CW BioSteel Players of the Week: Jan. 20

Jan. 20, 2026 - It was a packed weekend of action across the conference, highlighted by a hotly contested curling championship in Edmonton, track and field records falling at the Golden Bear Open, a big upset in women's volleyball, and plenty of intriguing matchups across the ice and court.

The 2026 Canada West Curling Championships in Edmonton saw plenty of great shot-making and two deserving champions. The host Alberta Pandas women continued their dynasty by capturing the program's fourth title in seven years, going a dominant 9-0 across the competition. Meanwhile, the Calgary Dinos men went 9-1 en route to capturing the program's first championship since 1964.

In track and field, records fell at the Golden Bear Open in Edmonton. Lethbridge's Jinaye Shomachuk broke a 15-year Alberta indoor record in the weight throw with a remarkable 21.35m toss, by far the farthest in U SPORTS this season. Calgary's Sienna Macdonald also had an incredible performance in the pentathlon, finishing a mere 13 points shy of the U SPORTS record set in 2007 by her head coach Jessica Zelinka. MacDonald won the 60m hurdles (8.19 seconds), high jump (1.71m) and long jump (6.49m) to shatter her own meet record in the pentathlon.

There were also plenty of great matchups in hockey, volleyball and basketball as the regular season hits the stretch drive. The Brandon Bobcats women's volleyball team authored the upset of the weekend, as the Cats earned their second win of the season by downing No. 5 Trinity Western in a 3-1 thriller.

In women's hockey, the UBC Thunderbirds and Regina Cougars kicked off the conference's Stick Up for Pride Tape campaign, which will continue throughout the month of January. In men's hockey, fans were treated to a pair of weekend matchups featuring the top four ranked teams in U SPORTS. UBC made a statement with a pair of road wins over the Calgary Dinos, while Saskatchewan and Mount Royal battled to a weekend split.

Let's get to our BioSteel Players of the Week.

Women's Curling - Gracelyn Richards (Alberta Pandas)

2026 Canada West Curling Championships- Gold Medal

With stellar shot-making and game-calling, third-year skip Gracelyn Richards played an integral role in helping the Pandas capture their fourth Canada West Championship in seven years.

Richards and the Pandas went a perfect 9-0 across four days to maintain their grasp atop the conference hierarchy. After going 7-0 in round robin play, the Pandas defeated Calgary 5-4 in the semifinal, before beating Regina 6-2 in the championship final.

The Pandas now own a 22-0 record all-time in Canada West Championships held at Saville Centre.

Next up for the Pandas is the 2026 U SPORTS Championship, Feb. 17 to 21 at the Callie Curling Club in Regina.

View the CW Curling Championship Homepage

Men's Curling - Kenan Wipf (Calgary Dinos)

Led by the veteran leadership and skill on the ice, fourth-year skip Kenan Wipf guided the Calgary Dinos to its first Canada West Championship in over 60 years.

Wipf and the Dinos earned the top seed through round robin play after finishing nearly perfect with a 7-1 mark. They followed that up with a 10-1 win in the semifinals and a convincing 7-4 margin over Alberta in the conference championship.

The win is more than noteworthy for Wipf and the Dinos. The Calgary native has been with the program since its return to the UCalgary campus in 2022. He has helped the Dinos bring home two Canada West silver medals in the first three years before claiming gold on Sunday in Edmonton.

Wipf and the Dinos now advance to the nationals for the third time in four years. This year's championships are hosted by Regina Feb. 17-21.

View the CW Curling Championship Homepage

Women's Hockey - Grace Elliott (UBC Thunderbirds)

Jan. 16 vs CGY: 2 G, 7 shots, +4 in 5-1 win

Jan. 17 vs CGY: 1 G, 1 A, 13 shots, +1 in 3-2 OT win

Putting up back-to-back multi-point games for the second time this season, Grace Elliott scored a combined three goals while assisting on Saturday's overtime winner to lead the Thunderbirds to a weekend sweep over the Dinos.

The reigning Canada West and U SPORTS Player of the Year continues to lead the conference with 22 goals and 30 points.

