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For Bisons track and field and cross-country standouts Lena Klassen, Noah Fillion, Hayes McMillan and Justin and Carson Kroeker, success runs in the family. Lena’s dad Henry, Noah’s dad Darryl (current assistant coach) and mom Melanie, Hayes’ dad Jeff and the Kroeker brothers’ mom Lisa and dad Derek are all alums of the program.
Henry, Darryl, Jeff and Derek are members of the Canada West Hall of Fame, earning the call to the hall as part of the Bisons’ 1988-96 track and field dynasty which combined for seven Canada West and CIAU titles in nine years. Henry still holds the school record in the 1500-metre, at 3.47.35 in 1990, while Darryl has the fastest time in program history in the 800 (1.49.30, set in 1995) and the 1000 (2.23.03, set in 1996).
“I think with that that group of guys, Darryl, Derek Kroeker, Jeff McMillan, and Henry with [3000-metre national champ] Chris Weber and [1500-metre national champ] Chad Johnson and guys like that prior, they all trained with each other, they all pushed each other. If one guy was down that day, it was like a shark in the water with blood. They would try to hurt him even more. But if they were having a really good day, same thing, they were trying to hurt the other guys and show them. It didn’t matter who it was,” recalled head coach Claude Berube.
“[Two-time Canada West Hall of Famer] Byron Goodwin trained with that group too, and if Byron was having an off day, they all took their chances to take their shots. They pushed each other all the time. They were good friends. Some of them lived together. Darryl and Derek lived in the same house together. They were together all the time.”
From L: Tom Bima, Byron Goodwin, Simon Trepel and Darryl Fillion after setting the Bisons school record in the 4×800
The current generation of Bisons have established their own legacies, continuing the standard of excellence that was set before them.
Lena owns the school record for fastest 8k time at nationals (29:19, set this past year), and she was also the U SPORTS and Bisons Rookie of the Year in 2023-24.
Noah and Hayes have both represented Manitoba at Canada West and U SPORTS Championship events in cross country and track, while Carson was a member of the Canada West All-Rookie team in cross country in 2023.
Justin, the longest-serving member of the group, holds the men’s cross-country team record for fastest 8k time in a national championship race (24:18). On the track, he’s been a key part of Manitoba’s four-peat as Canada West champions, a school record.
“Putting on the Bison, it’s a much deeper sense of community. With both of my parents having ran for the Bisons and myself running for the Bisons, even outside of running here, if I’m wearing anything Bisons related, people in the community kind of understand,” said Justin.
“I’ve met people outside of the university who say hey, you’re a Bison, I knew some cross guys, and they’ll name some names, and I’ll know those names, either because my parents told me, or Darryl Fillion has told me about them. I feel this wider sense of community about the previous generation of Bisons athletes who came before me. That feels really special.”
Justin Kroeker at the 2024 Canada West Cross Country Championships
A connection through running
It’s been an organic journey to the top for the current era of Bisons, none of whom were pushed into running by their parents.
“It’s a huge impact. They’ve carried on the importance of sport, and other things in their kid’s lives, and none of them were forced into it,” noted Berube.
“Once they wanted to do it, they were encouraged to do it, but I know Justin played soccer, Noah was a swimmer. Lena didn’t really get into running until she was late in high school. They were encouraged, but not pushed to do it. Once they got there, then they had the support system in place.”
For Lena, running has been a way to “get to know” her dad a little bit more. A humble person, Henry didn’t bring up his past success often, despite countless accolades.
“My dad didn’t really talk about it a lot growing up. It’s a way for me to know a bit more about that generation,” Lena added.
“To go through my own story in my own way, but also hear about the stories from before me, has been pretty cool, especially when other people go oh, I knew your dad. They’ll share a story I’ve never heard of.”
Noah – a Canada West silver medalist on Manitoba’s 4×800 relay team – echoes Lena’s comments. He knew his dad was a runner, because “there’s framed pictures of him in the house with different medals and whatnot,” but it wasn’t until he transitioned from swimming to track, that he fully realized his dad’s impact in the sport.
“I eventually transitioned over [to track], and started to realize oh wait, this guy that’s got all these weird photos in his basement of him with medals is actually pretty fast,” chuckled Noah.
“Between both my mom and dad having ran with the Bisons, there’s always been sport-related advice since I was little. We’ll sometimes have five to ten minute talks after races and stuff like that.”
Hayes is the most recent addition to the roster, making an immediate mark as a Canada West All-Rookie member in cross country. A state champion for Wayzata in Minnesota prior to committing to Manitoba, his top event was the 800, where he finished second as a senior.
“My dad was primarily a 1500-metre athlete whereas I’m more of an 800-metre athlete, but it’s definitely cool to be in my dad’s shoes now, running the same races that he did with the same head coach,” said Hayes.
“It’s sweet to be able to follow in his footsteps.”
Jeff McMillan competing in the 4×800 at nationals in Windsor
Being a second generation athlete is “an honour” for the Kroekers. Much like their parents before them, they’ve established an incredible friendship with their teammates and training partners.
“We’ve been doing off day runs when we can get a group together. At least once a week I think we have a group that gets together for runs outside the workouts,” said Carson.
“When you have a bad day, switching out in the workouts and someone else being able to rotate through and take your spot, it’s absolutely great. Having a big crew is lots of fun.”
That connection extends beyond the track. Some 30 years later, the track house which some of the parents lived in together, is still alive and strong. The Kroekers, and Hayes currently live in a place together, along with fellow cross country standout Jonah Leppelmann.
“The track house representatives right now, reflect the track house from 1995, 1996 pretty closely, which is pretty funny. We just need a Fillion, and we’d have a repeat of the previous track house,” laughed Justin.
“It’s funny when we hear the stories from our parents about what happened in the track house. Our track house is cleaner than theirs. My mom was dating my dad at that point, and she said their track house was dirty, like bad. She had times where she was like yeah, I don’t know if I want to sleep here. That was pretty funny. We joke about that. At least we keep our track house cleaner.”
