Top middle distance prospects Alejandro Civetta, Lena Klassen sign with Bisons track and field

The Bisons track and field & cross country program added two huge names today, announcing the commitment of middle distance specialists Alejandro Civetta and Lena Klassen. The duo are top runners in their disciplines in the province, providing immediate depth to the male and female rosters.

Civetta is a MHSAA gold medalist in the 800 and 1500 metre, and a silver medalist in the 400. He also won a cross country championship in 2022. His personal best times are 50.24 seconds in the 400, 1:21.62 in the 600, 1:53.38 in the 800 and 4:04.59 in the 1500. In the classroom, Civetta earned honours with distinction all four years of high school along with the Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship. 

Lena is the daughter of legendary track and field alum Henry, who still holds the program record in the 1500, with a time of 3:47.55. He was part of rosters from 1988-1996 that were inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame last year, winning conference titles in seven of nine years. 

Lena, who attends Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, holds school records in the 1500 and 3000 (2021-22) while averaging 97 percent in school. She earned direct entry into UM's Faculty of Science for the fall. 

"We are extremely pleased that two of the top middle distance runners in the province, Lena Klassen and Alejandro Civetta, have committed to the Bison program. The two of them are very experienced competitors and will make immediate impacts on our Track & Field teams and will also be part of the Cross Country program," said head coach Claude Berube.

"They both have the qualities required to be able to compete at the Canada West level not only in their individual competitions, but will certainly play important roles with our relay teams.  They will be important parts of our teams moving forward and will help to continue the rise of our programs at both the conference and USports levels."