Bison Sports - 2010 Year in Review

The Manitoba Bisons varsity teams accomplished another successful year. During the 2010 calendar year, two teams advanced to a CIS National Championship with one team earning a silver medal at the national level, while numerous other squads accomplished impressive results in their programs. A majority of the teams were ranked in the CIS Top 10. Individually, two female athletes were selected as a CIS national winner for rookie of the year and community service award plus one male athlete was honored as a two-time National award winner. In addition, one Bison team, one female Bison athlete and one male Bison athlete were also recognized as nominees for Manitoba Team and Athlete of the Year. Here is a recap of major highlights by the Bisons during the past 365 days.

Bison athletes continued to exhibit strength on the playing field, in the community and in the classroom. Bison Sports announced 74 of the 306 University of Manitoba student-athletes maintaining a 3.5 grade point average or better in their field of study at the University of Manitoba. This is the third consecutive season that over 70 Bison student-athletes earned this prestigious honour. This represented over 24% of the whole Bison Sports student-athlete total. Women's soccer and track & field athlete Jennifer Campbell completed her Bison career by earning this prestigious honour for five consecutive years. There were also six Bison student-athletes earning this CIS Academic All-Canadians honour for four consecutive Bison years.

Bison athletes had another big impact in the community as they continued the progression of the “Bisons Against Bullying” program. The extensive program completed the fifth stage and started the sixth edition in 2010. There were approximately 60 Bison student-athletes who visited local schools with a focus on grade 4-6 during the year. 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. In addition, the Manitoba Bisons women's basketball team designated a 'Shoot for the Cure' Garbonzo's Invitational non-conference tournament in Oct. 2010 to raise money and awareness for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation; Bison men's hockey had a 'Movember game' to raise funds for prostate cancer research, Bison track and field and cross country athlete Adam Penner spearheaded a project called “Running for Erica” with the goal of the project was to raise awareness and funds for diabetes research; Bison Sports continues to have “Tin for the Bin” events during selected Bison events while Bison women's basketball team and the Skownan First Nation continue to build 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 another basketball camp and a retreat.

At the end of 2010, second year women's hockey player Caitlin MacDonald and fifth year men's hockey player Steve Christie earned recognition as nominees for 2010 Manitoba Athletes of the Year. Manitoba Bisons Women's Volleyball has been nominated for Manitoba's Team of the Year.

The Bisons football squad (2-6 Canada West regular season record) had their 2010 season end prior to the playoffs after battling a tough start to the season and a record number of newcomers onto this season's roster. Despite no post-season action this season, the Bisons were recognized with halfback Pete Adams being named to the 2010 Canada West Conference All-Star Team for his second consecutive season. Fifth year running back Matt Henry ended his illustrious Bison career as the second leading rusher and second most touchdowns scored in the program's history.

Prior to the start of the 2010 season, the Bison football program impact could be seen as there was six former Bisons playing in the CFL during the 2010 campaign while two former Bison coaches were on CFL sidelines along with former Bison star Israel “Izzy” Idonije putting up NFL Pro Bowl numbers for the Chicago Bears this year. Defensive tackle Eddie Steele was also selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 3rd round (22nd overall). This was the second highest Bison selection of a defensive lineman in the CFL Canadian Draft in over the last seven years while in the CFL Canadian Draft, the Manitoba Bisons have now accounted for the most university football players drafted during the last 11 years (2000-10) with 27. 

The Manitoba Bisons football team was awarded with one of the five CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) football player awards for the 2010 season. Bison third year linebacker Thomas Hall was selected as the recipient of the 2010 CIS Football Russ Jackson Award. This is the second consecutive season that Hall has earned this prestigious national award and only the fourth player to win in back-to-back seasons. 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.


The women's soccer team (1-9-4 record) had a transition season on and off the field. Off the field, the Manitoba Bisons women's soccer program had a new head coach on the bench for the first time since the team entered the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) in the Canada West conference starting in 2005. Outgoing Bison women's soccer head coach Walt McKee stepped down from his coaching role due to medical reasons while Chris Lewis became the new interim Bison women's soccer head coach for the 2010 season. Lewis has an extensive background in soccer throughout his over 20 years experience as a soccer coach and educator. With the new stadium construction underway, the squad played all home games at Winnipeg Outdoor Soccer Complex (Waverley) for the 2010 season.

