Introducing the 2023 Women’s Individual Inductees

By Arlo Burness

2023 Western Mustangs Sports Hall of Fame Women's individual Inductees (left to right) Connie Beukeboom, Leah Boody (Bishop), Kristina Far (Dorfman), Andrea Ruste

Connie Beukeboom, BSc’91 – Track & Field and Cross Country

Prior to being a successful university athlete, Connie Beukeboom was already an accomplished runner. It was during her years at Western that she honed her skills and became a force in track and field and cross country, setting provincial and national records.

Connie was a three-time 800m champion in high school, where she represented London Catholic Central. Connie was introduced to track and field in grade nine. She was inspired by teacher Ms. Geromette who, as Connie recalls, “…introduced the team to early season track meets including the Hamilton Spectator indoor games which really instilled a love of exciting, intense competition and fuelled the drive to train and compete not only individually but as a valuable member of a team.”In her senior year, Connie’s time was the third best in Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association history. One of the most highly recruited runners in North America, Western will forever be grateful that Connie decided to stay in her hometown.

Connie competed solely in track and field during her first year at Western, but for her final three years she competed in cross country as well.

During her three years on the cross country team, Connie played a significant role in the Mustangs winning three consecutive team titles at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) National Championships. “Some years we were underdogs but still came through with the win by focusing and racing together as a team, with purple hearts and our slogan making ‘Western Sandwiches.’ Other years we had more depth and were the clear frontrunners culminating in more ‘Purple and Proud’ memories,” reflects Connie.

During the 1988 regular season Connie was always one of the top scorers for the Mustangs and continued to be a vital team member when the championships came around earning Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Conference first Team All-Star honours and second Team All-Canadian honours at the CIS National Championships.

Her 1989 and 1990 Cross Country seasons were equally spectacular with Western winning the team title at both the OUA Conference Championship and the CIS Nationals. Connie battled injuries both years, which often limited her training and competitions. Although her injuries resulted in her sitting out the 1990 OUA Championship, she was able to compete at the CIS Nationals finishing as the Mustangs number 4 scorer.

The injuries Connie dealt with in Cross Country were exacerbated in Track with the Canadian collegiate seasons an indoor sport running on smaller tracks with tight curves and hard surfaces, and yet, she produced amazing results. She was most prodigious in being the prime contributor to the success of Mustang relay teams.

Connie had a record-breaking year in track and field in 1988. At the CIS National Championships that year she set the second fastest time in Western’s history in the 600m and anchored the Mustangs 4x800m squad to a school record where Connie ran a blistering 2:11.0 anchor leg, the fastest time recorded by a Western Athlete at the time. At season’s end, this outstanding rookie was voted by her peers to receive the Labatt Trophy as the Mustangs Most Valuable Performer (MVP).

Over her four years on the track and field Team Connie won seven medals at the OUA Conference Championships (two gold, four silver, one bronze) and seven medals at the CIS National Championships (five silver, two bronze). In 1991, in recognition of her incredible achievements, Connie was awarded the Don Wright trophy for her impressive success over multiple years in Mustang Track & Field, as well as the prestigious Purple Blanket.

In 2010, Connie’s impressive athletic achievements were recognized when she was inducted into the Western Cross Country and Track & Field Hall of Fame.

Since graduating from Western Connie has practiced physical therapy at Peak to Shore Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine in Collingwood and has served as the physiotherapist for Athletics Canada teams for the past 15 years. In her spare time, Connie continues to explore her athleticism by hiking, cycling, skiing, running, canoeing, and kayaking. Her love of sports not only jumpstarted her career, but also inspired two of her own children to become successful Mustang athletes.

“My memories as a Mustang remain vivid, with the friendships and relationships I still have today with many team members. I was fortunate to have had many great athletes training, competing and running alongside and dedicated coaches during my time at Western,” says Connie.

Leah Boody (Bishop), BACS’02 – Squash

A recognized leader by both teammates and coaches at Western, Leah Boody (Bishop) was awarded the squash team’s Most Valuable Player award in 2000, 2001, and 2002 as she dominated the courts.

At Western, Leah proved her skills both as a singles player and within a team, winning three OUA team golds in 1999, 2001, and 2002, as well as individual OUA golds in 2000 and 2002.

In her senior year, as both a player and a coach, Leah led the Mustangs to the OUA championship title and was named OUA Coach of the Year. Stepping in as coach gave Leah a different experience and perspective on the court. “Coaching has numerous challenges, you are not just dealing with the sport, you are dealing with people’s emotions. It can be very challenging but also very rewarding,” reflects Leah.

Leah was a First-Team OUA All-Star during each of her four years at Western, and was named an Academic All-Canadian, which represents the most exceptional student-athletes from each sport who have achieved a minimum of 80 percent average and excelled on a school’s varsity team. Boody received a Purple Blanket in 2002 and won the F.W.P. Jones Award in her senior year, awarded to the top female athlete of the year.

Since graduating with her bachelor’s degree in finance and administration, Leah continues to play squash in Nova Scotia, where she now resides with her husband and two children. She is currently ranked Atlantic Canada’s number one women’s player and placed sixth at the 2018 World Master Squash Championships. She has also continued to coach, using her skills and expertise from her time at Western to coach the junior team at Squash Nova Scotia.

Since 2003, Leah has worked in a variety of financial sectors, and most recently has been Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Nantes Investment Inc. In 2019, Leah was awarded the CPA Nova Scotia Early Achievement Award, given to a chartered professional accountant who demonstrates achievement and ongoing commitment professional excellence or community involvement within the first ten years of becoming a CPA.

