WINNIPEG -- Bisons track and field standouts
Lara Denbow,
Tyrell Davis,
Daxx Turner and
Adebare Adegbosin all made history at nationals on Saturday at home, capping off an incredible weekend for the program.
Denbow became the first Bisons female and only the third student-athlete in school history to win gold in an individual event at nationals in three consecutive seasons. The veteran high jumper cleared 1.73m on her first attempt, sharing first with Chloe Zaraska of Brock, who did the same.
Denbow -- who tied the school record and set a personal best with a jump of 1.80m a month prior at home -- secured her first of three golds at home two years ago, doing the same last season in Windsor. In a special moment, she was able to compete alongside fellow Neepawa native and long-time friend Turner, whose final triple jump competition as a Bison occurred right beside her at the same.
"I'm just so happy to have done it with Daxx, and to have done it period, with all of our family and friends here," smiled Denbow.
"Daxx and I have been training partners for years, and this was his last year, so it's extra special. I've had a very good season. I was able to tied the program record at 1.80, and I'm just so happy to be here, happy, healthy, training and competing."
Speaking of Turner, the decorated triple jumper went out with a bang on Saturday, winning his second gold at nationals in the event, after doing so two years ago on home soil along with Denbow in the high jump.
Turner jumped 15.89m on his first attempt, and no one was able to catch him, but he wasn't done, breaking his own school record on his final jump by going 16.17m. That distance broke a 30-year provincial senior indoor record and is No. 5 all-time indoors in Canadian history.
Not far behind Turner was teammate
Adebare Adegbosin, whose personal best jump of 15.68m on his final attempt vaulted him from third to second. It was the first time in school history that the program has ever had a 1-2 finish in the triple jump at nationals.
"I've been triple jumping since I was ten, and I've been involved in track and field in Manitoba for 14 odd years. It's so cool, knowing not only where triple jump in the province, but in the country has been, which was good but not quite at the level you would hope it to be, it's really cool to see the development of it, especially in such a small province like Manitoba," said Turner, who holds the Manitoba indoor and outdoor records in triple jump at the U16, 18 and senior levels.
"I've said this before, but who would want to be a triple jumper? The fact that we have two of the best guys in the country here training together, it's so huge. It's so fulfilling."
"It just speaks to our program honestly," added Adegbosin, whose leap of 15.68m was just shy of Turner's Canada West meet record of 15.70m, set last month.
"From the coaches Mingwu [Wu], to Alanna [Boudreau], to Adam [Stevenson] in the weight room, everyone is working together to get the job done."
Meanwhile on the track, sprinter
Tyrell Davis became the first Bison to ever win gold in both the 60m and 4x200 relay at nationals.
He secured first in the 60m on day one, shattering his own school record in a time of 6.59 seconds (hitting the world indoor standard), and he ran the lead leg on day three of the relay final, helping the Herd to an early lead that they never gave up, crossing the line in 1:26.42.
That time broke the school record set by Davis and teammates
Noah Curtis,
Roy Tambal Musa and
Gavin Moore a month prior at the Canada West Championships. It was also the first time in 31 years that Manitoba won the 4x200 relay at nationals. In a full circle moment, Davis' dad Anthony was on the previous gold medal team from 1995.
"Honestly, it felt really good. This is a brand new relay team, we've only been working together for a year and we already broke the school record," said Davis.
"I'm excited for what's coming next. A lot of these guys are my really close friends now. We're only growing closer. As the team chemistry increases, our times are just going to drop."
Overall over three days of competition at nationals, Manitoba's women and men combined for eight top four finishes, with the men finishing just a point shy of bronze in the team standings, with 55.
Other notable results that contributed to the men's points total included a bronze medal finish in the 4x400 relay from
Noah Neves,
Alejandro Civetta,
Keenan Allen and Tambal Musa, while Civetta also secured bronze in the 600m.
Additionally,
Matthew Chow finished ninth in the country in the triple jump, the best result of any true freshman in the event in Canada, while Curtis also secured points in the 300m, qualifying for the final in his first trip to nationals.
On the women's side,
Nevaeh Marynowski notably earned points in both the long and triple jump, including a personal best of 1.70m in the high jump, while the women's 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams combined for five points. Click
here for complete results.