The Bisons swim team features an assortment of athletes; some are shy, others ooze charisma. One thing ties the group together, though: they all understand what it takes to be a leader, both in the pool and out of it.

"All of us get to be on the travelling team, whereas with other teams it's about whoever is performing the best at the time. It prevents us from having to compete with each other," second-year Dora Modrcin says.

"If you do have tension on the team it makes training a lot more stressful, so when everybody is getting along it helps. It's good when you have a bad race too. It helps to have teammates that you get along with."

Modrcin, a backstroke specialist who trained with the Manitoba Marlins growing up, has already shown that she's capable of performing at a top tier level in the university ranks.

She won bronze in both the 50 and 100m backstroke in her Canada West Championships debut last season and also placed seventh in both events at nationals. The engineering student got her 2018-19 university season off to a strong start as well, with three medals at the Odlum Brown College Cup at the beginning of the month, including a silver in the 50m backstroke.

"When I was on the Marlins, especially with my coach the last three years, it was a lot of mid-distance freestyle stuff, which isn't really my event, she says. "So with [Bisons head coach] Vlastic [Cerny], it's a lot of stroke and race-specific stuff and I've found that that kind of training is more beneficial to me personally."

Her teammate Kelsey Wog needs no introduction. The third-year Junior Bisons graduate has been shattering records for years now, including four Canadian age group national awards when she was 17.

This past July, her impressive accolades continued to pour in, as she topped the women's field in the 200m breaststroke at the Canadian Swimming Trials and was second in the 200m individual medley, which helped earn her a spot on Team Canada for the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Japan the following month.

She hasn't slowed down to start the 2018-19 season, as she paced the Bisons with five gold medals at the Odlum Brown, which included breaking her own meet records in the 200m individual medley and 200m freestyle. 

"It's really cool," she says modestly. "Some days I sit and I just think, wow me, a little kid from Winnipeg made it this far."

Her veteran teammate, fifth-year Naomi Kirshenblatt — who is never short on words — helps fill in the obvious.

"Kelsey is super humble. If you go into her room you'll see nothing and then there's a box of like 50 medals underneath her bed like it's nothing."

Kirshenblatt, a versatile swimmer who's originally from Ontario, has taken over the support role from well-respected alumna Kimberly Moors over the past few seasons. That role isn't always visible in the pool, but it's evident outside of it for sure.

"When we're in the gym and doing squats, I'm on my own. But after I'm done I'll be like, oh my god, Dora did you watch an episode of Riverdale last night? We'll talk and then we'll focus."

"It's different than with other teams, because I don't need to know how Kelsey turns, it's all about what I do — but it's really hard to swim on your own, so having people to turn to… it's mentally helpful."

Kirshenblatt also does her fair share of outreach. She's the co-president of the University of Manitoba Athletic Council (UMAC) and helps organize events such as Bison Book Buddies as well as holiday visits to Siloam Mission. She's also helped to facilitate "Teams 4 Tampons" for the past two years, where donations are collected in order to provide feminine hygiene products to local Winnipeg women's shelters.

Kirshenblatt was recently rewarded for her efforts by being named the Swim Manitoba Sportsperson of the Year for helping to use competitive swimming as a platform to volunteer and be a leader in the community.

"Just being a university athlete is a lucky experience and I think giving back to our community is very important," she says.

"When I was home last winter, I did the Bisons against Bullying presentation in my old school and it was just cool because [the students] really respect what you're saying when you're an athlete. It's a platform that you don't have for a long time, so when you do have it, it's a good time to use it more than just to better yourself."

This Friday, Kirshenblatt and company head to Calgary for the 2018 Canada West Championships, looking to pad the number of Bisons who have already qualified for nationals. That list currently features Wog and Modrcin on the female side, as well as male swimmers Alex Shogolev (fourth year), Anthony Iliouchetchev (fourth year), and Reid Glatz (first year).

"Some of us who haven't qualified for nationals, we've been easing off in the water and in the weight room, and those who have already qualified are just swimming regularly," she says.

"Hopefully after Canada West Championships we'll have more qualifiers."

While everyone's heads will be in the game come this weekend, Modrcin appreciates the fact that her teammates will have her back no matter the outcome. 

"I actually feel closer to [my teammates] than I did with the kids I swam with for ten years with Marlins. I've found lifelong friends for sure."