A great athlete always wants more and that's where Jonah Branning is at coming out of his first season with the Regina Cougars track team.

The Moose Jaw product won three medals at the Canada West Championship and competed at the U Sports National Championship, but Branning is coming out of the year hungry for more.

"I talked to my coach and we feel that I still have a lot of things to work on, so that is a good thing coming out of the season because if I didn't have a lot of things to work on than I would be pretty disappointed, but it's a process," said Branning.

"I learned a lot and still performed pretty well."

Branning was a multi-sport athlete in high school, but he's turned his focus to track at the university level. He said he set high expectations for himself coming into this season and it took looking at the bigger picture for him to be pleased with what he accomplished. 

Moose Jaw's Jonah Branning won three bronze medals at the 2019 Canada West Track and Field Championship in Edmonton. (Photo: Arthur Images)

"When it comes to track, I found that you have to train mentally as much as you do physically because if you're not confident going into a race than it's hard to actually be there and compete to the level that you think you can compete," said Branning. "Now being at a higher level of track than I'm used to, I have to learn that I belong there and can be as good as anyone there."

Branning definitely showed that he belongs as he captured three bronze medals at the Canada West Championship in Edmonton in late February.

He finished third in the men's 300-metre with a time of 35.06 in the final. Fellow Cougar and Moose Javian Hunter Bosch placed 10th in the prelims to just miss a spot in the final.

Branning and Bosch would team up together for another bronze medal in the 4x400m, finishing in a time of 3:21.21.

The third bronze medal for Branning came in the 4x200m where the Cougars posted a time of 1:29.41.

Branning also came in 19th in the 60m dash with a time of 7.17 seconds, which was just ahead of Huskies sprinter Ryan Botterill, who finished in 7.20.

At the U Sports National Championship in Winnipeg earlier this month, Branning just missed the podium in all three of his events, placing sixth in the 4x200m, seventh in the 4x400 and fourth in his heat in the 300m.

"It was a great experience, it was really an eye-opener because you really see what it takes to be a top-level athlete," said Branning. "It takes a lot more than talent, it takes having talent and working hard and it doesn't just happen overnight or one season."

Branning added that he enjoyed being in the competitive environment of the two championship meets and learning from the other athletes.

"I took a lot of steps in the right direction," said Branning. "If the season was a couple of weeks longer, I could have hit a couple of big personal bests. Towards the end of the season is when I really started learning a lot and that's why I'm excited for outdoor, it feels like track is just starting for me."