View Women's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Hockey - Brett Mirwald (UBC Thunderbirds)

Jan. 16 at CGY: Win, Shutout, 23 saves in 4-0 win

Jan. 17 at CGY: Win, 21 saves, .913 save % in 5-2 win

Brett Mirwald was nearly unbeatable as the second-year netminder led the Thunderbirds to a weekend sweep over the Dinos in Calgary for the first time in 14 years. Mirwald made 23 saves for his second shutout of the season Friday night, handing the then No. 2 ranked Dinos their first goalless game of the season.

The Saskatoon native followed up with a 21 save performance Saturday after keeping Calgary off the scoreboard for five-plus periods.

Mirwald leads Canada West with both a .920 save percentage and a 1.99 GAA.

View Men's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Volleyball - Carly Thomson (Brandon Bobcats)

Jan. 16 vs TWU: 6 kills; .357 hitting %; 28 asst; two aces; three blocks; 12 digs in 3-1 win

Jan. 17 vs TWU: 5 kills; no errors; .714 hitting %; 25 asst; nine digs in 3-0 loss

Carly Thomson had more than a few tricks up her sleeve in her second-last weekend of regular season home matches. The Bobcats co-captain ran a steady offence with 28 assists in BU's impressive victory over the nationally-ranked Trinity Western Spartans. She added 12 digs, two aces and three blocks while keeping the opposition on its toes. Canada West's top-scoring setter had six kills in Friday's win including three early in the third set. Thomson later made a crucial defensive play in overtime of the fourth set to allow the Bobcats to prevail.

In Saturday's rematch, she attacked .714 with five kills and no errors. She registered 25 assists and nine digs.

Thomson and her teammates will have the HLC grand stage all to themselves this coming Friday and Saturday when BU entertains the Regina Cougars.

View Women's Volleyball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Volleyball - Sammy Ludwig (Manitoba Bisons)

Jan. 16 vs SSK: 34 assists, one ace, three kills, four digs, three assisted blocks, 5.5 total points, .400 hitting % in 3-0 win

Jan. 17 vs SSK: 46 assists, six kills, five digs, three assisted blocks, one solo block, 8.5 points, .455 hitting % in 3-2 win

Senior Bisons setter Sammy Ludwig had one of the most diverse showings of his Bisons career on the weekend, helping Manitoba sweep Saskatchewan in two games while improving to 8-6.

The Herd are undefeated at 4-0 in the second half of the year, thanks in part to Ludwig, who had a season-best six kills and 8.5 points on Saturday, one day after distributing a balanced attack in a 3-0 win. In his last four games he has 161 assists along with 16 kills.

Saturday's victory was a thriller, as Manitoba came from behind 9-5 in the fifth, with Ludwig putting down three of Manitoba's final five points on kills from the right.

View Men's Volleyball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Wrestling - Gabriela Cross (Calgary Dinos)

Golden Bears Open - 56kg Gold Medal

It was a successful return to the mat this weekend for Gabriela Cross. The reigning U SPORTS Outstanding Wrestler of the Year competed for the first time this season and picked up right where she left off, winning the gold medal at the annual Golden Bears Open this Saturday.

Cross started with a pin in just 29 seconds in her first bout, before picking up convincing tech fall wins to advance to the championship match. Going against a professional wrestler from BC, Cross earned a 6-3 decision to top her weight class.

That was just the beginning of a memorable weekend for Cross, as she was named as one of the U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadians Monday afternoon.

Men's Wrestling - Thomas Rousseau (Alberta Golden Bears)

Golden Bears Open - 90kg Gold Medal

Dominating the men's 90kg weight class in his home gym, third-year Golden Bear Thomas Rousseau was named the conference's male wrestler of the week.

Rousseau went 3-0 during Saturday's Golden Bears Open, capturing one of three weight class gold medals for the home team. The Edmonton product opened with a 17-7 win over teammate Aidan Stevenson, followed by a 10-0 win over Tyler Langford in the semifinal, and a win over Taran Goring in the final.

Rousseau also earned a 3-1 win over Calgary Dino Connor Bren during Friday night's Battle of Alberta dual.

The Golden Bears and Pandas will host the 2026 Canada West Championships, February 14th on UofA Campus.