On the field, there was whopping eight rookies on the 2010 Bison women's soccer roster with no fifth year senior players on this year's edition. The team had the graduation of the four former Canada West All-Stars from the previous year. After starting the season with a tie with Victoria, Manitoba was involved in three other ties plus suffering five losses by only one goal and producing a win by the young squad. Bison Carrie Nash was named as a Canada West Second Team All-Star at the midfielder position. Nash was selected to a conference all-star team for the first time in her fourth season with Manitoba as she had a breakout season, as she became the leading scorer for the Bisons during the 2010 campaign. She was tied for tenth in Canada West scoring with seven points (four goals, three assists) and tied for fifth most conference assists at three. In the six year program's history, Nash is now the sixth individual Manitoba Bisons women's soccer player to be selected as a Canada West All-Star.

Two former Bison women's soccer players have excelled at a national level. Both former Bison Desiree Scott and Caley Miskimmin were part of the Canadian National Women's Soccer team winner of the 2010 Cyprus Women's Cup. The eight team tournament ran from February 24 to March 3/10. Scott continued to impress as she played in five matches for the Canadian National Women's Soccer team during the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifier championship in Mexico on Nov. 2010.


The Bison cross country teams finished their 2010 season at University of Sherbrooke held on November 13. The Manitoba Bisons main highlight was fifth year veteran Paul Carr finish in the Top 10. Carr completed his Bison cross country five year career in style as he finished in tenth spot (fourth best in Canada West) in a time of 33:03 in the 10km race to earn a CIS Second Team All-Canadian and Canada West First Team All-Star recognition. The last time Manitoba had a CIS All-Canadian was in 2007 (Kristjan Hunter was a First Team with second place finish).

The Bison men's team placed eighth overall and it was an improvement of seven places from last season's 15th place finish while the Bison women's team completed the race in 13th overall place. This was the best team finish by the Bison men's cross country squad at a CIS National Championship since the 2007 season (sixth place finish).

For the Bison men\'s squad, they also placed fourth in Canada West and after Carr, rookie Sam Vincent finished in 40th spot and earned a Canada West Second Team All-Star while running the Sherbrooke Country Club course in a time of 34:16. Second year Calvary deJong ended up in 52nd with a run of 34:36 while the remaining Bisons were fifth year Adam Penner finished 64th (35:02); third year Elliott Cooke finished in 79th (35:33); fourth year Colin Shepherd completed in 89th (35:55) and rookie Thomas Miller raced to a 93rd (36:02) out of 138 CIS runners.

The women's squad was also fifth in Canada West and led by fourth year runner Melanie Gregoire in 33rd overall in the 5km race at the Sherbrooke Country Club course in a time of 19:34. Gregoire was 11th best in Canada West, which earned her Canada West Second Team All-Star for her second consecutive conference All-Star honour. Fourth year Lacey Ginter was 51st overall in a time of 19:50 while the remaining Bisons were second year Sara Weselake finished 79th (20:24); third year Alice Sherwin ended up 93rd (20:45); fourth year Alex Bell completed the run in 96th (20:53); fourth year Nicole Barrett was 103rd (21:09) and second year Nicole Dubois ended up 114th (21:31) out of 128 CIS runners.


The Bison golf teams competed in the three round, rain-shortened Golf Canada's 2010 Canadian University/College Championship at Kingswood Park in Fredericton, N.B in June. The Manitoba Bisons men\'s golf team moved up into ninth in the team standing after a completed three round overall total of 901 (+37) and made the third round cut by leapfrogging four teams into the Top 10. Individually for Manitoba in the third round, third year Bobby Wiebe fired the lowest round by a Bison in this tournament with a 71 (-1) score after posting five birdies in the round. Fourth year Jesse Skelton shot a 73 (+1) while second year Burke Wiebe had a 76 (+4) score. First year Ryan Pitzel and second year Riley Unger both fired a 77 (+5). There were 100 men golfers who completed the third round. After the three rounds, the top Bison male golfer was Skelton, tied for 26th place with a +7 (73, 77, 73). Pitzel (75, 74, 77) and Bobby Wiebe (76, 79, 71) were tied for 39th with a +10 while Unger (73, 79, 77) and Burke Wiebe (76, 77, 76) ended at +13, good for a 49th place tie.

