Athletic Director's Update: Fall 2022
By Christine Stapleton
What an incredibly successful fall season for our Mustangs! We are proud to have won four team championship banners and five coach of the year awards. Many winter seasons have also launched including volleyball, basketball, and hockey, making for a very busy time of year for our Sports & Recreation team.
I am excited to share some notable team results from the fall season.
Cross Country
- The women’s team finished in third place at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Provincial Championships.
- The women’s team also placed fourth at the U SPORTS National Championships.
- The men’s team finished in seventh place at the U SPORTS National Championships.
Football
The Mustangs Football team won the Yates Cup - the OUA Provincial title banner - at home on November 12, in a decisive and snowy victory.
Awards:
- Greg Marshall was named OUA Football Coach of the Year.
- Keon Edwards was announced as the winner of the 2022 Larry Haylor Award, for Most Valuable Player (OUA MVP), rushing for over 1000 yards in the regular season.
- Daniel Valente Jr. won the President’s Award for Outstanding Stand-Up Defensive Player.
- Jordan Beland was named to the OUA Sport All-Rookie Team for 2022-23. Beland was credited with seven solo tackles and 14 assists this season with one sack.
Read more about the awards here.
Western also won numerous first and second team all-stars in football – more than any other Ontario university!
The OUA announced that the conference’s Most Valuable Football Player Award was to be officially renamed the Larry Haylor Award in honour of the late Western Mustangs coaching icon.
“We are honoured to have the OUA name this award after our dad and husband,” said the Haylor family. “He was passionate about his role in developing student-athletes within the OUA football community. We are certain he would be honoured and humbled to receive this recognition. It’s a wonderful tribute to his legacy.”
See the official OUA announcement here.
The Mustangs fell short in their quest for the Mitchell Bowl on November 19, losing 28-20 to Laval. Though Western did not take the field, the London community still made their presence known at the sold-out Vanier Cup matchup between Laval and the Saskatchewan Huskies, which saw Laval taking the title.
Women’s Golf
Rylie Grogan won gold at the OUA Golf Championship, bringing home the Judy McCrae Trophy (Individual Champion). The Mustangs women’s team also won silver, finishing second overall. Read about her success here.
Women’s Lacrosse
The Mustangs women's lacrosse team brought home bronze from the OUA Championship. Find the full story here.
Rowing
The Mustangs women’s rowing team finished top of the standings at the OUA Provincial Championship with 486 points (Queen's University was the next closest school at 258 points). The team reached the podium on seven occasions (three gold, two silver and two bronze). Not only is it the ninth consecutive OUA title in women's rowing, but it's also the 30th in program history.
On the men's side, it was a silver medal performance for the Mustangs at the OUA Provincial Championship as they finished with 402 total points, just behind the Brock Badgers.
At nationals, our Mustangs women's rowing team placed second, while the men’s team placed fifth.
Women’s Softball
Mustangs women’s softball won silver at the Ontario University Softball (OUS) Championships. The 2022 OUS West Division Top Pitcher, for the second year in a row, is Aimee Leduc from the Western Mustangs. The 2022 OUS West Division Top Hitter is Mustang Abby Bush.
Mustangs Softball also walked away from the 2022 Canadian Collegiate Softball Association Softball National Championship with a silver medal after a 9-0 loss to St. Clair College in the finals. Read more here.
Soccer
Although the women’s and men’s teams didn’t make it through to the provincial finals, Martin Painter, Head Coach of the women’s soccer team was named OUA Coach of the Year (West) for the third time. He led the Mustangs to an amazing 9-2-1 record, the best in the OUA west.
Men’s Rugby
Congratulations to Ian McLeod of our men’s rugby team on being named OUA Coach of the Year. In his second season with the program, Ian led the team to a 5-1 record, boasting a 214-79 point differential.
Women’s Tennis
The Mustangs women’s tennis team won the OUA gold on October 9, overthrowing reigning champions, the Toronto Varsity Blues.
Awards:
- Lauryn Son was named OUA Rookie of the Year.
- Head coaches Chantal Forristal and Maciek Gebczynski were named OUA Coaches of the Year.
