U Sports hands out major awards before national championships

The track and field season is about to cross the finish line with the national championships in Saskatoon, but a few medals had to be handed out first.

The 2023 U Sports track and field winners were able to collect some hardware before the competition even began.

First to be presented were the male and female student-athlete community service awards, given to Tyra Boug of the University of Guelph and Huskie Athletics’ Jake Neufeld.

“It’s a total honour to receive the award, and I can’t thank everyone around me enough. I have the best social network of people who’ve been helping me through the years,” Neufeld said.

The third-year combined-events athlete works as a coach with the local track and field club, but also finds the time to give back to the community.

“I also do a lot of respite work. My mother is actually a teacher in the special ed and the functional integrated program, so I’ve done a lot of work with individuals with cognitive disabilities, and you learn so much from them,” Neufeld added.

It’s not an easy task for Neufeld to balance everything on his schedule, which includes training, competing, school and volunteering.

“Definitely have to make some sacrifices,” he said. “You can’t be spending your time doing everything. So, sometimes it’s tough that (it) ends up affecting time with family and friends.”

Neufeld gave a lot of credit to his parents, saying he’s grateful for the relationship they have and is fortunate to be in the position he’s in now.

The male and female rookie-of-the-year awards went to athletes out of Alberta and Quebec, with Tegra Jan-King of the University of Alberta taking the men’s honours and Frederique Chiasson from Laval University bringing home the women’s award.

The major awards were dominated by the eastern conferences.

Jessy Lacourse of Laval earned the female track athlete-of-the-year award, with Matthew Beaudet of McGill University taking the award on the men’s side.

Mark Bujnowski from Guelph was named male field athlete of the year, while Canada West was able to take home one major award as the University of Manitoba’s Madison Lawrence was named female field athlete of the year.

Huskies fifth-year sprinter Kendra Farmer, who was nominated for two awards, said Neufeld’s win just goes to show how close this team is.

“It’s really awesome to see him get recognized for that. (It) just kind of reassures the work you’ve been putting in. And for me as well, getting those nominations is really special to know that all of the work I’ve been putting in over the years is getting recognition,” Farmer said.

The Huskies are looking to win the team’s first track and field national championship since 2004-05. The championships take place at the Saskatoon Field House from Thursday to Saturday.