The Manitoba Bisons women\'s golf team finished in a tie for sixth place in the team standing after a registering an overall total of 1026 (+162) after posting identical three round team scores of 342. They just missed the third round cut, as they were 11 shots back of fifth place University of Alberta. Individually for the Bisons in the third round, third year Sarah Stebeleski was 19th after an 84 (+12) third round score and 246 (+30) overall score. First year Lindsay Stewart fired an 81 (+9) and ended in 22nd with an overall score of 251 (+35) while fifth year Lauren Rousseau finished with a 87 (+15) and tied for 31st with an overall score of 261 (+45). Third year Anne Thorimbert had a 93 (+21) in the third round and finished tied for 42nd place with a 272 (+56) while second year Chelsea Hummelt posted a 90 (+18) and was 46th with a third round overall total of 275 (+59). There were 52 women golfers participating in the third round.

The Bison women's golf team, in the 2010 fall season, ended a successful season by winning the St. Cloud State University Husky Classic for the second straight year in October. This was the fifth tournament title in the ten year Bison women's golf program's history. Sarah Stebeleski, Bri-ann Tokariwski and Lindsay Stewart all had top 10 finishes in the final tournament of 2010. Manitoba began the season as they finished the two day tournament with an outstanding team total of 323 and an overall second place finish in the Concordia Invitation that was played at the Wildflower GC in Detroit Lakes. Mindy Lichtman and Lindsay Stewart lead the team with second and fourth place results. In the SMSU Mustang Invite in Marshall, MN, due to weather, it was a continuous 36 hole event and the squad finished in ninth place with first year player Bri-ann Tokariwski leading the team with 13th place finish.

For Bison men's golf, they started the fall 2010 season at Augsburg College Fall Invitational at Majestic Oaks GC (Minneapolis, MN) and fielded two teams that ended up tied for sixth and 11th with Bobby Wiebe and Jeff Bassey top Bisons in a tie for sixth. At the next event in the St. John\'s Fall Invitational, the Bisons had one team entered and was a strong third place among 21 schools and led by Riley Unger in a tie for seventh. In the St. Cloud State University Husky Classic, the squad finished fourth out of 14 schools and the depth showed as Nathan Wazney was tied for third and Ryan Cook was seventh in the two day tourney. At the NDSU Erv Kaiser Invitational, Manitoba placed second and sixth with Unger in sixth place and three more Bison players in the top 10. Despite injury and school to a couple of key players, the team produced an eighth place finish at the Wrigglesworth Blugold Collegiate Invitational and a ninth place result in the Twin Cities Classic to complete the season.


Women\'s hockey (2009-10 season: 18-6-0; playoffs: 2-3 and 2010-11 season: 9-3-1) came close to defending their Canada West championship as the lost to the eventual CIS champs from Alberta in two tough games in the conference final. Manitoba advanced and played in their sixth consecutive Canada West Final against the Alberta Pandas.

Manitoba had three 2009-10 Canada West All-Stars with goaltender Stacey Corfield and defenceman Caitlin MacDonald as First Team All-Star and forward Addie Miles as a Second Team All-Star. This was Corfield's fourth conference first team all-star squad (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and also named conference co-rookie of the year in the 2005-06 season) while Miles was named conference first team all-star in 2008-09 and was named as 2007-08 Canada West Women's Hockey Rookie of the Year.

Bison women's hockey defenceman Caitlin MacDonald was named as CIS and Canada West Rookie of the Year as well as CIS First Team All-Canadian plus CIS All-Rookie Team for the 2009-10 season. This is the first time a Manitoba Bisons women's hockey player has been named as CIS Rookie of the Year (since the award was first selected in the 1999-00 season) and as a CIS All-Canadian First Team in the 13 year program's history. MacDonald was also named as 2009-10 Canada West Women's Hockey Rookie of the Year plus Canada West First Team.

Goaltender Stacey Corfield had also been named as a CIS Second Team All-Canadian for the 2009-10 season. This is the first time a Manitoba Bisons women's hockey player has been named twice to a CIS All-Canadian Team in the program's history. Corfield was the Marion Hilliard Student-Athlete Award nominee (which criteria is outstanding student-athlete plus community service) for the conference.

At the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championship, which ran from March 27-April 3 in Chicago, Ill., Manitoba Bisons defenceman Caitlin MacDonald was part of the gold medal victory by Team Canada over Team USA by a 5-4 (OT) score in the women's hockey final on Saturday, April 3. This was the first time since the inaugural Championship started in 2008 that Canada has captured a gold medal (two silver medals in 2008 and 2009).

