Half a year ago, veteran Bisons sprinter Tyrell Davis was staring down an uncertain future. During trials for the Canada Summer Games, he tore two different muscles in his hamstring, putting him on the sidelines for roughly two months. Having already battled through taxing injuries in the past, there was a time where he considered calling it quits entirely.  
 
But Davis persevered. And now he's a national champion, crossing the line in 6.59 seconds in the 60m final on day one of U SPORTS Track and Field Nationals on campus on Thursday.
 
"It was unreal. Definitely something I'll never forget," he said.
 
"As soon as I crossed that line I knew I had it. It felt good. When I crossed that line, I turned around and saw a whole bunch of familiar faces that I see every day in training and people that have supported me every day through the setbacks and injuries."
 
With the support of coach Gee-ef Nkwonta, the Bisons athletic therapy team, strength and conditioning coach Adam Stevenson and his teammates, Davis focused on gratitude, instead of regret during his time away from the track.
 
"I got to a point where I was like, I don't know if I really want to do this sport anymore. Any time I'd start making progress, I'd take one step forward and two steps back. It took a lot of trust in my coach Gee. I talked to Gee about how hard it was mentally. We worked on re-framing situations in a way," Davis said about his recovery and mindset.
 
"Now that I reflect back on it, I think of it as one of the best things that could have possibly happened, because when I got back to running, it made me feel more grateful to get back to running and being healthy, which a lot of people take for granted. It was a sense of being free."
 
By January, Davis was back travelling with the Herd, opening his indoor season on January 9th at the Sanderson Classic. A week later in Alberta, he broke the school record in the 60m with a time of 6.60, and a month after that he secured gold in the 60 and ran the lead led for the 4x200 relay team that broke the school record in a time of 1:26.78.
 
Davis' season culminated with his first national gold in the 60m (on home soil), in a school record time of 6.59 seconds. Along the way, he reached the world indoor standard, in front of countless friends and family.
 
Davis put all the pieces together, leading from start to finish thanks to an elite start, and strong finish.
 
"I had breaking the school record on my mind. I didn't quite know how fast it was going to be. The goal was to run 6.5. The biggest thing was I haven't been pushing off my back foot, I learned from Gee. I've basically been pushing off my front foot. That was a big thing we fixed, and sweeping my arms right away. One of my arms likes to stay behind a little bit when I'm leaving the blocks. Those were the the two main things [in bring everything together]."
 
Elsewhere, No. 1 nationally ranked Alejandro Civetta finished with the fastest time in the 600m prelims, at 1:18.39, qualifying for the final on Saturday at 1:30 pm. The women's and men's 4x200 relay teams also qualified for Saturday's finals, with times of 1:40.06 and 1:26.91. Davis will run the lead leg for the 4x200 team, aiming for a double gold finish to cap off a stellar year.
 
Click here for full day one results. The action continues all day tomorrow, beginning at 1:30 pm. Click here for tickets.