a fast time of 2:40.30 on December 5/09. Bochen finished the meet with another podium finish with a silver in the 200m butterfly event in a time of 2:26.63.


The women's track and field team, completed the 2009 CIS Track and Field Championships at the University of Windsor tied for overall 14th spot with nine points during the three day competition. The squad had two top 6 finishes on the last day. Last season at the CIS Championship, the Bison women's team also finished in 14th place.

During the third and final day of the CIS Nationals, the Bison women's 4x200m relay team captured a bronze medal in a time of 1:41.68, and the women's 4x400m relay team was sixth. Caley Miskimmin ended up 11th in the women's 60m preliminary race in a time of 7.78 and Jennifer Campbell finished 11th in the women's 600m preliminary race in a time of 1:37.70.

At the conclusion of the 2009 Canada West Track and Field Championships at the University of Regina, the Bison women's team was fifth of seven teams with 38.66 points. The team had one gold medal individual performances (Caley Miskimmin in 60m), one bronze medal individual performances (Katrina Bruckschwaiger in 3000m), two four place finishes (Lisa Wong in 60m and Jennifer Campbell in 600m), one fifth place finish (Lisa Wong in long jump) and two sixth place finishes (Meredith Stoesz and Amy-Anne Smith in high jump). The women's 4x200m relay team was second and 4x400m and 4x800m relay team were third.

Individually, Caley Miskimmin was 2008-09 team MVP, Canada West Champion (60m) and 2008-09 Canada West First Team All-Star while Kim Bordun, Diana King and Meaghan Woo were 2008-09 Canada West Second Team All-Stars.

To start the 2009-10 season, the Bisons are currently ranked No. 4 in the latest CIS Top 10 poll (the highest ranking so far this season) and have already qualified one athlete (Teresa Logozar) for the 2010 CIS T&F Championship after only three meets. Teresa Logozar, a Canadian Masters champion in pole vault and triple jump, started the 2009-10 season with a bang. It was a special event at the Grand Prix #1 meet on December 11/09 as she competed for the first time as a Bisons at meet with her son Josh in the pole vault event. Logozar smashed her personal best and passed the CIS standard with a winning jump of 3.70m. In addition, the pole vault result for Logozar now ranks her second in CIS so far this season.


The men's track and field team at the conclusion of the 2009 Canada West Track and Field Championships, at the University of Regina, rallied from a 12 point deficit on day one and captured first place with 99 points, 15.5 points ahead of Saskatchewan and 24 points ahead of Regina.

The Bison men's track and field squad successfully defended the title they won last season and become the first Manitoba track and field team to win back-to-back men's titles in over a decade (1994, '95, and '96). This is the ninth Canada West men title for Manitoba (1988, '89, '91, '92, '94, '95, '96, 2008 and 2009) in the 42 year history of the conference championship.

The Bison men's track and field team accounted for two gold (last season: one gold), seven silver (last season: one silver) and three bronze (last season: seven bronze) medal performances in individual events plus one gold and one silver (last season: one silver and two bronze) medals in relay events at the 2009 Canada West T&F championship.

During the first day of the conference championship, Manitoba earned five silver medals led by Kieran Moolchan in the men's 60m hurdles in a time of 8.38; Josh Gundrum in the men's long jump with a leap of 6.79m; Garth Suppes in the men's weight toss with a throw of 17.01m; Tyler Hynes in the men's 3000m in a time of 8:41.47; and Quin Ferguson in the men's 300m with a time of 34.45. On day two, Manitoba earned two goal medals from Josh Gundrum in triple jump and Scot Dressler in pole vault. Other medal winners were Rossel Sabourin with silver in pole vault, Lucas Rodenwald with silver in high jump, Quin Ferguson with silver in 600m and Suppes with bronze medal in shot put.

At the conclusion of the 2009 CIS Track and Field Championships at the University of Windsor, the Bison men's team on the final day had two Top 3 finishes and ended up fourth place overall with 56 points. This is the highest end result at a CIS Championship for the Bison men's team in almost a decade (in 2001, the squad also finished fourth). The men's team improved on their eighth spot finish at last season's CIS Nationals.