In addition, head coach Jon Rempel was selected as the Head Coach of Team Manitoba at U-18 Nationals plus was been named a Camp Coach at 2010 Hockey Canada\'s U-22 Selection Camp in Toronto.

At the end of 2010, Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) announced that Bisons Addie Miles and Caitlin MacDonald were selected to the Team Canada 21 player squad that will represent Canada in women's hockey team at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey from January 27 to February 5. Canada heads into the event as defending champion.

At the end of the 2010 year, the Bisons are currently ranked fourth in the latest CIS poll (they have been ranked in all CIS Top 10 polls so far this season) and have 19 points for a first place tie with Alberta in conference standings. Manitoba has not lost in regulation since Oct. 23 and currently have a conference unbeaten streak of ten games heading into the holiday break. Plus at the end of the first half, the Bisons earned the first ever sweep in 14 year program history at Alberta while the Pandas suffered its first weekend sweep at home in their 14 year history. The team will now host the Holiday Classic non-conference tournament from December 29-31 at the Max Bell Arena (U of Manitoba campus) with five Olympians who are scheduled to be on the ice during the tournament. Along with the Bisons, the teams involved include defending CIS champion and current No. 5 ranked - Alberta Pandas, current No. 1 ranked and 2009 CIS champion - McGill Martlets, current No. 4 ranked in Canada West -Saskatchewan Huskies, current No. 9 ranked in NCAA Division I - North Dakota Fighting Sioux and Team Manitoba.


Men\'s hockey (2009-10 season: 16-10-2; playoffs: 4-4 and 2010-11 season: 7-3-4), made its way back to the CIS University Cup (National Championship) for the first time since the 2004-05 season. The Bison men's hockey team were seeded fifth and defeated #2 McGill Redmen by a thrilling, come-from-behind 5-4 (OT) score and then lost to the eventual CIS champion Saint Mary's Huskies by a 5-0 result and finish in a tie for third place.

The 2009-10 conference regular season win total was three more than last season and represents the highest win total (16) for a Manitoba men's hockey team since the 2000-01 season. The Bisons also improved their point total by two points from last season's quarter-final team.

With two 2010 Canada West berths available to the CIS National Championship, the Bisons seized one of them with a historic Canada West Semi-Final series win at Saskatchewan. Manitoba won the best-of-three series in three games and provided the first playoff series the Saskatchewan Huskies have lost in 17 playoff series at home since 1981-82. The Herd showed their mettle after losing the first game by a score of 5-2 and then winning game two by a 4-2 margin and the series clincher in game three by a 5-1 score, all games played on the road.

Head coach Mike Sirant won Canada West Coach of the Year, goaltender Steve Christie was named Canada West First Team All-Star and defenceman Stephane Lenoski was selected as Canada West Second Team All-Star last season. The Manitoba Bisons also earned the Fair Play Trophy (Canada West only, fewest team penalty minutes) for the first time since 1993-94 season.

Goaltender Steve Christie was also named as the 2009-10 CIS Men's Hockey Goaltender of the Year. This is the inaugural year that this CIS award has been presented. In addition, Christie was selected as CIS First Team All-Canadian at the goaltender position. Christie started in 27 of 28 conference regular season games plus all eight playoff games for the Bisons and was a leader in several Canada West goaltender categories this season.

The team finished the first half of 2010-11 season with a 7-3-4 conference record and second place in the tight Canada West standings. Manitoba has already defeated No. 1 ranked Alberta and No. 6 ranked Saskatchewan while registering an eight game unbeaten streak (five wins and three losses out of regulation time) from Oct. 30-Nov. 26/10 and earned 13 of a possible 18 points over the last five weekend series. The Bisons are ranked number eight heading into the 2010 holiday break. Manitoba has been ranked as high as number five and continues to be in the CIS Top 10 poll for the past eight consecutive weeks.


The women's volleyball team (2009-10: 15-5 regular season; playoffs 5-2 and 2010-11 season: 6-4) was seeded third for the Nationals and their goal of winning a CIS National Championship fell one match short during the end of the 2009-10 season. The squad lost to the #1 seed University of British Columbia Thunderbirds by a 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 22-25) score in the 2010 CIS Championship Final match on March 7/10.

With the second place finish, the Bisons earned a silver medal and this is now the sixth time with a second place in the program's history (1980-81, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1997-98, 1999-00 and 2009-10). 

