For the first time since 2019, U SPORTS track and field nationals will take place at Manitoba's fieldhouse, and the hosts are ready to make serious noise. 
 
Over 20 athletes will represent the Herd in 11 different events, including numerous top three threats. 
 
The men are coming off their third straight Canada West championship, which included 16 podium finishes. 
 
Along the way, 60m hurdler Adam Andres broke the program record (7.97 seconds), while 60m sprinter Jordan Soufi shattered his own record twice, becoming the first Bison to run under 6.7 seconds in the 60 (personal best of 6.67 seconds).
 
The last time the Bisons hosted nationals, the Herd's men's team brought home bronze, a feat they also accomplished last year in Saskatchewan. They've been ranked in the top three all year, battling OUA champ Western and six-time defending U SPORTS champ Guelph. 
 
"It's honestly a blessing having the home crowd there and all the advantages. You won't have to deal with all the external factors when it comes to travelling or sitting all day," said Soufi, who enters the 60 as the top seed in a race that sees two other Bisons also in the field (Tyrell Davis and Miracle Eze), the most of any discipline for the home town squad. 
 
"The symbolism [of winning gold] would be the amount of work and dedication behind my name. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it."


 
On the women's side, two-time defending shot put champ Anna McConnell is back, while fellow local product Lara Denbow, a former NCAA standout at Oregon State, is a favourite for gold in the high jump. 
 
The women's 4x800 relay team is also in the field and has a strong shot for top points after a stellar run at the CanWest championship.  Arianna Fulcher, Dana Poulton, Lena Klassen and Angela Kroeker secured bronze in an extremely fast race.
 
Denbow won gold at CanWest championships, and enters play in a top three position with a season's best jump of 1.72 metres. 
 
A former multiple-time youth national champion, Denbow has jumped as high as 1.78 metres in the past, not far off from Madisson Lawrence's school record of 1.80, achieved last year. 
 
Denbow has plenty of eligibility left, and will be one of the faces of the program for many years. Meanwhile, this will be McConnell's last season of eligibility. 
 
She threw a personal best of 14.96 metres in her first meet of the year, shattering her own school record. 
 
McConnell is one of just three throwers in school history to eclipse 14 metres, well above the U SPORTS auto standard of 13.33.
 
"I think it's super cool [to finish off at home]. My very first year on the team we also hosted nationals. I wasn't good at shot put yet, so I didn't make it. But I remember going to the meet and watching women's shot put," said McConnell. 
 
"That year [Olympian] Brittany Crew [from York] was competing. I remember watching her and being like woah!"
 
McConnell's work ethic has rubbed off on those around her, including men's throwers Graham Wright and Joshua Suelzle. 


 
The pair are ranked second and third in the weight throw, while Suelzle is also ranked eighth in shot put. 
 
Seeing McConnell put in full days as an athletic therapist for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Bisons football team last spring, and still finding the time to put up elite numbers in the circle and the weight room was "inspiring."
 
"We knew pretty early on that we were hosting nationals. It's nice to have one last hurrah with the three of us," said Wright. 
 
"[McConnell's] intensity at practice, her no nonsense mentality, it makes you want to work harder. It's up to Josh and I next year. You can tell when she's at practice she's locked in. There's a reason why we're there."
 
Wright is undefeated in Canadian competition in the weight throw this year. His personal best of 19.35 metres was the second furthest in school history, and with Reed Rimke back as assistant coach this season, everything has come together for the Brandon native. 
 
"Reed came back this year, he's much more specialized. I felt like I needed that person to be right there with me. He was always at the cage, always there right after a throw to dissect it. I think that really, really helped," said Wright. 
 
"This week's been really good. We've been working on my intensity in practice, and not tailing off in my intensity. I'm just really focused right now. I'm ready to go."
 
Elsewhere, three-time conference champion Daxx Turner is looking for his first nationals gold in triple jump. He will also compete in the high jump. 
 
At CanWest, Turner was only a centimeter off the Bisons record of 15.64 metres, set in 1986. He's overcome adversity, chasing consistency instead of perfection.

"This has been the case for a while – I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself, especially when it comes to the national level competitions. I've always been there and been competitive, but I've never been at the top. I've never won national gold. Internally I never felt good enough," he reflected.
 
"I wasn't patient enough with myself. I needed everything right now, rather than building myself up for longevity. My consistency this year is what I'm most proud of, and not necessarily from a competition standpoint, although that is true as well. This is definitely the best season of my life. I haven't jumped under 15.30 which is a mind boggling statistic. Every practice, every day I'm trying to get as many things right as I can. I'm not trying to win every rep, I'm just trying to place bricks down as perfectly as I can."
 
The standard in the triple jump has skyrocketed over the last few years, which isn't lost on Turner. The field is loaded, with last year's gold medalist Kenneth West of Western back, along with bronze medalist Lauchlan Irish of Lethbridge. 
 
"The standard is definitely harder than it normally is. My rookie year it was 14.50, last year it was 14.95. There's five guys over 15 this year. That's pretty unusual. In CanWest my rookie year I won with a 14.9, and 14.9 would've gotten you fourth this year. The entirety of Canadian triple jump is becoming more competitive," he added.
 
"Lauchlan, I think he's a year younger than me but we're the same year of eligibility. We've been jumping neck and neck for the entirety of the last three years."


 
On the track, Dawson Mann and Tristan Allen are ranked first and fourth in the 600. 
 
Over the last year and a half, between two conference championships and last year's nationals, they've combined for a mind-boggling 22 medals, and there's no reason why they can't add to that haul.
 
Both athletes will compete in their individual race, plus the 4x400 and 4x800. This year, Mann took home gold in the 600 at CanWest, with Allen earning silver. The year prior it was the opposite, as the two have showcased incredible consistency.
 
"Tristan this year is more focused on getting to the front at the start. He knows I want to be leading but he wants to lead as well. I still feel comfortable running behind him, because I know he's going to keep it quick. I'm still in a good position if I'm in second to make a move," said Mann.
 
"I have high expectations now. I want to keep getting faster after last year finishing fourth in the 600. I want to get on the podium and run faster. Last year my PB was 1:18.01. I want to get to the next barrier, and break sub 1:18 at least."
 
Other men's athletes to keep an eye on include heptathlete Max Speiser, who's ranked first, along with eighth in the pole vault. All three relay teams will compete, while captain and multiple-time CanWest medalist Graham Hutchison-Campbell is a threat in the long jump.
 
Click here to get tickets and more info on nationals, running from Thursday to Saturday at the James Daly Fieldhouse.