Gryphons Excel at OUA Championships
October 31, 2011 - Campus Bulletin
It was a gold-medal weekend for University of Guelph athletics. The women’s and men’s cross-country teams and the women’s rugby team won the 2011 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
The women’s field hockey team captured OUA silver, and Gryphon rowers won OUA silver and bronze medals.
In cross-country running, Guelph has captured eight straight OUA women’s titles — a record for consecutive provincial titles — and seven straight on the men’s side. The championships took place in Ottawa on Saturday.
On the men’s side, Guelph claimed four of the top six spots. Andrew Nixon won the gold medal and the OUA MVP title with a time of 30:51.8.
Finishing two seconds behind Nixon for the silver medal was Gryphon Ross Proudfoot, the 2010 OUA Rookie of the Year.
Guelph’s Alex Genest came fourth (31:08.1) Aaron Hendrikx finished sixth (31:15.0) and was named Rookie of the Year.
On the women’s side, Guelph won the team banner and captured individual silver and bronze medals. Gryphon Genevieve Lalonde placed second (17:46.1), and Andrea Secaffian was third (17:49.7). Guelph’s Joanna Brown was named Rookie of the Year, placing 15th (18:32.9).
“We knew we were coming in with strong teams, and we wanted to use this step for the national championships in two weeks,” said Guelph head coach Dave Scott-Thomas. “We know the competition there will be deeper and tougher.”
Both the men's and women’s teams have won the provincial championships 11 times. The top seven runners in the men’s and women’s race earn OUA first-team all-star recognition.
The women’s rugby team won its fourth straight OUA victory on Saturday, beating McMaster University 36-5. The victory marks the 12th provincial title for the Gryphons since competition began in 1994.
“I’m really proud of the effort we put forth today, and it was great to win our fourth straight title in front of our hometown fans,” said head coach Colette McAuley.
The Gryphons will compete in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships Nov. 3 to 6 at Trent University.
In women’s field hockey, the Gryphons lost the gold-medal match to the University of Toronto. The OUA silver medallists will compete in the CIS championships this coming weekend in Calgary.
Gryphon rowers won silver and bronze medals at the OUA championships in St. Catharine’s.
Kerith Gordon won silver in the women’s lightweight singles.
Mark Henry captured bronze in the lightweight men’s doubles as well as a bronze in the men’s doubles with crewmate Tyler Wilson.
The lightweight women’s fours with coxswain team — Michelle St. Pierre, Ariel Lenske, Teresa Reitz, Erin Stephenson and Morgan Brown — won bronze. The rowers will now compete at the Canadian University Rowing Championships this coming weekend in Welland.