For Manitoba, Ashley Voth and Tricia Mayba were named CIS Championship Tournament All-Stars. The Bisons now have a CIS Championship record of 40-16 record in 19 CIS Championship appearances since 1982. Manitoba is second in wins and first in winning percentage at 71.4% at the CIS Nationals.

Because of the Olympics in Vancouver, the #1 CIS ranked UBC Thunderbirds could not host Final Four and Manitoba was the next highest team in the conference to host the 2010 Canada West Women's Volleyball Final Four (Conference Championship) on February 26-27. Manitoba stamped their ticket to the CIS National Championship with a hard fought victory over the #3 seed Trinity Western in five sets and finished as Canada West silver medallist after a five set loss to #1 seed UBC in the gold medal match.

Two Bisons were named to the 2009-10 conference all-star team. Outside hitter Ashley Voth was selected as a First Team All-Star while setter Sam Loewen was named as a Second Team All-Star.
Voth was fifth in the conference in hitting percentage at .294, ninth in conference kills at 3.03 per game (68 games/206 kills) and ranked ninth in conference points with 3.71 per game while Loewen continued to lead the Bisons as she was first in Canada West in assists with 10.15 per game (68 games/690 assists).

Voth was also named as 2009-10 CIS First Team All-Canadian. This is the second time in her four year career (she was CIS First Team All-Canadian in 2007-08 season) at Manitoba to earn this CIS recognition.

After the official selection camps from May 5-8 at the Team Canada Volleyball Centre at the University of Manitoba for the women's squad, Volleyball Canada announced the Senior Women's Indoor A and B National Teams for the 2010 season. This year's women's team included three current Manitoba Bisons and one alumnus player. Current Bison and middle hitter Tricia Mayba plus Bison alumnus left side hitter Tammy Mahon were named to the A team while current Bison and left side hitter Ashley Voth was selected to the A/B Team and current Bison and setter Sam Loewen was on the 'B' Team. In addition, Manitoba Bisons head coach Ken Bentley was named Team Canada Head Coach for the 'B' Team training group this season.

With the new CIS women's volleyball rankings released for November 16/10, the Manitoba Bisons vaulted from three to number one spot in the nation and the first time they have been at the top of the CIS rankings since the end of the 2007-08 season (Feb. 19/08). At the end of 2010, Manitoba remains the No. 4 ranked team in the latest CIS Top 10 poll and they have been ranked for the first seven weeks of the 2010-11 season. The Herd beat No. 5 Brandon and No. 8 Regina so far this season and head into the holiday break on a two game winning streak. In addition, Manitoba head coach Ken Bentley began his 25th season at the helm in the 2010-11 season.


The men's volleyball team (2009-10: 9-9 regular season; playoffs: 0-2 and 2010-11 season: 9-1) earned a playoff berth with a seventh place finish in the Canada West standings and lost in the conference first round to the eventual CIS champ Calgary in two matches. Manitoba rebounded to play in the post-season after missing the playoffs the previous season. Manitoba won four of the last five matches of the regular season to gain the final playoff spot of the season

In Canada West 2009-10 final stats, Bisons Ryan Munt was second in digs; Steve Goertzen was third in hitting percentage and sixth in blocks; Dane Pischke was eighth in points, tenth in kills and blocks; Zack Diboll was ninth in assists; Chris Osborn was fourth and John Galloway was tenth in service aces.

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 were ranked for the majority of the season.

At the end of the 2009-10 season, Bison second year player Dane Pischke was selected for the Mark Tennant Award, Manitoba Volleyball Association – Male Player of the Year in the 21U category.

In his 30th season with the program, head coach Garth Pischke has molded a spectacular beginning to the 2010-11 season with a fantastic 9-1 conference record (good for second in Canada West) and the team being ranked No. 6 in the latest CIS poll at the holiday break. There were only five of 13 players returning from last season and the core is built on the young leaders of Chris Voth, Ryan Munt and Dane Pischke. The Bisons remain a young but experienced squad, as there are no fifth years and only one fourth year player along with six first year rookies for the Bisons.

After a strong 9-3 pre-season record (while recording eight consecutive wins) while battling the defending CIS champion to a fifth set all prior the start of the Canada West season, the Herd won their first four games and now have rattled off a five game winning streak at the end of 2010 with victories over No. 6 Brandon and No. 9 Thompson Rivers.
   

The women's basketball team (2009-10: 8-12 regular season and 2010-11 season: 3-7) came one game short of a playoff spot in the new conference post-season system last season. The team won five games in the second half of the season to make a push for the playoffs and defeated cross-town rival Winnipeg in both conference games during the season.

