Gryphons, Mustangs add to provincial titles with additional track and field honours
Burlington, Ont. – Track and field athletes from across the province put together a season of standout performances, taking their mark and making their mark in a variety of ways throughout the 2024-25 year. And after claiming OUA banners at the Track & Field Championships, a collection of Guelph Gryphons and Western Mustangs saw even more accolades added to their impressive campaigns.
Favour Okpali, Western Mustangs – Women’s Performer of the Year (Track)
Okpali leads the pack on the track. She is the top ranked U SPORTS athlete in the 600m and third-ranked in the 300m.
The fifth-year engineering student leads the country in the 600m by over one second (converted time) and is undefeated in U SPORTS competition in the 600m. She also broke her own OUA 600m record, lowering it from 1:29.19 to an impressive 1:27.35 just .20 off the Canadian Record.
At the OUA Championships, Okpali claimed top spot in the 600m, second in the 300m, and second in the women’s 4x400m relay with a 53.4 split. Along with the OUA track performer of the year nod, Okpali was named the OUA athlete of the meet for her dominant performance on the banner season stage.
Max Davies, Guelph Gryphons – Men’s Performer of the Year (Track)
Davies turned in another impressive year, capped off on the OUA front with another three medals at this year’s provincial finale.
He won gold in the 1000m and 4x800m relay and bronze in the 1500m. The fourth-year student from Toronto, Ont. broke the Gryphons’ school record in the 1500m race this season. His performance throughout the year and at the championships secured him the OUA track performer of the year honour.
Davies has raced his way to several impressive ranks in the OUA and across the country, which includes the No. 1 OUA and U SPORTS rank in both the 1000m and 1500m, as well as the No. 3 OUA rank in the 3000m.
His accolades to date build on the terrific season Davies had last year, when he was named the 2024 OUA Athlete of the Year and the OUA and U SPORTS track athlete of the year. He also picked up awards for cross-country, being named the 2024 OUA first team cross country all-star and a 2024 U SPORTS second team cross country all-Canadian.
Rebecca Parker, Guelph Gryphons – Women’s Performer of the Year (Field)
Parker had a phenomenal showing at the OUA Track & Field Championships, winning gold in the women's pentathlon and bronze in the women's long jump. She also broke her own pentathlon school record and broke the OUA record in the pentathlon overall score, including the pentathlon 60m hurdles and the pentathlon long jump.
The OUA Championships were the culmination of a season of hard work, resulting in her being named the top OUA field performer. She is the top-ranked OUA athlete in the pentathlon (second in all of U SPORTS), while also boasting provincial ranks of No. 1 in the high jump, No. 4 in the long jump, and No. 3 in the 60m hurdles.
The fourth-year criminal justice and public policy student adds to her awards with this latest recognition, as she was a U SPORTS silver medalist in the pentathlon last year and a two-time OUA pentathlon medalist, including winning gold last year as well.
Kenneth West, Western Mustangs – Men’s Performer of the Year (Field)
The top-ranked athlete in the country in long jump and triple jump, West had an outstanding OUA Championships performance to add to an already impressive year for the Mustangs.
The fourth-year science student claimed gold with a leap of 7.99m to break the OUA record of 7.71m set in 2017. This is the third longest indoor jump in Canadian history and 25th in the world this year. With his performance, West earned the Hec Philipps Trophy as the men’s performer of the meet.
Earlier in the season at the Penn State National Open, West established the furthest long jump in U SPORTS history with a jump of 7.90m. This broke the meet record as well as Western’s 12-year-old school record.
At the Windsor Team Challenge, he secured a mark of 15.89m in the triple jump, breaking the meet record and moving himself to the top of the U SPORTS rankings in the event. This also broke the 18-year-old meet record by 1.21m, to add to his already impressive season and help him claim the top OUA field performer nod.
Dianna Proctor, Guelph Gryphons – Women’s Rookie of the Year
Proctor, in her OUA Track and Field Championships debut, took over the competition by winning three gold medals. The music student from Edmonton, A.B. earned top spot in the women's 300m, 4x200m relay and was a key member of the 4x400m relay team.
Her commanding performance at the provincial finale and results throughout the season that sees her as the top-ranked U SPORTS performer in the 300m and No. 7 nationally (No. 4 in the OUA) in the 60m, all but assured her triumph as the OUA rookie of the year.
Proctor’s rookie of the year win is the sixth time that the Guelph Gryphons have won this award.
Keon Rude, Guelph Gryphons – Men’s Rookie of the Year
In his first OUA Championships with the Gryphons, Rude took home some serious hardware. The Calgary, Ont. product won silver in the men's 60m hurdles and gold as part of the men's 4x200m relay team.
