Mustangs student-athletes honoured at 2017 Athletic Awards Gala

LONDON, Ont. – Men's football player Sean Jamieson and women's track and field athlete Joy Spear Chief-Morris were recognized for their outstanding careers on Tuesday night as the Western Mustangs held the 2017 Athletic Awards Gala at the London Convention Centre.

Jamieson finished his five years at Western by becoming the 78th winner of the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy, while Spear Chief-Morris wrapped up her three-year Mustangs career as the 61st 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 five seasons with the Mustangs, Jamieson established himself as one of the top linemen in Western football history. Helping the purple and white to the 30th Yates Cup in program history in 2013, he was a key factor in making the Mustangs offence the top unit in the nation throughout his time with the team.
 
A three-time OUA All-Star and U SPORTS All-Canadian, Jamieson won the J.P. Metras Trophy as the top lineman in OUA football in 2016, becoming the first Mustang to win the award since 1997. Recently signing a deal with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, he'll join the team for training camp in May.

Other nominees for the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy were track and field's Riley Bell and baseball player Nolan Anderson.
 
A Mustang for the past three seasons, Joy Spear Chief-Morris has dominated the OUA track and field ranks since arriving on campus from the University of British Columbia. In just three years she's won 15 OUA and U SPORTS medals, excelling in the 60 metres, 60 metre hurdles, and the relay.
 
Owner of several Western records and a two-time winner of the OUA female track events MVP award, Spear Chief-Morris also makes an impact in the community, as this year she was honoured with both the OUA and U SPORTS Women's Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her work in the Indigenous community as a motivational speaker, coach, and facilitator.

Also nominated for the F.W.P. Jones Trophy were track and field's Kaleigh Hole and women's soccer's Jenna White.

Along with the Brown and Jones trophies two Mustangs were selected as the Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

Receiving the fifth ever Male Athlete of the Year Award was cross country and track and field athlete Jack Sheffar. He set numerous records for the purple and white in 2016-17, leading the Mustangs as the team's top finisher in each race he competed in during the cross country season. Sheffar helped lead the men's team to their first OUA title since 1988, earning OUA All-Star and U SPORTS All-Canadian honours along with way. He didn't slow down once he moved to the track and continued to dominate, including winning both the 1500m and 3000m at the OUA Championships to earn OUA Men's Outstanding Performer honours at the event.
 
Men's lacrosse player Cody Ward and swimmer David Riley were also nominated for the Male Athlete of the Year Award.

Kelsey Veltman claimed the fifth Female Athlete of the Year Award after continuing her reign over OUA volleyball this season. In only her third year with the Mustangs, Veltman won her third OUA West Player of the Year Award this season, and helped Western earn an OUA silver medal. Leading the league in total points, solo blocks, assisted blocks, and total blocks, she was named both an OUA West First Team All-Star and a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian.

Other nominees for Female Athlete of the Year were track and field's Joy Spear Chief-Morris and Kaleigh Hole.

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 14 Purple Blankets were handed out with six going to major award nominees Kaleigh Hole, Nolan Anderson, Joy Spear Chief-Morris, Riley Bell, Sean Jamieson, and Jenna White.
 
Other Purple Blanket winners included men's wrestling's Kyle Bonk-Dann, women's rowing's Sydney Boyes, football's George Johnson, women's fencing's Vivian Poon, men's rowing's Ian Connell, women's hockey's Brianna Iazzolino, football's Matt Van Praet, and women's rowing's Alexsandra Stefanovski.
 

Team MVPs were honoured as well, with the full list of winners outlined below:

Men's Badminton: Bryan Jok
Women's Badminton: Samantha Zhang
Baseball: Nolan Anderson
Men's Basketball: Eriq Jenkins
Women's Basketball: Mackenzie Puklicz
Men's Cross Country: Jack Sheffar
Women's Cross Country: Kristina Popadich
Men's Curling: Derreck Veitch
Women's Curling: Carolyne Graham
Men's Fencing: Julian Twardus
Women's Fencing: Victoria Edwards
Field Hockey: Emily Cozens
Figure Skating: Giouzelin Mutlu
Football: Alex Taylor
Men's Golf: Charles Fitzsimmons
Women's Golf: Jordon Newlands
Men's Hockey: Greg Dodds
Women's Hockey: Lyndsay Kirkham
Men's Lacrosse: Cody Ward
Women's Lacrosse: Jacqueline Owens
Ringette: Michelle Coppens
Men's Rowing: Ian Connell
Women's Rowing: Jill Moffatt
Men's Rugby: Cole Sopik
Women's Rugby: Paige Farries
Men's Soccer: Chuka Ononye
Women's Soccer: Stefanie Di Tella
Softball: Rachael Jacques
Men's Squash: Adam Van Wyngaarden
Women's Squash: Karen Lam
Men's Swimming: David Riley
Women's Swimming: Charis Huddle
Men's Table Tennis: Yiwei Li
Women's Table Tennis: Kelly Li
Men's Tennis: Iain Sneddon
Women's Tennis: Helen He
Men's Track and Field: Ramzi Abdulahi
Women's Track and Field: Kaleigh Hole
Men's Ultimate Frisbee: Phil Turner
Women's Ultimate Frisbee: Samantha Hale
Men's Volleyball: Bryn Ramsay
Women's Volleyball: Kelsey Veltman
Water Polo: Jovan Latkovic
Men's Wrestling: Kyle Bonk-Dann
Women's Wrestling: Julie Steffler