Bison fifth year guard Michele Hynes was selected as the 2009-10 CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Sylvia Sweeney Award winner. This is only the second time a Manitoba Bisons women's basketball player has been a CIS Sylvia Sweeney Outstanding Student-Athlete Award winner. Manitoba's Anna Drewniak was this CIS award recipient in the 2002-03 season. The prestigious CIS Sylvia Sweeney Award is presented to a player who recipient exhibits outstanding achievement in three areas: basketball, academics and community involvement. It is named in honour of Sylvia Sweeney, a past player at McGill, Concordia and Laurentian, who excelled both on the court and in the classroom.

At the end of the 2010, Manitoba is in a tight battle for a playoff spot as they hold a 3-7 record for six points with victories over Brandon and Thompson Rivers and fashioned a three game winning streak so far in the 2010-11 season. In the 2010-11 Canada West season, Kayla Klassen leads the team and seventh in Canada West scoring with 14.3 points per game, second in Canada West with .455 in 3-point FG Pct. and second in 3-points made at 3.0 and third in minutes played at 32.3. Lauren Mortier is second in free throw percentage at 87.0%.
 
In conference regular season 2010-11 stats, Manitoba is tenth in team scoring at 58.4 points per game and 12th in team defence at 69.4 points per game (a point improvement of eight points from last season). The Bisons are fourth in Canada West free throw percentage at 71.8% and fifth in 3-point percentage at 32.0%. The Herd is second in 3-point defence at 27.9%, fifth in offensive rebounds at 12.9 per game, sixth in defensive rebounds at 24.9 and sixth in 3-point made at 5.4 per game.


The men's basketball team (2009-10: 4-16 regular season and 2009-10 season: 7-3) completed the 2009-10 season with a new era as this was the first season under head coach Kirby Schepp. In the second half of last season, the team earned a second road win of the season at Thompson Rivers. In Canada West 2009-10 stats, guard Nathan Dixon was eight in scoring with 17.6 points per game and first in 3-points made at 3.4 per game; Eric Garcia was third in 3-point percentage at 44.4% and fifth in assists at 4.3 per game and both players in top ten of conference minutes played.

In addition, Schepp was an assistant coach to inaugural Team Canada Cadet National Basketball Under-17 Team Coaching Staff for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship in July 2010. Canada went 5-3 in the Championship and beat Lithuania for the bronze medal.

Heading into the 2010-11 season, the Bison men's basketball program was seeking their first goal of reaching the post-season since the 2003-04 season. The team had six rookies out of the 13 person roster in this year's Bison squad. Manitoba surprised many as they were ranked in pre-season poll at number 11 out of 13 teams in the Canada West to begin the 2010-11 conference season but impressed with a strong 3-0 conference start. Since the merger of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in basketball occurred in the 2001-02 season, this was the first 3-0 start by Manitoba men's basketball in Canada West play. The Bisons had not won three straight games at any time in Canada West since the 2007-08 season.

With a 7-3 conference record at the holiday break, the Bisons are now tied for third in the Canada West standings. Since the merger of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in basketball occurred in the 2001-02 season, this is the fastest start to seven wins by the Manitoba men's basketball in Canada West play. Over the previous nine seasons, the men's basketball program had not even earned five victories prior to the completion of the first half of a season.

In the 2010-11 season, Eric Garcia is top Bison and tenth in conference scoring at 16.7 points per game, second in 3-point made at 3.0 per game and tied for fourth in Canada West steals at 2.0 per game. Richard Reimer was first in Canada West offensive rebounds at 4.5 per game, tied for second in blocked shot at 1.3 per game and fourth in rebounding at 9.7 per game while Josh Ogden was second in conference assists at 5.8 per game and assist/turnover ratio at 3.1 plus eighth in conference minutes played at 32.4 per game. Kevin Oliver was second in steals at 2.4.

In conference regular season 2010-11 stats, Manitoba is fifth in team scoring at 82.4 points per game (up seven points from last season). Manitoba is seventh in team defence at 80.5 points per game (an improvement of seven points from last season). The Bisons are first in offensive rebounds at 15.7; second in steals (9.9) and turnover margin at +5.0 plus third in rebounding offence (42.8 per game), assists/turnover ratio (1.1) and third in 3-points made (8.9 per game).