Rude’s impressive foray onto the varsity track this season saw him rise up to No. 3 in the U SPORTS 60m hurdles ranks (2nd in the OUA) and No. 7 nationally in the 60m.
The rookie’s performance at the OUA championships was the culmination of a strong season on the track and ultimately made him a standout selection for the OUA Rookie of the Year award.
Celia Markovinovic, Waterloo Warriors – Women’s Community Service Award
Markovinovic has made a significant contribution to the Waterloo Warriors community and is impressive in more than just the competition.
Taking home the OUA Community Service Award once again, the fourth-year jumper adds to her already impressive accolades, having won the OUA and U SPORTS Community Service award last year as well. She also was awarded the 2024 Judy McCrae Warrior Impact Award and the 2024 Marsden Trophy winner for Warrior female athlete of the year.
At the OUA Championships, Markovinovic won gold in the high jump and silver in the long jump. She broke the meet record in the 200m at the Bob Vigars season opening meet and surpassed a 40-year-old varsity record in long jump this season with a mark of 6.02m at the York open on her first attempt. The Puslinch, Ont. product is the first Warrior to break the six-metre barrier.
Beyond the track, the four-time academic all-Canadian boasted a 94.5% average in the classroom this past fall. She is also the co-founder of Warrior Women of Waterloo (WWoW), a women in sport committee created through the department of athletics and recreation at the university. It is in its inaugural year working to create opportunities for women in sport to connect and drive change at the institutional level. She is also a student representative on the OUA Women in Sport Committee and continues her community involvement by being a Team Up volunteer speaker.
Aaron Thompson, Western Mustangs – Men’s Community Service Award
Thompson, who was impressive on the track for the Western Mustangs, was also dedicated to his community beyond it, earning him the OUA Community Service Award.
From Waterloo, Ont. Thompson is completing medical school at Western, focusing his research on cardiorespiratory physiology and exercise physiology. He has contributed greatly to the Mustangs community, including taking on the role of Mustangs Mental Wellness Lead, which involves leading training sessions and overseeing a team of approximately 42 student-athletes for every varsity team at Western.
Building on his own experience in applying to medical school, the Waterloo, Ont. product mentors other students through the application process. He works with the Surgically Oriented Anatomical Prosectors Senior Executive providing students with the opportunity to witness surgical procedures done on cadavers and learning anatomy from a surgically-oriented point of view.
He coaches track and field junior athletes aged seven to 11 with London Western Track and Field Club, promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors in kids and hoping to inspire the next generation of track athletes as was done for him.
Rounding out his impressive resume, Thompson continues to impress on the track. He is currently ranked 1st in the OUA in the 300m, 1st in the 4x200m, 1st in the 4x400m, 3rd in the 60m, and 5th in the 600m. Thompson, who is the sprint team captain for Western and won the Mustangs’ track and field athlete of the year award in 2024, currently holds his school record holder in the 60m (6.72 seconds).
Tina Sharman, Windsor Lancers – Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year
Sharman coached the Lancers to four medals during the OUA Championships in Windsor.
Her athlete A.J. Stanat captured gold in the men's weight throw and men's shot put, while Jordana Badley-Castillo broke an OUA record in the women's weight throw to claim gold. Jadyn Luna brought home bronze in the women's shot put and finished first in the pentathlon shot put.
Under Sharman’s guidance, Stanat broke the Lancer shot put record twice this season, while Zach Clarke also made his way into the Lancer all-time top-10. On the women's side, Badley-Castello also set a new Windsor best in the women's weight throw at the Lancer team challenge.
Sharman’s impressive coaching resume led her to take home this year’s OUA Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Paul Galas, Guelph Gryphons – Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year
In his sixth season with the Gryphons, Galas primarily works with the horizontal jumps, high jump, combined events, and assists in the pole vault. Galas is honoured this year for his coaching expertise as the OUA assistant coach of the year.
Galas saw 20 athletes qualify for the national championship, including seven in the OUA top three and 13 athletes ranked in the OUA’s top eight. He also coached seven athletes to podium finishes at the OUA Championships in Windsor.
Under Galas’ guidance, Guelph’s Rebecca Parker secured the gold medal at the OUA Championships in the pentathlon and a bronze medal in the long jump. She also broke her own pentathlon school record and the OUA mark for the overall score in the pentathlon. Galas also co-coached Jen Elizarov, the top ranked athlete in the country in the pole vault, to an OUA gold last weekend.