With files from Ontario University Athletics
BURLINGTON, Ont. - Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is excited to announce the 2016 OUA men's rugby all-stars.
As a result of an undefeated 8-0 regular season record and a first place finish atop the standings, six Guelph Gryphons players have been selected as OUA all-stars.
The Gryphons are led by hooker Eric Howard (Kanata, Ont.) who has not only been named an OUA all-star but also Most Valuable Player (MVP). The Kanata, Ont. native finished third on the Gryphons with six tries and is an OUA all-star for a third consecutive season. Howard is the first Guelph player to earn the honour since former Gryphon Byron Boville following the 2012 season.
Guelph scrum half Cody Weese-Burton (Guelph, Ont.) joins Wright as an OUA all-star selection this season after he led the conference in both conversions (41) and points (85).
Coming off a season in which he scored four tries, 8th man Jeremy Wright (Fenelon Falls, Ont.) is an OUA all-star once again this season. Now in his fifth year, Wright has been named an all-star in each of the past three seasons.
Flanker Eric Charest-Pekeski (Barrie, Ont.) finished one try back of the aforementioned Howard this season, touching down five for 25 points. This is the third all-star nomination of Charest-Pekeski's career after he was previously honoured following the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Prop Ryan Brethour (Sunderland, Ont.) and wing Jordan Hofstra (Guelph, Ont.) will also represent the Gryphons on the all-star team for the first time in their careers.
Gryphons players aren't the only ones to be recognized following an outstanding season as Guelph head coach Cory Hector has been selected by his peers as the OUA Coach of the Year. In just his first season as head coach, Hector, who played for the Gryphons and spent seven seasons as an assistant coach, has the Gryphons on the cusp of their first Turner Trophy since 1998 as they get set to take on the Queen's Gaels on Sunday in the OUA Men's Rugby Championship.
Speaking of the Gaels, coming off a second place finish with a 6-1-1 record in the regular season, five Queen's players have been named OUA all-stars.
Not only has centre Michael Douros (Toronto, Ont.) been named an all-star but is this year's recipient of the Trillium Award, which is awarded to the best all-around player. Douros recorded three tries this season, however, the Toronto, Ont. native is known just as much for keeping points off the board as he is for putting them on it.
Queen's fullback Kainoa Lloyd (Mississagua, Ont.) led the conference with 10 tries while his 54 points was the sixth highest in OUA this season. This is the second all-star nomination of Lloyd's career after the third-year software design student-athlete was previously selected following the 2014 season.
Joining Lloyd on the all-star team is 8th man Nicholas DeLallo (Ottawa, Ont.) who turned seven tries, the fourth highest amount in the league this year, and 35 points into the first selection of his OUA career.
Scrum half Dylan Young (Toronto, Ont.) had a team-high nine conversions and is an OUA all-star in just his second-year in the league. Young, who is studying political science at Queen's University, also had a pair of tries and three penalty goals for a total of 37 points, tying him for 10th in OUA.
Rounding out the Gaels all-star selections is prop Ruairidh MacPhail (Vancouver, BC).
The Western Mustangs stampeded to a second consecutive third place regular season finish this year thanks in large part to the play of inside centre Cole Sopik(Aurora, Ont.). Sopik, a fourth-year BMOS major, finished second in the conference with nine tries, while his 45 points ranked him sixth in the conference
Openside flanker Peter Milazzo (Toronto, Ont.) and blindside winger Glen Thomson-Bullock (Toronto, Ont.) combined for five tries this season and the pair are OUA all-stars for a second straight season. Milazzo, who was also named to the squad in 2014, had a pair of tries while Thomson-Bullock had three of his own.
The Mustangs blindside flanker Isaac Butler (Sarnia, Ont.) had three tries of his own and is an OUA all-star for a first time along with loosehead propr Armin Gurdic (London, Ont.).
McMaster Marauders fly half William Kelly (Ancaster, Ont.) took the league by storm in his first year and has been named OUA Rookie of the Year and an all-star following a fantastic freshman campaign.
Kelly finished second in league scoring, trailing Guelph's Weese-Burton by just two points. The Ancaster, Ont. native who attended Hillfield Strathallan College before joining the Marauders, had 14 conversions and 14 penalty goals to go along with two tries and a drop goal this season.
Three other Marauders will join Kelly as OUA all-stars as flanker Robert Wingrove (Markham, Ont.), along with centres Mitchell Richardson (Stoney Creek, Ont.) and James Leveridge (Oakville, Ont.) have been recognized. Richardson recorded three tries during the regular season, while Wingrove scored a try of his own for the Marauders.
