Message from Director of Athletics, Christine Stapleton

By Christine Stapleton

christine stapleton

We had a very busy and exciting 2024-25 Western Mustangs season.

Our Mustangs teams took home an incredible six provincial and five national championship titles this year.

Provincial:

  • Men’s Tennis won the OUA gold medal over the Thanksgiving weekend for the 24th time in program history
  • Women’s Squash won the OUA Championship for the 15th time in their program history
  • Men’s Squash won the OUA Championship for the 41st year in a row
  • The Mustangs Figure Skating team won the OUA Championship for the 3rd year in a row and the 18th time in program history
  • Women’s Cross Country won the OUA Championship, winning back-to-back provincial championships two years in a row
  • And Women’s Track & Field are also back-to-back OUA Champions

National:

  • The Mustangs Women’s Cross Country team won the U SPORTS National Championship in Fall 2024
  • For the second year in a row, Men’s Lacrosse won the National Championship Baggataway Cup, their ninth championship in history
  • In a historic achievement, both the Mustangs Women’s Track & Field and the Mustangs Men’s Track & Field teams won the U SPORTS National Championship title in March 2025
    • This was an incredible way for Head Coach, Vickie Croley, to finish her final season with Mustangs Track & Field. Vickie retires in June 2025, and we can’t thank her enough for all her incredible contributions to the Mustangs.

In addition, our Mustangs Cheer Team, is an important part of our spirit and connection initiatives, are National Champions for the 37th time! The team cemented their legacy at the 2025 Power Cheerleading Athletic/Cheer Canada National Collegiate Championships where 700 competitors from over 20 universities were in attendance.

I am very grateful to have some of the finest coaches in the country here at Western. I’ve seen firsthand the dedication they bring, often going above and beyond what is expected to enhance our programs and support student-athletes.

Four of our coaches and five of our teams won seven Coach of the Year recognitions this past year:

  • Guy Schultz, MA’00, Mustangs Head Coach, Cross Country won the OUA Women’s Coach of the Year for the second year in a row
  • Track & Field Head Coach Vickie Croley, BEd’87, was named the winner of the OUA Women's Coach of the Year
  • Melissa Bartlett, Women’s Volleyball Head Coach was named OUA Coach of the Year for 2024-25
  • Track & Field Head Coach Vickie Croley was also named U SPORTS National Head Coach of the Year for both Men’s and Women’s teams in what is her final year as Head Coach of the Mustangs
  • Tom Panabaker, BA’86, Head Coach, Women’s Squash won OUA Co-Coach of the Year
  • Guy Schultz, Mustangs Head Coach, Cross Country (Men’s and Women’s) won the U SPORTS Women’s Coach of the Year award

While Western is one of the nation's strongest athletic universities, our student-athletes are also vital to our institution's academic success. I want to give a special shout-out to Jackson Findlay, Mustangs Football, who was one of just eight U SPORTS Academic All-Canadians this year.

Among over 4,900 Canadian student-athletes, Jackson earned the distinction of being named one of eight U SPORTS Academic All-Canadians nationally. As the OUA's male student-athlete nominee, he represented the very best in athletics and academics.. An incredible accomplishment.

I am also very proud of how so many of our student-athletes are strong supporters of our community, making time in their already busy schedules to volunteer with our Mustangs Athletes Students Council, Mustangs Care, community groups, charities and local youth sports teams. They work hard to support innovation and positive change, making incredible contributions to sport and to our community. I couldn’t be more purple and proud of everything they accomplished this past year.

In this 2024-25 season wrap-up, I want to say a special thank you to our Sports & Recreation staff. They are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and passionate individuals who care deeply about the student experience.

I also want to thank our incredible student staff and volunteers.

Hundreds of Western students are heavily involved in sports and recreation, in addition to our student athletes. Whether they work in events, communications, sports information, administration, recreation, or directly alongside our teams as trainers and managers, Western students and staff play an integral role in the success and growth of Sports & Recreation at Western: Sports & Recreation recognizes Top Student Staff at Year End Awards - Western Mustangs Sports.

We ended the 2024-25 season with our 84th annual Western Mustangs Awards Celebration held on April 2, 2025, where we recognized our top student-athletes. We also introduced a few new awards this year, including the Karen Danlychuk Award and the Western Mustangs Rookie of the Year Award.

The Karen Danylchuk Award is presented to a female senior student in any faculty of the university who is considered to have attained the highest achievement during a university career encompassing athletics, scholarship and university life. This inaugural year was won by Avarie Thomas, BA’24, Women’s soccer and basketball. The Western Mustangs Rookie of the Year Award will be presented annually to an outstanding male and outstanding female rookie student-athlete. The 2025 recipients are Kohl Kletke (men’s rugby) and Zea Wetzlaughk (women’s swimming).

Congratulations to all our award winners.

We would not be able to achieve these incredible accomplishments without the ongoing generosity and support from our Western Mustangs athletic alumni and donors. Your contributions help strengthen our community and allow us to offer innovative programming. We are proud to have you in our corner!