WINNIPEG – Trinity Western's Nicolas Martin Huerta (Santiago, Chile) won the U SPORTS gold medal in pole vault after clearing 4.90m to capture top spot at the national championships Saturday afternoon at the James Daly Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Manitoba. 
 
Maritn Huerta, who was the Canada West Rookie of the Year after capturing gold at the conference championships as well, topped the field to join his brother, Jaime Eduardo Martin Huerta, as a U SPORTS gold medallist. Jaime Eduardo captured U SPORTS gold in pole vault in 2022 and bronze in 2023. 
 
Nicolas becomes the third Spartan male athlete overall to win a U SPORTS gold medal, following Nathan George's gold in the 300m in 2016 and Jaime Eduardo's podium-topping performance in 2022. 
 
Jamie Eduardo finished Saturday's event in a four-way tie for fourth place after clearing 4.55m.
 
The Spartans finished the 2024 U SPORTS Championships with three medals, including Kenny Blackman Jr. (Surrey, B.C.) winning bronze in the 60m and Brandon Gremaud (Kamloops, B.C.) taking bronze in the heptathlon.
 
With 30.5 points, the Spartans finished eighth overall in the men's team standings.

The three U SPORTS medals equals TWU's men's team's biggest medal haul at the national championships. TWU's men's team also earned three U SPORTS medals in 2015, when Nathan George (300m) and Calum Innes (60m Hurdles) each earned silver medals and Declan White (3000m) took bronze.
 
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Shane Wiebe, TWU Head Coach

"It was another very satisfying day today and coupled with the Martin brothers' performances, our men's team broke into the top eight in the country. This whole weekend I felt the entire team really pull together, and even when a performance wasn't enough to earn a medal, there was a lot of maturity and grace shown. It was a marvelous spectacle of the true Spartan spirit."

TWU SPARTANS MEDALS (3)
MEN (3)
Gold: Nicolas Martin Huerta (Pole Vault)
Bronze: Kenny Blackman Jr. (60m), Brandon Gremaud (Heptathlon)
 
TWU RESULTS
MEN
60m 
Preliminaries 
4th – 6.83Q
Final
3rd – 6.76 
 
Pole Vault
1st – Nicolas Martin Huerta – 4.90m 
4th (tied) – Jaime Eduardo Martin Huerta – 4.55m 
 
Long Jump
4th – Oke Okumo – 7.08m 
 
Heptathlon 
3rd – Brandon Gremaud – 4926 points
 
60m 
1st – Brandon Gremaud – 7.17 
Long Jump
8th – Brandon Gremaud – 6.42m 
Shot Put 
3rd – Brandon Gremaud – 12.62m 
High Jump
2nd – Brandon Gremaud – 1.86m 
60m Hurdles 
2nd – Brandon Gremaud – 8.72 
Pole Vault
6th – Brandon Gremaud – 4.00m 
1000m 
3rd – Brandon Gremaud – 2:59.00
 
WOMEN
3000m
11th – Constance Nankivell – 10:02.94
 
Long Jump
5th – Sheleena Wiley – J5.83m
 
Pentathlon 
4th – Nikita Bradshaw 
 
60m Hurdles
8th – Nikita Bradshaw – 9.12 
High Jump 
6th – Nikita Bradshaw – 1.58m 
Shot Put 
3rd – Nikita Bradshaw – 11.57m 
Long Jump
2nd – Nikita Bradshaw – 5.67m 
800m 
10th – Nikita Bradshaw – 2:42.69 
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby and disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
 
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