Join us in Celebrating the 2023 Men's Team Inductees
(right to left) Men's Rowing 1979 Varsity Lightweight 8+ competing at the Dad Vail Regatta, Coach Glynn Leyshon
Men’s Rowing 1979 Varsity Lightweight 8+, OUA Champions, Canadian Team Trial Champions, Dad Vail Regatta Champions and represented Canada at the 1979 World Championships
Western’s rowing program, overseen by Doctor Phil ‘Doc’ Fitz James, was very strong in the 1979 spring season. National team athletes were spread amongst the women’s and men’s teams, in both heavyweight and lightweight classes. Within the Canadian men’s lightweight class, the landscape was changing among elite level clubs across the country as teams set their sights on representing Canada at the 1979 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia. Western’s varsity lightweight eight rose to the occasion, making Western – and our country – proud.
The men’s win at the Canadian trials to qualify for the world championships followed an intense winter training and selection process run by coach Paul Beedling, a national team lightweight himself. It also followed an accomplished spring and summer season coached by Gary Simpson.
In May 1979, the Western crew won coveted gold at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia - the largest intercollegiate rowing event in North America with crews from more than one hundred colleges and universities. The Western crew won the final in a scorching time of five minutes and 58 seconds.
Over the course of the summer racing schedule, the crew dueled with the highly competitive field of athletes leading up to the Canadian trials. They kicked off the summer season by winning the grueling 67K Montebello Marathon, covering the course on the Ottawa River in a record time of three hours 11 minutes 30 seconds. They were presented their gold medals by Governor General Edward Schreyer.
On August 6, the morning of Canadian trials, the crew took to the water in Welland, Ontario. With the starter shouting the international protocol, Êtes-vous prêz? Partez!, the race was on.
Just over six minutes later, Western crossed the line first, earning the right to represent Canada at the championships.
“Donning racing colours was a very pride-filled moment. Western’s Purple and White made me feel proud each and every time, and then to gain the opportunity to wear Canada’s Red and White…it felt like such an honour,” writes Mark Hyatt.
Later in August, the Western Crew was restricted from racing the lightweight eight event at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta due to the rule excluding national team entries. They rowed the open exhibition event against high quality heavyweight competition, finishing second to the Peterborough Rowing Club heavyweight crew.
At the world championships in Yugoslavia, the crew raced competitively through the initial heat, finishing third in a stacked semi-final and narrowly missing qualification for the Six-Crew A Final. The team powered through to a respectful second place finish in the B Final, just behind France, ranking eighth in the world.
“It was an incredible feeling to be part of a crew that showed such strength of character, grit and determination to persevere through the trials and tribulations of qualifying, winning the Canadian championships and then being able to represent Canada in Bled! The 1970s in general was an impressive decade for men’s lightweight rowing at Western culminating in the success of this outstanding group of lightweight rowers. I was proud and honoured to be part of it and enjoyed coaching this talented crew immensely. This was not an easy task. There was very good competition at the local, national and, of course, the international level,” reflects coach Gary Simpson.
Returning to school, the Western lightweights, which included six of the crew who raced at the world championship, went on to win gold at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) varsity lightweight championship by 25 seconds. Coached by Rick Rasmussen the crew’s OUA championship followed a near clean sweep in the fall season.
“Winning the Canadian team trials was incredible, when we started the season the objective was to win the Dad Vail, and after that success we decided to keep the team together for the summer and continued to improve and succeed, until we won the Canadian team trials. Representing Canada at the World Championships was an unforgettable experience. Capping the season with a win at OUA was a great way to end the 1979 season,” reflects Bill Donegan.
Bill continues, “Western Rowing had an amazing culture that promoted hard work and play, it was amazing to be part of a dedicated group of male and female rowers many of whom were national champions and who went on to represent Canada internationally.”
Since their days racing for Western, the 1979 varsity lightweight eight have given back to the sport of rowing in both professional and volunteer capacities by coaching, leading rowing camps and certification programs, and supporting regattas and events at the local, provincial, national, and international levels.
Chris Cookson, coxswain of the world rowing championship lightweight crew, went on to win gold in 1993 as part of the Canadian lightweight seven. Today, Chris is co-owner of Regatta Sport, a well-known Canadian rowing and paddling apparel company.
Bill Donegan is an accredited World Rowing and Rowing Canada umpire. He has also served for many years as Chief Umpire of the Western Regatta.
Peter Cookson is involved with rowing at local, national, and international levels. He has held positions as a coach, and as the High Performance Director of the Rowing Canada Olympic Team.
Paul Beedling has more than 30 years of coaching and involvement with rowing at national and international levels.