The swimming teams finished the 2009-10 season at the 2010 CIS Swimming Championships in Toronto, the Manitoba Bisons swim teams had two male and one female swimmer in the Nationals competition and had one swimmer make it to the top five. Bison rookie Riley Pickerl ended his first CIS season with a flourish as he established four new Bison team marks in four different events while earning a Bison top placing of fifth place finish in the 1500m freestyle.

Also, on day three and final day of the this year's CIS Championship held on Saturday, February 20, Pickerl swam to a new Bison record of 15:39.89 in the 1500m race and broke his own record by almost eight seconds (old record: 15:47.63 set at 2010 Canada West Championship on Jan. 22). In the same day, Pickerl smashed a 20 year Bison record in the 200m backstroke (old record: John Earle in 2:03.81 in 1990) when he swam to 17th place with a time of 2:03.23.

In addition, Pickerl set a new Bison record in the 200m freestyle and broke a nine year old record when he swam to a 12th place in a time of 1:50.86 (old record: Chris Razeau in 1:52.03 in 2001). The Winnipeg native also broke his own record in the 400m freestyle when he finished tenth in a time of 3:54.42 (old record: 3:57.84 set at 2010 Canada West Championship on Jan. 24).

At the completion of the 2010 Canada West Swimming Championship in Lethbridge, the Manitoba Bison men's swim team finished in fifth spot with 157.5 points (8.5 points better than last season Championship total) in the seven team event. The women\'s team was in sixth spot with 121 points.
The Bison highlight of the third and final day of conference championship competition was the gold medal swim by Bison rookie Riley Pickerl in the men's 400 freestyle event in a time of 3:57.84. The fast time bettered his own Bison team record in the 400m that he set earlier in the 2009-10.

Overall during the three day conference Championship, Pickerl also earned a silver medal in the men's 1500 free and his time of 15:47.63 set a new Manitoba Bisons team record in the 1500m, breaking an eight year old mark (Elliot Macdonald with 16:05.93 in 2002).
   
Pickerl also finished in fifth in the 200m backstroke. Second year Julie Therrien was sixth in the women 50m freestyle while fourth year Casey Gergely was seventh in the men 100m butterfly. The other Top 10 Bison swim was third year Kerri-Ann Bochen who won the 'B' Finals and placed in ninth in the women 200m breaststroke. The men 4x200m freestyle team earned third place after teams were disqualified.

For the start of the 2010-11 season, a familiar face returned for Manitoba. At the 29th annual Prairie Winter Invitational (PWI) held at the Pan Am Pool from December 2-5/10, Bison Braeden Taylor returned to the pool after a one year absence for his fifth and final varsity year and quickly set a new provincial record. Taylor completed a very successful weekend by establishing a new provincial short course record in the men's 100m breaststroke, by a half second, with a first place finish in a time of 1:01.89 (breaking old record of 1:02.39 set by Taylor in Feb. '09). The St. Andrews, MB native also was involved with other Bison club swimmers (Alex Johnson, Dillon Perron and Artur Kroitor) to establish a new provincial short course record in the 200m medley relay in a time of 1:43.23 (old record was 1:45.26 set in March '01).

During the 2010 Prairie Winter, Taylor was also first in the 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:14.56 and second in the 50m breaststroke in a time of 29.52. Taylor is right now ranked first in the CIS in both the 100 and 200m breaststroke and seventh in CIS in the 50m breaststroke after the weekend results.

Along with Taylor, three other Bison swimmers had strong results as they all qualified for the 2011 CIS Championship held at University of Calgary from Feb. 24-26. Fifth year Casey Gergely qualified with a first place finish in the men's 100m butterfly in a fast time of 56.69; third year Julie Therrien qualified with a third place spot in the women's 50m freestyle in a time of 26.86 and fourth year Kerri-Ann Bochen qualified with a fourth finish in the women's 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:38.54. The Bison men's swim team is currently ranked No. 11 and the Bison women's team are ranked No. 17 in the latest CIS Top 10 poll prior to the holidays.


The track and field teams completed the 2009-10 season at the 2010 CIS Track and Field Championships at the University of Windsor. The Bison men's track and field team on the final day had two Top 6 finishes and ended up in 11th place overall with 23 points. The Bison women's track and field completed the Championship in 13th spot overall with 18.5 points (an improvement of 9.5 points from last season's 14th place).