During the third and final day of the Nationals, Bison highlights included Quin Ferguson's run to a second place finish in the men's 600m final, after finishing sixth in preliminaries, in a fast time of 1:18.77. The Bison men's 4x400m relay team was third in a time of 3:18.42 (.07 off second place Windsor), Garth Suppes was fifth in shot put, Rossel Sabourin was fifth in pole vault and the men's 4x200m relay team was fifth plus Josh Gundrum was seventh in triple jump. On day two, Garth Suppes earning a bronze medal with a third in the men's weight toss with a throw of 17.51m plus third year Quin Ferguson also earned a bronze medal with a third place in the 300m race in a time of 34.44. Along with the medal performances, Andrew Sheffield finished in fourth in the men's weight toss with a throw of 16.29m, Kieran Moolchan was fourth in the men's 60m hurdles with a time of 8.35, Lucas Rodenwald was seventh in men's high jump with a leap of 1.98m, Kris Geyson was seventh in men's 300m with a time of 35.28, Justin Charrier was eighth in men's weight toss with a throw of 14.60m, Josh Gundrum had an eighth in the men's long jump with a leap of 6.71m while Tyler Hynes finished ninth in the men's 3000m race with a time of 8:54.74.

Rossel Sabourin broke another team record this season in the men's pole vault at the Boeing Indoor Classic from March 5-7 at the Max Bell Fieldhouse. The third year track and field athlete surpassed his own team record by seven centimeters when he vaulted to a 4.69m mark in the pole vault event. This was his second Manitoba Bisons team record set this season as he established a new record earlier in the Grand Prix #6 meet with a vault of 4.62m on February 25/09.

Third year Quin Ferguson was named 2008-09 Bison Sports Male Athlete of the Year plus team MVP and was a huge contributor to the Bison men's track and field team earning a fourth place finish at the 2009 CIS Championship at the University of Windsor from March 12-14. Ferguson was part of scoring 20 of the 56 points registered by the men's squad as he earned three medals (one silver and one bronze medal in individual events and one bronze result with a relay team) at the 2009 CIS Nationals.

The Bison men's track and field team started 2009 ranked as the number one team in the country in the CIS Top 10 poll. The Bison men's track and field team was ranked in all 15 CIS polls during the 2008-09 season.

Manitoba track and field head coach Claude Berube was named as the Canada West Track and Field Men's Team Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Berube led the Bison men's track and field team to a successful defense of the title they won last season and become the first Manitoba team to win back-to-back men titles in over a decade. There was six Bisons who earned 2008-09 Canada West First Team All-Star recognition: Josh Gundrum, Scot Dressler, David Szczepaniak, Kevin Esau, Quin Ferguson and Zacharie Durand. Bisons who were 2008-09 Canada West Second Team All-Star included Rossel Sabourin, Lucas Rodenwald, Kieran Moolchan, Garth Suppes, Tyler Hynes, Kris Geyson. Gundrum (triple jump) and Dressler (pole vault) also were Canada West Champion. Quin Ferguson was the one Bison to earn CIS Second Team All-Canadian status.

To start the 2009-10 season, the Bisons are currently ranked No. 8 in the latest CIS Top 10 poll (the highest ranking so far this season) and just narrowly missed qualifying one athlete (Justin Charrier) for the 2010 CIS T&F Championship after only three meets. Charrier, competed in the weight toss at the Grand Prix #2 meet on December 12/09. The fifth year veteran won the event when he threw for 16.10m and beat his nearest competitor by over three metres. His toss was only five centimeters away from the CIS standard and ranks him second in CIS in the weight toss so far this season.


The 19th annual Duckworth Challenge, pitting the University of Manitoba against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in volleyball and basketball varsity competition, was won in a 4-0 sweep by Manitoba on October 6-7/09. That hadn't been done by the Bisons since the inaugural year of the Duckworth Challenge way back in 1991-92 season. For the first time in the Duckworth Challenge history, these games were part of the non-conference, pre-season schedule for both university teams. Starting this year, there is a new tie-breaker process to determine the winner of the Duckworth Trophy.

Finally, a quirky stat to finish the 2009 calendar season for Bison Sports: on the weekend of November 13-15/09, all Manitoba Bisons teams were victorious in Canada West conference play; eight consecutive wins by six different sport teams. Starting on Friday, November 13, the Bison women's volleyball team won 3-0 (26-24, 29-27, 25-20) over the Winnipeg Wesmen on the road. The same night, the Bison men's volleyball team won 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15) over the Winnipeg Wesmen on the road. On Saturday, November 14, the Bison women's basketball team won 67-57 against the Winnipeg Wesmen at home while the Bison men's basketball team also won 92-79 against the Winnipeg Wesmen at home. Finally, the Bison men's hockey team swept the Regina Cougars, on the road, by scores of 3-2 win (Nov. 13) and 4-1 win (Nov. 14) while the Bison women's hockey team followed by sweeping the Regina Cougars, on the road, by scores of 3-2 shootout win (Nov. 14) and 2-1 shootout win (Sunday, Nov. 15).