Message from Director of Sports & Recreation, Christine Stapleton
By Christine Stapleton
U SPORTS Champions - Women's XC Country team, and Guy Schultz, U SPORTS Cross Country Coach of the Year (Women)
I hope you have had a wonderful fall. As we are moving into the holiday season, it’s hard to believe that several of the Western Mustangs 2024 sports seasons are already complete. I really enjoyed seeing and connecting with many of you at our Western Mustangs Sports Hall of Fame Dinner during Homecoming.
Congratulations are in order for several of our teams, coaches and student athletes for their amazing successes this fall.
The Mustangs Men’s Tennis team won the OUA Gold medal, coming in first over the Thanksgiving weekend. Liam Drover-Mattinen was named OUA Player of the Year and OUA Rookie of the Year. Mustangs Men's Tennis are 2024 OUA Champions - Western Mustangs Sports
And the Mustangs Women’s Tennis team brought home a Bronze (third place) from the 2024 OUA Tennis Championship. The Mustangs took a 4-3 win over Waterloo to secure the medal. Mustangs Women's Tennis take bronze at 2024 OUA Championships - Western Mustangs Sports
The Mustangs Women’s Cross-Country team are back-to-back OUA Provincial Champions, with the entire team being named 1st team All-Stars. The Women’s XC team then went on to also win the 2024 National U SPORTS Championship. Incredible results by both the Men’s and Women’s teams.
Guy Schultz, Mustangs Head Coach, Cross Country (Men’s and Women’s) also won the OUA Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, and then went on to also win the U SPORTS Women’s Coach of the Year. Mustangs Women's team are 2024 U SPORTS Cross Country Champions - Western Mustangs Sports
The Mustangs Men’s Lacrosse team are also back-to-back National Champions after winning the Baggataway Cup in an 11-3 win over Queen’s. This is the 9th time the Mustangs have won the national title. Mustangs midfielder Jacob Hickey was named Baggataway Cup MVP. Mustangs win 2024 Baggataway Cup - Western Mustangs Sports
Mustangs Men’s and Women’s Rowing came in 2nd at the OUA Provincial Championships and Men’s Rowing also came in 3rd nationally.
While this fall saw our Mustangs Football team fall just short of winning the Yates Cup, the Mustangs want to congratulate former Western Mustangs quarterback, and current head coach of the Laurier Golden Hawks, Michael Faulds, for his incredible accomplishment of bringing the Yates Cup home to Laurier for the first time in nine years.
Two student athletes and one coach in our Mustangs Football program were recognized with a trio of major awards during the first week of November, as well as 11 All-Star and All-Rookie honours at the 2024 OUA Football Awards.
· Defensive back Jackson Findlay won Outstanding Stand-Up Defensive Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Star
· Erik Andersen took home the Lineman of the Year award and 1st Team All-Star
· PJ Edgeworth won Volunteer Coach of the Year
Our Mustangs Men's Rugby team also received some major recognition as part of their year-end OUA awards, with Kohl Kletke, Mustangs student athlete, being named the 2024 OUA Rookie of the Year and 1st Team All-Star.
And last, but definitely not least, the start of this academic year saw a major announcement about the retirement of one of our longest-serving and well-respected coaches, Vickie Croley, Head Coach, Western Mustangs Track & Field. Croley will continue coaching through the 2024-25 season, with her retirement date set for Summer 2025. More information can be found here.
We hope you’ve had a chance to read some of the stories on our incredible student-athletes including:
For those who would like to support student-athletes there is still time to donate before the end of the year.
In other exciting news, our 2024-25 fall seasons are now underway for Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Volleyball, and Men’s and Women’s Hockey. And tickets are on sale. Don’t miss any of the action! I can’t wait to cheer on our Mustangs with many of you.
I wish you, your family and friends a happy and healthy holiday season.
