Mustangs Track & Field Wins Historic Double OUA Gold
By Tamra Walji, BSc'96 & Amy Samson
Double OUA Gold Championship Track & Field Team
Mustangs Track & Field completed a historic 2023-24 season with both women’s and men’s teams winning gold at the OUA Championships for the first time in program history. The wins resulted from the traditions and culture that coaches, athletes and alumni have helped build over the years.
Western Mustangs Track & Field is a long-established sport. The men's program dates back to the 1920s when the great Don Wright (of the Don Wright Faculty of Music) was a star performer and set a Western team record in the long jump that stood for 44 years.
Women’s Track & Field dates back to the 1950s. It was not until 1971 that the two teams were brought together under one head coach, Bob Vigars, to train and compete together. It was only the second sport in Western history to combine training for a women’s and men’s team, the first being gymnastics, also under Bob Vigars as head coach.
The Ontario Universities Athletics Conference held separate championships for women and men until the 1976-77 academic year when women and men began competing at the same OUA championships.
“Western has a long, strong legacy of high-level performances in a wide range of sports. In Track & Field, winning the conference team title is very difficult and requires a squad that is loaded in talent in all the areas of the sport - sprints, hurdles, distance, relays, jumps and throws. It takes an impressive village,” says Bob Vigars.
The entire 2023-24 Track and Field program was loaded with talent. It became clear to the coaching staff as early as their September 2023 Port Stanley team building event that this team was special both on and off the track. Team members demonstrated care to achieve their goals together and genuinely bonded.
The 2023-24 team also had the remarkable ability to build on momentum after achieving positive performances. These positive performances began early in the season at the Purple and White meet with Favour Okpali breaking 40 seconds in the 300 m. Aaron Thompson then ran a personal best in the 60 m at the Bob Vigars Season’s Opener. Aaron, a surprise addition to the team after being accepted into medical school, set a time the team knew would hold onto a U SPORTS finalist time.
“Championships are not easy to win, but when faced with the chance, you need to prepare athletes to be at their best and hope that luck is on your side. The dedication of the athletes and our committed coaching and medical staff are the reasons why our athletes did well,” reflects Head Coach Vickie Croley.
The strength of veteran athletes and leadership from the captains, Favour Okpali and Matt Indome (see Q&A below), also set a strong example for the team. The veterans and captains had a knack for bringing the team closer when facing adversity. The coaching staff and the captains worked together to establish, communicate, and uphold team values. Everyone was on the same page.
With the Track & Field team including over 100 athletes, it was invaluable to the program to have the superior medical staff at the Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic and Modern Health and Performance ensuring the athletes remained healthy during the season and at competitions.
As the OUA Championship got closer Natascha Wesch, a mental performance consultant, met with the coaches and athletes separately to develop strategies for how to enable peak performance as a highly ranked team. Natascha’s support helped many athletes focus and perform optimally.
The 2024 OUA Track & Field Championships took place at the Toldo Lancer Centre at the University of Windsor from February 23rd to February 24th. Everyone on the team played a role in achieving the historic double OUA Gold.
Day one for the women’s team went as the coaches had anticipated with Liv Sands winning and setting a new Western record in the shot put with a put of 15.47m. The 4x800m relay team of Juliana Hendrikx, Sophie Coutts, Chloe Coutts and Hallee Knelsen set the team up for success by winning against rival Guelph by 2.52 seconds. The women’s team also excelled in the pentathlon and 3000m with three athletes finishing in the top five.
On day one the men also performed according to their pre-meet ranking with a spark by Kenneth West winning the long jump final. West led the event with his teammates taking third and fifth place as well. Other day one highlights included the heptathlon getting off to a great start with Denis Tzvetkov leading the way in first and Quinn Cameron and Winston Clarke being tied for third. This day one start led to a podium sweep on day two for the strong heptathlon crew.
During the middle of day two it became clear that the women were on their way to victory, but it was too close to determine on the men’s side. The men’s victory came right down to the last few events. Once men’s high jump was almost finished and relay protests were playing out, their title win was clear.
Track & Field is unlike sports with a clear winner at the end of a game. Instead, the news is shared quietly while athletes finish competing. The team held their excitement until after the relay protest discussions, which continued almost an hour after the meet ended, when they were announced as champions and were called up to the podium.