Kristina Farr (Dorfman), HBA’99 – Track & Field and Cross Country

By the time Kristina Farr (Dorfman) graduated from Western in 1999, she had become an all-time Mustang great in two sports – track and field and cross country.

Originally from Uxbridge ON, Kristina came to Western with good credentials as a hurdler in high school. She continued to compete in the hurdles in her rookie season as a Mustang but with modest results. And so, in second year with great resolve, Kristina moved into unknown territory to contest the long sprint 600m. Her training regimen and massive mental toughness paid off well, culminating in a silver medal in the 600m at CIS Nationals and earning her second Team All-Canadian honors.

In the fall of 1996, Kristina, again jumped into uncharted waters and joined the Mustang cross country team training for 5000m racing. Again, her drive and iron-will played large in this transition. She soon worked her way up to the number three scoring spot and helped the Mustangs to a team bronze finish at the OUA Championship and fifth at CIS Nationals. Kritina’s final two years of cross country were a steady climb to greater performances. In 1997 she became Western’s number one scorer and earned OUA Second-Team All-Star honors. In her final season, Kristina played a leading role in Western winning the 1998 OUA Championship team title and a podium finish (team silver) at the CIS Nationals. Her finish places of seventh and ninth at the respective championships were rewarded with OUA First-Team All-Star and CIS Second-Team All-Canadian.

In five years as a Mustang Track athlete, Kristina competed at one time or another in every track event. She twice won CIS Nationals gold medals: 600m in 1997 and 1000m in 1999. She set a University of Notre Dame Fieldhouse Record of 2:52.59 in the 1000m at the 1999 Meyo Invite. At championships, Kristina won a career total of 11 medals: five gold (three OUA and two CIS), three silver (one OUA and two CIS), and three OUA bronze. Her marks of 1:32.96 for 600m, the 1000m at Notre Dame, and relay splits of 57.2 and 2:11.9 for 4x400m and 4x800m respectively are among the best in Western history.

Kristina is one of the most decorated Mustangs of all-time. She was twice awarded the Mustangs track event’s Most Valuable Performer (MVP), twice the Labatt Trophy as overall team MVP, the Don Wright Trophy as Western’s top track and field athlete over multiple years, the Purple Blanket, and the F.W.P. Jones Trophy as Western’s Female Athlete of the Year for all sports.

In 2010, Kristina’s impressive athletic achievements were recognized when she was inducted into the Western Cross Country and Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Kristina now resides in Rye, New York with her husband Rob and three children, Reece, Seth, and Lily. She is still involved in sports, playing racquetball and competing in triathlons, and spent over a decade volunteering at the Rye YMCA as a Parent- Child swim class instructor.

Andrea Ruste (Wagner), BMOS’09 – Volleyball

As an athlete and a humanitarian, Andrea Ruste is the perfect example of what it takes to be an outstanding mustang.

Andrea was first introduced to volleyball in the fourth grade by her mom who was a teacher at her school. Her mom had organized a drop-in volleyball class. “My mom thought my sister and some of her friends might be interested in playing volleyball on the school team when they started grade 7. As my older sister was playing, of course I wanted to play too. This theme seemed to continue as I followed her out to Western and we played together on the volleyball team,” reflects Andrea.

During her four years at Western, Andrea was a stand-out volleyball player. Fiercely defensive on the court, she led the nation in digs for two consecutive years, making her an obvious choice as a two-time Most Valuable Player Award recipient. Andrea helped push the team to win two OUA bronze medals, and individually was named an OUA All-Star for three years in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Andrea was named an OUA Champion for Life in 2008, towards the end of her tremendously successful career as a student-athlete. The Champion for Life campaign sought to keep the best student-athletes in Ontario for their post-secondary careers by providing them with examples of athletes who exhibit the qualities of both a champion of athletics and a champion of academics.

In her final year at Western, Andrea won the OUA and CIS Libero of the Year award making her the first Ontario player in history to receive both honours. These recognitions landed her a spot on the Canadian Senior Women’s National team. Andrea represented Canada at the International University Sports Federation games in Serbia in 2010.

For her incredible athletic contributions to Western, Andrea was awarded a Purple Blanket, as well as the Gordon Risk Athletic Award, bestowed to a student who makes valuable contributions as a member of a varsity team. She was also the recipient of the Scholarship of Distinction, given to a student with a grade average above 91 percent.

Amidst all her tremendous achievements, Andrea also faced setbacks as an athlete. “ During my final club season before going to Western, I experienced a real mental lapse that shook my confidence. It was like the scene out of Space Jam where I physically couldn’t set the ball, but it was all mental. It took me a long time to move past it, but it taught the importance of taking care of your mental health,” says Andrea.

Since graduating from Western, Andrea completed a bachelor of education at the University of Calgary in 2011 and now works at TC Energy as a Senior Analyst. Beyond her athletic and finance careers, Andrea is driven to make the world a better place. She has spent time in Mexico, Costa Rico and Africa building home, working on farms, and volunteering in orphanages. Locally, she has brought her volleyball expertise back to her community through coaching the Calgary Dino Youth Development team. She encourages her students and other young athletes to remember that “ competing at high levels of sport is a tremendous experience, but it’s also important to think about where you want to spend your energy after you’re done competing. For most, athletics doesn’t last forever, but it teaches you important life skills that you can apply in any future career.”

Her advice to young athletes: “Make sure you keep your options open by keeping up with your studies and follow what interests you the most. And don’t underestimate how important it is to take care of your mental and physical health.”