Western rugby player Conor Trainor and swimmer Jennifer Trung saw their athletic careers honoured at the 2012-13 Western Mustangs Athletic Awards Banquet last week at the London Convention Centre.
Trainor capped off his five year Mustangs career by winning the 70th Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy while Trung finished her four years at Western with the 57th F.W.P. Jones Trophy. 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.
Playing five seasons for the Mustangs, Trainor helped lead Western to four consecutive OUA Finals appearances, including winning the OUA Championship in 2011. A two-time OUA All-Star and OUA Finals MVP, Trainor also has impressed on the international stage, playing for Canada’s senior national team at events such as the Commonwealth and Pan Am Games.
Other nominees for the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy were track athlete Scott Leitch and golfer Charles Fitzsimmons.
In four seasons with the Mustangs, Trung was frequently seen on the podium winning an amazing 15 OUA medals during her career, nine of them gold. She also holds two Western records as an individual in the 50 Metre and 100 Metre Backstroke and along with her teammates holds OUA records in the 4×400 Metre Medley Relay and 4×400 Metre Freestyle Relay.
Other nominees for the F.W.P. Jones Trophy were basketball’s Jenny Vaughan and track athlete Brenna Thomson.
Also at the event, the university honoured its first-ever Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Receiving the Male Athlete of the Year Award was volleyball player Garrett May. May led the CIS in both kills-per-set and points-per-set in 2012-13 en route to being named the OUA Player of the Year as well as an OUA First Team All-Star and CIS First Team All-Canadian.
Hockey goaltender Kelly Campbell claimed the Female Athlete of the Year Award after an outstanding season in the Western net. Campbell was one of the top goalies in CIS hockey this season, ranking in first place in the country in total saves and was third in save percentage, posting a .942 mark that was also good to lead the OUA. She was also named an OUA First Team All-Star and a CIS First Team All-Canadian for her efforts.
Also presented on Tuesday night were the prestigious Purple Blanket awards, which are given to student-athletes, usually in their graduating year, that are judged to have made an outstanding contribution to Western athletics. This year, 15 Purple Blankets were handed out including:
- Jake Armstrong, swimmer;
- Brianne Barry, wresting;
- Dominic Bell, soccer;
- Claire Daugulis, figure skating;
- Mark Dawidek, rowing;
- Martin Giuffre, badminton;
- Brian Hong, squash;
- Geoff Killing, hockey;
- Cassanda McCaig, track;
- Adam Paish, baseball;
- Mila Simuliuk, track;
- Brenna Thomson, track;
- Rory Tomlinson, rugby;
- Mike Van Praet, football; and
- Jenny Vaughan, basketball.
Team MVPs were honoured as well, including:
- Badminton: Martin Giuffre and Alex Bruce;
- Baseball: Adam Paish;
- Basketball: Quinn Henderson and Jenny Vaughan;
- Cross country: Ryan Armstrong and Amanda Truelove;
- Curling: Brett DeKoning and Caitlin Romain;
- Fencing: Colin Lee and Vivian Poon;
- Field hockey: Katie Feagan/Megan Duffy (co-MVPs);
- Figure skating: Julianna Kuhl;
- Football: Garret Sanvido;
- Golf: Charles Fitzsimmons/Traynor Turkiewicz (co-MVPs) and Amy Williams;
- Hockey: Josh Unice and Kelly Campbell;
- Lacrosse: Zach Grace and Lauren Crape/Tenyka Snider (co-MVPs);
- Ringette: Michelle Coppens;
- Rowing: Mark Dawidek and Addie Barr (heavyweight), Graham Schenck and Sarah Christensen (lightweight);
- Rugby: Mike Penczak and Lori Josephson;
- Soccer: Eric Amato and Lauren Winquist;
- Softball: Alanna Anstett;
- Squash: Brian Hong and Holly Delavigne/Samantha Hennings (co-MVPs);
- Swimming: Robert Wise and Emma Sproule;
- Table Tennis: Kevin Tang and Rongge Zhang;
- Tennis: Thomas Young/Matthew Jaekel and Marni Venter;
- Track and field: Scott Leitch and Brenna Thomson;
- Volleyball: Garrett May and Danielle Marshall;
- Water Polo: Daniel Abraham; and
- Wrestling: Steven Takahashi/Ilya Abelev (co-MVPs) and Brianne Barry.