Jen Cotten and Cam Sylvester were honoured as the female and male major award winners at the 2008-09 Western Mustangs Athletic Banquet on April 7 at the London Convention Centre.
Cotten, the 53rd Winner of the F.W.P. Jones Trophy, is the two-time defending CIS pentathlon champion and had another exceptional season with the Mustangs track and field team.
Jen Cotten and Cam Sylvester were honoured as top Mustang athletes at the annual athletic banquet.
Guiding the Western women’s team to a national and provincial bronze medal, she will continue to represent Canada at the international level in the off-season.
This year, Cotten returned to Western to captain the women’s track and field team, winning the pentathlon, long jump and joining her teammates to win a relay gold at the national championships held in Windsor, Ont.
The multi-event star was named CIS Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet at the national championships in Barrie, Ont.
Sylvester, the 66th Winner of the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy, returned from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Summer Games with a wealth of international experience.
After the men’s rowing team fell short of its goal to repeat as provincial champions, Sylvester and the Mustangs won three gold medals en route to the national title at the Canadian University Rowing Championships in B.C. in November.
With three years on the national team, he advanced to the Olympic semifinals in his doubles event and represented Canada well at the Games.
He’s improved throughout his career at Western, leaving his mark provincially, nationally and internationally. Along with Olympic teammate Douglas Vandor, Sylvester advanced to the Olympic semifinals in the men’s lightweight doubles.
Cotten and Sylvester also won Purple Blankets at the awards banquet. The Purple Blanket is awarded to student athletes who have achieved superior distinction at the provincial and/or national level of completion as representatives of Western.
Other Purple Blanket winners included:
Andrea Ruste, Women’s Volleyball Sal Peralta, Men’s Hockey Michael Faulds, Men’s Football Eric Simon, Men’s Volleyball Kelly Russell, Women’s Rugby Matt Curtis, Men’s Basketball Stephanie Edmison, Women’s Squash Andrew Jago, Men’s Rowing Michelle Weber, Women’s Field Hockey Matt Carapella, Men’s Football Bess Lennox, Women’s Basketball
Key Figures from 2008-09:
36 of Western’s 38 teams finished in fifth place or better provincially 101 OUA All-Stars 22 CIS All-Canadians 13 Major Award Receipients 6 Rookies of the Year
Coaching Honours
OUA Coaches of the Year
Brad Campbell, Men’s Basketball Rory Munro, Men’s and Women’s Curling Dave Hastings, Women’s Lacrosse Paul Midgley, Women’s Swimming Jim Sage, Men’s Volleyball Charlie Smith, Men’s Water Polo
Canadian University Rowing Coaches of the Year
Chris McCully and Dan Bechard,
Jack Fairs Coaching Award of Merit: Volker Nolte