Men’s football player Will Finch and women’s track and field athlete Robin Bone were recognized for their outstanding careers as the Western Mustangs held the 2015-16 Athletic Awards Gala at the London Convention Centre in early April.
Finch became the 77th winner of the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy, while Bone was named the 60th F.W.P. Jones Trophy winner. Both awards are presented to an athlete judged to have made the greatest contribution to intercollegiate athletics within the university during their time at Western.
In his four seasons with the Mustangs, Finch established himself as one of the greatest players in Western football history. Leading the purple and white to the 30th Yates Cup in program history in 2013, he also guided the Mustangs to a pair of undefeated regular seasons in both 2013 and 2015.
A two-time OUA MVP, three-time OUA All-Star, and two-time CIS All-Canadian, Finch ends his career in third place on the Mustangs all-time passing list with 8,243 yards in 30 regular season games. His 3,047 yards in 2013 was the highest single season total in Western football history.
For the past four seasons, no one has dominated the OUA and CIS pole vaulting ranks like Robin Bone. The London native captured gold at the OUA Championship in each of her four seasons, while also taking silver at the CIS Championship in 2013 before claiming CIS gold in each of the past three years.
Owner of 19 meet records, Bone holds the OUA and CIS in-season and championship records, as well as the Thompson Arena pole vault record. Along with her OUA and CIS success, Bone has competed on the international stage, representing Canada on the World Youth team, Pan Am Junior team, U23 National team and at the FISU Universiade.
Meanwhile, receiving the fourth ever Male Athlete of the Year Award was track and field athlete Riley Bell. Bell posted his best season to date in 2015-16, starting the season ranked first in the CIS in long jump and finishing it with a gold medal at the CIS Championship. He also took the top spot at the OUA Championship, posting a personal best of 7.49m, as well as earning a silver medal in triple jump. For his efforts, he was recognized as the OUA Male Field Event MVP.
Paulina Bond claimed the fourth Female Athlete of the Year Award after an outstanding final season in purple and white. The fifth-year senior earned a Graduating Athlete Award of Distinction at the OUA Championships after winning three gold and three silver medals, along with setting an OUA record in the 50m butterfly. She continued her success at the CIS Championship, winning the Sprinter’s Cup after taking the top spot in both the 50m and 100m freestyle, while also winning gold in the 50m butterfly.
Also presented were the prestigious Purple Blanket awards, given to student-athletes, usually in their graduating year, that are judged to have made an outstanding contribution to Western athletics. This year, 14 Purple Blankets were handed out. The recipients included: Robin Bone, Paulina Bond, Brent Duncan, Will Finch, Greg Morrow, women’s Katelyn Gosling (Hockey), Tenyka Snider (Lacrosse), Jill Moffatt (Rowing), Jennifer McNaughton (Swimming), Ricky Osei-Kusi (Football), Adrianna Giuffre (Badminton), Tori Edgar (Soccer), Izzy Ogieva (Track & Field), and Shannon Davidson (Softball).
Mustangs Team MVPs:
Men’s Badminton: Bryan Jok and Daniel Paulson (co-MVPs)
Women’s Badminton: Karissa Chan
Baseball: Nolan Anderson
Men’s Basketball: Greg Morrow
Women’s Basketball: Mackenzie Puklicz
Men’s Cross Country: Chris Balestrini
Women’s Cross Country: Kristina Popadich
Men’s Curling: Aaron Chapman
Women’s Curling: Kaitlyn Poirier
Men’s Fencing: Connor Wilson
Women’s Fencing: Marie Lecoq
Field Hockey: Emily Cozens
Figure Skating: Jessica Reid
Football: Will Finch
Men’s Golf: Joshua Zhang
Women’s Golf: Sara Holland
Men’s Hockey: David Corrente and Stephen Gaskin (co-MVPs)
Women’s Hockey: Katelyn Gosling
Men’s Lacrosse: Jordan Jones-Smith
Women’s Lacrosse: Sheehan Mulholland and Jacqueline Owens (co-MVPs)
Ringette: Amanda Storie
Men’s Rowing: Aaron Kirkey (Heavyweight), Matthew Christie (Lightweight)
Women’s Rowing: Genevieve Favreau (Heavyweight), Larissa Werbicki (Lightweight)
Men’s Rugby: Mike Turnbull
Women’s Rugby: Andrea Bowra
Men’s Soccer: Parker Seymour
Women’s Soccer: Angelika Mihalopulos
Softball: Melanie Smith and Shannon Davidson (co-MVPs)
Men’s Squash: Stefan Houbtchev
Women’s Squash: Holly Delavigne
Men’s Swimming: Gamal Assaad
Women’s Swimming: Paulina Bond
Table Tennis: Changjing Zhu and Rongge Zhang (co-MVPs)
Men’s Tennis: Vahagn Tonakanian
Women’s Tennis: Helen He
Men’s Track and Field: Riley Bell
Women’s Track and Field: Kaleigh Hole
Men’s Ultimate Frisbee: Wesley Tin
Women’s Ultimate Frisbee: Jacqueline Man
Men’s Volleyball: Matt Hooker
Women’s Volleyball: Kat Tsiofas
Water Polo: Jared Webster
Men’s Wrestling: Kyle Bonk-Dann
Women’s Wrestling: Alyssa Medeiros and Julie Steffler (co-MVPs)
Story and photos submitted by the Western Mustangs
