Stafford, Cox named OUA Athletes of the Week
BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending November 16th, 2015.
BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending November 16th, 2015.
FEMALE: Gabriela Stafford (Toronto, Ont.) – 3rd yr. – Toronto Varsity Blues – Cross Country
Third year University of Toronto cross country runner Gabriela Stafford is this week’s OUA Athlete of the Week, after a phenomenal finish at the 2015 CIS Cross Country Championship this past weekend at the University of Guelph.
Stafford finished in second place individually with a time of 20:09.7, finishing the six kilometre race just behind Trinity Western’s Sarah Inglis, who completed the race in 19 minutes and 49.9 seconds. The third-year psychology major was named a CIS first team All-Canadian for her efforts.
The Toronto native also took home the OUA individual gold medal prior to nationals, as well as the silver medal in the 1500m at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea this past summer.
Stafford and the Blues will now set their sights on defending their OUA track and field championship title later this season.
MALE: Michael Cox (Calgary, Alta.) – 4th yr – York Lions – Men's Soccer
York striker Michael Cox is the OUA Athlete of the Week after a phenomenal CIS championship performance, helping the Lions successfully defend their national title. Cox was awarded last week’s OUA and CIS athlete of the week honours as well after a stellar gold-medal winning performance at the OUA championship.
Cox started off his CIS tournament run with a stunning hat trick against Cape Breton, knocking off the Capers 4-1 en route to the semifinals. There the Lions would beat the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 5-4 in penalty kicks, where Cox would add another goal in the shootout.
The fourth-year finance & business economics major, would again put a point on the board for York in the finals against University of New Brunswick, netting his fourth goal of the tournament in a 2-0 win over the Varsity Reds.
The Calgary, Alta. native led the CIS Championship in points (8), collecting twice as many as second best player, on his way to being named the tournament MVP and a tournament all-star.
The 6’2’’, 190 lbs striker also led the CIS in goals during the regular season, putting 16 of his shots in the back of the net, which paved the way to the Lion’s third-straight OUA championship and an OUA first-team all-star nomination for Cox.