“It was such a proud moment as the long-time head coach. I couldn’t be more impressed by how our student-athletes conduct themselves,” says Croley.
In addition to the historic double win, Head Coach Vickie Croley was named the 2024 recipient of both the Bob Vigars Award and Sue Wise Award as the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, by her peers.
“Vickie has done a tremendous job nurturing the team and working with the best coaching staff in the nation. Regardless of the event area, student-athletes are guaranteed the highest standard of coaching and support,” reflects Vigars.
Assistant Coaches Caroline Ehrhardt and Taylor Ehrhardt also won OUA Assistant Coach of the Year awards.
Although the season did not end how everyone had hoped, lessons were learned. To win a championship at any level you need the stars to align and a bit of luck. At the U SPORTS Championship, the team’s overall performance was effected by a virus and injuries. The men rallied as best they could, but the Guelph, Manitoba and Laval teams were strong. There was no room for error.
This year 16 student-athletes from the team graduated, including some outstanding leaders such as Matt Indome, Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy recipient. The Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy is presented to the Western male student athlete who in the opinion of the Selection Committee has made the greatest contribution to Intercollegiate Athletics within the University.
With the addition of two U SPORTS medalists to the squad and a few more still to be accepted into master’s programs, the 2024-25 season promises to be another incredible one as we contend for titles!
Q&A with 2024 Track & Field Team Captains Favour Okpali and Matt Indome:
Describe what you think led to such an incredible season?
Favour - I think a combination of things led to our incredible season: our athletes were highly motivated to have the best seasons of their athletic careers, coaches and staff played a crucial role in supporting us to reach our goals and everyone was very adaptable when dealing with setbacks or injuries. We set big goals for the season, individually and collectively, and held each other accountable to reach them.
Matt - I think what led us to unprecedented success was confidence and momentum. We had a great off season in terms of performances, transfers, recruits and returning athletes. Early on we realized that this was something special. As we continued to progress through training and finally competed, it became evident that we were about to do something that had never been done before and everyone wanted to play a part in that. Every week we continued to work and push ourselves because it was so much fun sharing success as a team.
How would you describe this season?
Favour – Historic! We had so many amazing performances this season and each event group really shone, with multiple U SPORTs auto qualifiers, as well as many athletes breaking school and meet records and making our top 10 all time list. Our team was on a roll as one of the strongest teams in history, just building off on momentum throughout the year.
Matt - I’d describe this season as historic as well. There were so many school, meet and facility records broken this year, and to cap it all off we were able to secure the double banner at OUAs for the first time in program history. Everyone wanted to create a legacy for this team and I think it goes without saying that we were able to accomplish that.
What would you like to say to your coaches and teammates about this season?
Favour - I am so proud of my coaches and teammates this season. Everyone worked tirelessly, gave it their all and pushed themselves. Even though it wasn't the ending we wanted at nationals, we persevered to the end. We wrote our names into team history and should all be so proud.
Matt - I’d like to express how proud I am of everyone on this team. Through all the ups and downs, everyone continued to show up and put in the work. Track & field is an extremely taxing sport. It’s so difficult to show up every day when you’re not seeing the results you want, especially when you have such a strong team and you’re not experiencing the same success as some of your teammates. Despite that, everyone continued to grind and when the time came, we all reigned triumphant together! I’d also like to thank everyone for putting their faith and trust in me as a leader. It’s been an absolute honour to be a captain for this team and I wouldn’t change a moment of it.
What was your highlight this season and why?
Favour – Winning OUAs. In my time at Western, we have come second at OUAs so many times, but never first. We went in being ranked first right before the championships and were really hoping for it to stay that way. We gave it our all and were super happy to hear the announcement that for the first time in history Western won both championships. It was such a surreal moment seeing everyone’s work pay off and celebrating this accomplishment with the team!
Matt – My highlight this season would have to be the bus ride back from OUAs. Upon departing Windsor, the first song that we played on the bus was We Are The Champions by Queen. Everyone burst into song and it was such a pure moment celebrating the accomplishments of a hectic year. Whether everyone saw the result they wanted or not, it didn’t matter. As a team we were able to do something that had never been done before. Everyone was so proud to be a part of it. It was a beautiful experience that I’ll never forget.