When asked about their advice to young athletes, members of the lightweight eight had the following say:
Rowing is considered to be a ‘late entry’ sport. To this day it is still possible to take up the sport (especially at Western!) as a first year in-coming student. Go for it! Western rowing has an amazing legacy.” – Paul Beedling
“Celebrate your wins and accomplishments. Learn from your setbacks and losses so that you can stay positive and move forward during challenging times. Not only will that help you accomplish your goals in sports it will also help you live a fulfilling and rewarding life.” – Tracy Brooks (Dad Vail Coxswain)
“ Chase your dreams, work hard and do not give up. To be the best is not an easy road, but the fulfillment and pride that comes with success is great. The lessons learned about teamwork, dedication and perseverance will be transferrable and applicable to ensure success in almost any future life challenge.” – Bill Donegan
“Go for it… you have a small window in the big picture where you can really compete at a high level. Try hard, do your best, do the work, but reward yourself (prioritize rest and play time). Respect your competition, listen to your coach, internalize feedback in pursuit of improvement, and always reach out to your community if you need support. Be positive, encourage yourself. Know this: what you will experience will give you skills that are transferable to your future endeavors. You will form relationships that you’ll value throughout your life. So, be mindful of your journey, expect the struggles, the lows and the highs. Treasure it all!” – Mark Hyatt
Glynn Leyshon Era of Wrestling
During his time as the head coach of Western’s wrestling program, Glynn Leyshon led the wrestling team to seven provincial championships. Leyshon received the OUA Coach of the Year award three times, and the CIS Coach of the Year award once. He was inducted into the Western Mustang Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 for his accomplishments as a wrester and a coach.
See Western Mustangs, “Glynn Leyshon ‘A Mustang Legend’” video here .
Leyshon had a strong commitment to high performance training. Reflecting on his time wrestling at Western Guy Zink says, “although there was a lot of appropriate focus on competition performance and achievement, what I remember most is the intensity of daily practices in the wrestling room. So much preparation went into getting ready. I don’t recall the technical stuff nearly as much as the solid work. Coach Leyshon was very big on discipline and making us work so hard we just had to believe we were always doing more than our rivals…He was determined to take our practice work ethic to the highest level and then have us transfer it to competitive performance. It was kind of a momentum of discipline he wanted to build into us. He always said there is no discipline except self-discipline. He made me understand that competition was a ‘battle of wills’ and to perform at my best, I had to draw, not just on technique, but on a strong will established through hard work in training.”
Zink continues, “Coach Leyshon set the bar high for his charges. I think sometimes his demands were unreasonable or even unattainable and he probably knew that. I remember we had a conversation about that years after I graduated from Western when I was coaching wrestling. He told me, well ‘nobody ever lives up to low expectations.’ But as relentless and uncompromising as he was, there was a side of him the revealed a soft heart. He cared about us. If you really needed his help he was just as willing to give that as he was a kick in the butt.”
This year four teams from the Glynn Leyshon era of Western are being inducted into the Hall of Fame including the 1972-73, 1974-75, 1977-78 and 1978-79 OUA and CIS championship teams.
1972-73 and 1974-75 OUA & CIS Champions
The 1972-73 and 1974-75 wrestling teams earned several tournament titles, including the Guelph Open, Kingston Open, and Western Open. The teams also won dual meets against American college teams.
In 1972-73, Western had six individual OUA champions who went on to the CIS championships. Each of the six individual athletes medaled at CIS resulting in Western scoring the most team points to win national team title. Medalists include Josip Mrkoci, Bill McDonnell, Don Westlake, Guy Zink, Rick Finkenzellar, and Clive Llewellyn.
The 1974-75 team also had six individual OUA champions, including Joe Dell’Aqulia, Clive Llewellyn, Guy Zink, Bill McDonnell, Elvin Martin, and Egon Beiler. At the CIS championships Western won in six out of ten weight classes leading to another national team title. All six athletes who won gold at the OUA championships went on to win gold at CIS.
National championship banners are hung in the Mustangs wrestling room celebrating both teams.
Members the 1972-73 and 1974-75 teams have continued to stay involved in wrestling, coaching and officiating at the high school, club, national and international levels. Ten wrestlers went on to be part of Canada’s national wrestling team. Others participated in the Olympics as athletes, managers, or officials.
In recognition of their incredible accomplishments, ten team members have been inducted into Western’s Wrestling Wall of Honour, seven have inducted into the Western Mustangs Sport Hall of Fame and six have been inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame.
1977-78 and 1978-79 OUAA & CIAU Champions
The 1977-78 and 1978-79 teams were also OUA and CIS champions. Both teams both had five OUA gold medalists. In 1977-78 David Gordon, Albert Venditti, John Park, Brian Renken, and D. McKinlay won their weight class. The following year, Ray Takahashi, John Park, Bob Robinson, Lloyd Renken, and John Dwyer won OUA gold.
Individuals from these teams represented Canada in major international competitions including the Commonwealth Games, Pan-American Games and Olympic Games as athletes, coaches and team leaders.
Beyond wrestling they have become leaders in business, entrepreneurialism, education, and coaching, and have spearheaded community and philanthropic initiatives.
Individuals in this group were the key drivers behind the 2019 establishment of The Cauliflower Ear Club (CEC), Mustangs Wrestling Alumni Chapter. The CEC was developed to create a sustainable, formal alumni support system for the Mustangs Wrestling program.
These late 1970s teams have been key contributors to fundraising efforts over many years to help rebuild the Western Mustang program into the leading programs in Canada, in part due to their appreciation for their shared experience at Western and also their respect and affection for coaches, Dr. Glynn Leyshon and Mr. Josip Mrkoci.
Additionally, John Park, Bruce Barran, David Gordon, and Doug McGregor have contributed to the founding and ongoing operation of BEAT the STREETS, a positive youth development charity encouraging healthy bodies, healthy minds and job readiness for at-risk youth. Two other Western Mustang Alumni Guy Zink and Sang Kim have been board members as well.
Zink reflects that his teammates “were all topshelf people, and I am so happy we will be reuniting at the Hall of Fame inductions in September. Every single person in that room was a champion. All part of Coach Leyshon’s legacy.”