In their first season back in OUA, the Trent Excalibur went 4-4 to finish fifth in the conference. The Excalibur roster features four all-star selections and is headlined by Jesse Leadbetter (Midland, Ont.) who led the team in conversions (13) and points (34).
Along with Leadbetter, Trent's Joseph Sargeant (Prescott, Ont.) is also an OUA all-star after the Prescott, Ont. native finished second on the team with four tries. Excalibur Charlie Tremblay (Kingston, Ont.) had a pair of tries and Michael Jorgensen (Lindsay, Ont.) was strong defensively for Trent this year and now both players can add OUA all-star to their resumes.
Coming off a second straight 4-4 regular season record, three RMC Paladins players have been recognized for strong 2016 seasons with OUA all-star nods.
The Paladins were led this season by full back Matthew Courtney (Brockville, Ont.) who finished the regular season fourth in league scoring for a second consecutive season with 58 points. Courtney, a fourth-year honours business administration major, had 14 conversions, four penalty goals, three tries and a drop goal this year for RMC.
Along with Courtney, scrum half Blake Sullivan (Oakville, Ont.) and flanker Cole Milne (Shawnigan Lake, BC) have also been named OUA all-stars. Sullivan had two tries during the regular season while Milne had one of this own.
After picking up three wins during the regular season, it's fitting a trio of Brock Badgers have been recognized for their accomplishments on the field with three OUA all-star nods of their own.
Fly half Nathan Boeyenga (Brantford, Ont.) finished second in the conference with 22 conversions and the Brantford, Ont. native has been named an OUA all-star for the first time in his career.
Along with Boeyeng, hooker Jackson Amos (Mississauga, Ont.), a third-year sport management major and Mitch Langhorn are both OUA all-stars after scoring a try a piece during the regular season.
Hooker Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, Ont.) and centre Jackson Smith (Erin, Ont.) will infuse some purple and gold into the OUA all-star selections follow strong seasons on the pitch for the Laurier Golden Hawks. Quattrin, a third-year geography major, led the Hawks in both tries (4) and points (20), while Smith finished tied for second on the team just one try back.
Heading across town, the Waterloo Warriors are represented this time around by rookie back Mitch Voralek (Waterloo, Ont.) and flanker Connor Bevington(Oakville, Ont.).
The future is bright for Waterloo as playing for his hometown Warriors, Voralek dominated the opposition week in and week out, finishing the year with 64 points, trailing only Guelph's Burton and McMaster's Kelly. In his first season in OUA, Voralek had 12 conversions, five tries to go along with five penalty goals.
Rounding out the OUA all-star selections is University of Toronto Varsity Blues Brandon Langevin (Montreal, Que.), a fourth-year commerce major.
OUA MEN'S RUGBY MAJOR AWARDS
Most Valuable Player – Eric Howard – Guelph Gryphons
Rookie of the Year – William Kelly – McMaster Marauders
Coach of the Year – Cory Hector – Guelph Gryphons
Trillium Award – Michael Douros – Queen's Gaels
OUA ALL-STARS
Jeremy Wright – Guelph Gryphons
Cody Weese-Burton – Guelph Gryphons
Eric Howard – Guelph Gryphons
Eric Charest-Pekeski – Guelph Gryphons
Ryan Brethour – Guelph Gryphons
Jordan Hofstra – Guelph Gryphons
Michael Douros – Queen's Gaels
Kainoa Lloyd – Queen's Gaels
Nicholas DeLallo – Queen's Gaels
Dylan Young – Queen's Gaels
Ruairidh MacPhail – Queen's Gaels
Cole Sopik – Western Mustangs
Peter Milazzo – Western Mustangs
Glen Thomson-Bullock – Western Mustangs
Isaac Butler – Western Mustangs
Armin Gurdic – Western Mustangs
William Kelly – McMaster Marauders
Robert Wingrove – McMaster Marauders
Mitchell Richardson – McMaster Marauders
James Leveridge – McMaster Marauders
Jesse Leadbetter – Trent Excalibur
Joseph Sargeant – Trent Excalibur
Charlie Tremblay – Trent Excalibur
Michael Jorgensen – Trent Excalibur
Matthew Courtney – RMC Paladins
Blake Sullivan – RMC Paladins
Cole Milne – RMC Paladins
Nathan Boeyenga – Brock Badgers
Jackson Amos – Brock Badgers
Mitch Langhorn – Brock Badgers
Andrew Quattrin – Laurier Golden Hawks
Jackson Smith – Laurier Golden Hawks
Mitch Voralek – Waterloo Warriors
Connor Bevington – Waterloo Warriors
Brandon Langevin – Toronto Varsity Blues