During the third and final day of the CIS T&F championship meet, Bison highlights included third year Josh Gundrum just missing a bronze medal (41cm behind third) as he finished fourth in the men's triple jump with a jump of 14.46m. During the second day of the meet, Bison highlights were led by fifth year Garth Suppes earning a silver medal with a second place in the men's weight toss with a throw of 17.36m. With the silver medal, Suppes also becomes a CIS Second Team All-Canadian, for the first time in his career. Plus, fifth year Justin Charrier was fifth in the men's weight toss with a 16.49m throw. In the first day of the Championship on March 11, fifth year Caley Miskimmin was only .05 second off a bronze medal in the women's 60m dash. She ran her second fastest ever time at 7.59 to place fourth.

At the conclusion of the 2010 Canada West Track and Field Championships at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, the Bison men's and women's team both finished in fourth place out of seven teams. The men's team had their two-time Canada West title reign end with a fourth with 61 points. The women's team ended up fourth with 55 points, only four points back of third Calgary.

On day two of the conference championship, third year Josh Gundrum successfully defended his Canada West title in men's triple jump. He earned a gold medal with a first place jump of 14.04m. Along with Gundrum, the Bisons captured two more individual silvers on day two (Teresa Logozar in women's high jump and Lucas Rodewald in men's high jump) and three more individual bronze medal performances (Tyrone Welchinski in men's high jump; Travis Toet in men's 600m and Garth Suppes in men's shot put).

During the first day of the two day Canada West championship, Manitoba earned four medals and was led by the gold medal performance by fifth year Garth Suppes. Suppes was a silver medalist last season and improved with a first place in the men's weight toss with a throw of 18.01m.  Also in the men's weight toss, fifth year Justin Charrier won a bronze medal with a third place showing of 16.01m throw. On the women's side, the Bisons earned three silver medals when fifth year Dana Baker was second in the women's long jump with a jump of 5.74m, third year Katrina Bruckschwaiger was second in the women's 3000m race in a time of 9:57.62 and second year Alex Allen finished second in the women's pole vault with a jump of 3.62m.

Individually, there were two Bisons who earned 2009-10 Canada West First Team All-Star recognition and they were Josh Gundrum and Garth Suppes. Bisons who were 2009-10 Canada West Second Team All-Star included Dana Baker, Alex Allen, Katrina Bruckschwaiger, Teresa Logozar, Lucas Rodewald, Zacharie Durand, Jamie McMaster, Andrew Schellenberg and Jay Waters. Suppes was the lone Bison to earn CIS Second Team All-Canadian status.

To start the 2010-11 season, the Bison women's track and field team is currently ranked No. 6 in the latest CIS Top 10 poll (the highest ranking so far this season) while the Bison men's track and field team are currently ranked No. 8 in the latest CIS Top 10 poll (the highest ranking so far this season).

In addition, the University of Manitoba Track and Field program will be the host of the 2011 Canada West Track and Field Championships from February 25-26 at the Max Bell Fieldhouse (U of Manitoba campus). This will be the first time that the Bisons have hosted this event since the 2006-07 season.


Chicago Bears NFL football player and former Bison Israel “Izzy” Idonije Bears was honored as a Global Ambassador by the Jack Brewer Foundation on June 22/10 in New York. The non-profit organization, which was founded by former NFL safety Jack Brewer, recognizes those who have done outstanding volunteer work for underserved communities and children both in and outside the United States.

Idonije visited his native Nigeria in March for the third straight year, distributing 1,200 shoes he helped collect while also conducting sports camps and leading a volunteer medical team of six doctors and five nurses that treated over 1,000 patients during four free clinics. Idonije created the Israel Idonije Foundation in 2007 with the focus on a program called “IZZYz KIDz,” which is designed to encourage and sustain students' attendance, high achievement and good citizenship. In April 2010, he received the Ed Block Courage Award, which is presented to one player on all 32 NFL teams who best exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage and serves as an inspiration in the locker room.


The 20th annual Duckworth Challenge, pitting the University of Manitoba against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in volleyball and basketball varsity competition, was captured by Manitoba in a 3-1 victory on December 2-3/10. Manitoba has now won the Duckworth Challenge in back-to-back seasons and improves the Bisons record to 10-5-5 in the 20 year traditional event. To mark the 20 year anniversary, both universities held special ceremonies to honour the previous Duckworth Challenge Player of the Game basketball and volleyball recipients during the 20 year history. In a quirky Duckworth Challenge stat, the Bison women's and men's volleyball team now hold an identical 15-5 winning record over the Wesmen.