Women's Basketball - Olivia Weekes (UBC Thunderbirds)

Jan. 15 at UNBC: 14 PTS, 10 REB in an 84-49 win

Jan. 17 at TRU: 18 PTS, 17 REB, 2 STL in 72-66 win

With a combined 32 points and a whopping 27 rebounds, Olivia Weekes led the No. 9 ranked T-Birds to a pair of road wins over UNBC and Thompson Rivers, officially clinching a playoff berth.

Weekes' career-high tying 17 rebounds Saturday in Kamloops pushed the fifth-year to an average of 9.4 per-game this season, second in the conference, while her 15.9 points-per-game is good for fifth in the Canada West.

View Women's Basketball: Standings | ​ Schedule | Leaders

Men's Basketball - Alberto Gordo (Winnipeg Wesmen)

Jan. 16 vs REG: 30 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 12-17 (71%) FG, 4-7 3FG in 90-64 win

Jan. 17 vs REG: 16 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 4 STL in 91-67 win

Alberto Gordo recorded his fourth straight double-double and led the Wesmen men's basketball team to a home sweep of the Regina Cougars. On Friday, the guard flirted with a triple-double, scoring a career-high 30 points on a career-best 70.6 per cent shooting. He also recorded his third straight game with 11 rebounds while also chipping in seven assists.

The next day he put up another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while grabbing a season-high four steals. In his past four contests — all Wesmen wins — Gordo has averaged 19 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

View Men's Basketball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Track and Field - Jinaye Shomachuk (Lethbridge Pronghorns)

Golden Bear Open:

Weight Throw: 21.35m- 1st at Meet, 1st in CW, 1st in U SPORTS

Shot put: 12.99m - 2nd at meet, 3rd in CW

Jinaye Shomachuk made history with a record setting weight throw at the Golden Bear Open last weekend. Her 21.35m toss not only set a new meet record, but also set a new Alberta provincial indoor record that hadn't been broken in 15 years, eclipsing the previous standard of 20.28m set by Heather Steacy in 2011.

The toss was the furthest in all of U SPORTS so far this season, a remarkable 2.46m farther than the next closest throw. In fact, the distance is also greater than the current Canada West championship record (19.89m by Lethbridge's Heather Steacy in 2011) and U SPORTS national championship record (19.66m by Lethbridge's Kate Forbes in 2005). ​

In addition to the record breaking weight throw, Shomachuk also placed second in shot put with a distance of 12.99m, putting her third in the Canada West rankings and fifth in the U SPORTS rankings.

Men's Track and Field - Clay Grattidge (Alberta Golden Bears)

Golden Bears Open:

600m: 1:18.61 - Gold Medal & Meet Record

In one of the fastest 600m events in conference history, third year Golden Bear Clay Grattidge put his name in the record books in a gold-medal winning performance at the 53rd Annual Golden Bears Open.

Grattidge, the defending Canada West champion in the 600m, placed first at the Bears home event over the weekend, finishing with a GBO-record time of 1:18.61, breaking the previous record of 1:18.94. Coming in second was Huskie Niklos Irwin, whose time of 1:18.89 also would've broken the previous record in what was an incredibly fast and tight 600m.

Grattidge now ranks second in Canada in the event this season.

About Players of the Week:

The Canada West Players of the Week, Presented by BioSteel is a weekly celebration of athletic achievements across the conference. Each week, deserving student-athletes are nominated by SIDs from each member institution. Canada West office staff review nominations and select the recipients.

About BioSteel:

BioSteel is a leading sports hydration and nutrition brand, delivering clean, high-performance solutions trusted by professional athletes, top universities, and teams across North America and Europe, including major organizations like the NHL, MLB, NFL, MLS, NBA, and their affiliates. Alongside hydration, BioSteel offers premium protein and sports nutrition products, catering to athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and those striving for a healthier lifestyle. Committed to excellence, BioSteel equips top athletes and active individuals with the essential tools to reach peak performance and sustain wellness every day.

About Canada West:

As the leading university athletic conference in the country, Canada West is home to student-athletes that excel in the classroom and their communities. The conference is comprised of 17 member institutions spanning from Victoria to Winnipeg, with over 3,200 student-athletes competing across 14 sports. Canada West’s mission is to train leaders and build champions by providing leadership in the delivery, regulation, and promotion of university level high performance sports programs throughout western Canada.