UNBers Headed To FISU Summer Games
(FREDERICTON, NB) Five members of the UNB REDS track & field and cross country teams have been named to the team that will represent Canada at the 2025 FISU World Summer University Games, in Germany in July.
Shelby MacIsaac (Riverview, NB), Georgia Bernhard (Guelph, ON), William Boyle (Winnipeg, MB), Ivy Bialowas (Ottawa, ON), and Sierra Rodrigues (Botlon, ON) will take part in the event. It runs July 16-27 in the Rhine-Ruhr region of northwestern Germany.
“Having these athletes selected to the FISU team means a lot to our program,” said Chris Belof, head coach of the REDS cross country and track & field teams. “These selections speak to both the caliber of athletes on our rosters and the balanced approach that our program takes with our competition schedules.”
Bernard will participate in the women’s 3000-metre steeplechase, while MacIsaac will race in the women’s 400-metre hurdles, and Boyle will run in the men’s 5000-metres.
Bialowas and Rodrigues will serve as alternates for the women’s 5000-metres.
Boyle is coming off third place finishes at the 2024 Atlantic University Sport men’s cross country championship and a bronze medal finish in the men’s 3000-metres at the AUS Track & Field Championships.
“Being named to Team Canada means the world to me,” said Boyle. “This has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember and to see the culmination of the hard work that our UNB teams and I have put in over the last five years is something that is really special to me.”
“It’s a huge honour to represent both Canada and UNB,” said Bernhard, who ran third in the women’s 3000-metres at the AUS Track & Field Championships and was 17th in the AUS women’s cross country championship. “I’m grateful and excited for this opportunity. It speaks to all the hard work everyone puts in day after day.”
MacIsaac is coming off an impressive 18-month period in which she made the final at the Canadian Olympic trials and hit the U SPORTS auto-qualification standard in the women’s 600-metres during the indoor season.
Coach Belof says she’s logged steady progression in her 400-metre hurdle times and will also contribute to Canada’s 4-by-400-metre relay effort.
“I’m still fairly new to the 400-metre hurdles, having only raced it a handful of times,” said MacIsaac. “I’m hoping to make steady improvements leading into the championship so I can advance as far through the rounds as possible.”
“Having a group of REDS compete on the world stage will bring great recognition to our program,” added MacIsaac. “The talent within the team has grown tremendously and this opportunity is a true testament to that progress.”
For Bernhard, Boyle, and MacIsaac, these are their first national team selections and the group of five are the only REDS in program history to earn national senior team selections while attending UNB.
Rodrigues and Bialowas were previously part of Canadian teams at U20 world cross country championships.
“My main goal is to be competitive,” said Boyle. “Historically, the 5000-metres is tactical at events like this, so I plan to remain competitive throughout the race.”
“I’m hoping to set myself up to be as competitive as possible,” said Bernhard. “My goal is to set a personal best and enjoy the process.”
“Will has lowered his 5000-metre bests year after year and continues to climb in the national rankings,” said Coach Belof of Boyle. “This selection speaks to his hard work and dedication to getting better each day.”
“Geogia is coming off a breakout track season where she was a relay and individual medallist at the AUS Championships,” added Belof. “We anticipate her progression will continue in her outdoor campaign.”
Belof says these selections also speak to the work the REDS coaching staff is doing and their raising of the bar for athletics in New Brunswick.
“It shows us what we’re capable of,” said Bernhard. “And that we belong in competition against the best.”
“I think the experience I gain from the FISU Games will benefit not only me, but my teammates throughout the next season,” said Boyle. “Competing at the international level will give me a new level of experience that I can use. I hope this can show my teammates that through consistent hard work and discipline, they too can be named to national teams.”
STORY BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
FILE PHOTOS: AUS and U SPORTS