Gibson’s greatness takes centre stage with player of the year honours

Burlington, Ont. - A consistent driving force for the Queen’s Gaels, Lizzie Gibson headlines a class of incredible performances on the pitch. Gibson’s jaw-dropping numbers result in a second player of the year nod, amongst all of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women’s rugby award winners and all-stars.

Player of the Year - Lizzie Gibson, Queen’s Gaels

Gibson led the OUA in scoring with an incredible 157 points on the season, to more than double the second-leading scorer in the conference. Making the point total more impressive is that it was accomplished in just five games.

2025 marked the sensational seniors second highest point total in a single season in Tricolour, behind only 2022 when Gibson finished the year with 176. Now is Queen’s women’s rugby’s all-time leading scorer with 569 career points, Gibson surpassed Gaels legends Lauren McEwen and Sophie de Goede, as part of an impressive 2025 campaign.

The back row from Caledon Ont. was a key factor in the Gaels perfect 6-0 record in 2025, their sixth straight season finishing with an undefeated regular season.

2025 marks Gibson’s second year being named the OUA player of the year after also winning the award, along with U SPORTS player of the year honours as well in 2022. The decorated veteran has also been named the OUA Shiels Division rookie of the year, and U SPORTS rookie of the year, in 2019.

Along with the major awards, Gibson is also a five-time OUA first team all-star and four-time U SPORTS all-Canadian.

Rookie of the Year - Lily Vandenhoek, Brock Badgers

Rookie sensation Lily Vandenhoek stepped on to the pitch with the Brock Badgers this year and made her presence felt from the very start. The education student scored three tries, averaged over 15 tackles and caused two tackles per game.

From Caledon, Ont. Vandenhoek was a key contributor in the Badgers 3-3 season, including their thrilling OUA playoff upset of the No. 3 Western Mustangs in overtime.

Vandenhoek’s debut season is only the beginning of an exciting university career, being named not only rookie of the year but a second team all-star, as well.

Community Service Award - Heavlyn Sekyere, Waterloo Warriors

Heavlyn Sekyere is a very prominent member of the Waterloo Warriors’ campus community through not only her volunteerism, but the extensive ways she engages with everyone she meets.

The life sciences student is a member of various campus clubs such as the Black Association for Student Expression (BASE), which facilitates mentorship, outreach, and cultural engagement of Black people and Black culture. She is also a member of the Athletics Alliance, which advocates for and establishes systemic changes for the Waterloo Black, Indigenous, and racialized community.

Sekyere is a guest speaker for Adulting 101, an outreach program that takes place in local high schools and aims to help ease the transition from high school to post-secondary education.

From Dundalk, Ont., she is a founding member of the Pencil Project, which compiles and publishes the successes of first-generation immigrants from Grey-Bruce County, a project founded with the hopes of creating a sense of unity and inclusion for the larger community.

On the rugby pitch the Warriors ‘co-captain and co-manager of the social media team, Sekyere played all six games for the black and gold and scored two tries this season. Her 94% tackle completion percentage was also the highest on the team.

Coach of the Year - Dan Valley, Queen’s Gaels

Dan Valley led the Queen’s Gaels to a perfect 6-0 regular season record, holding the top seed in the OUA standings. 2025 marked the sixth straight undefeated regular season for the Gaels under Valley.

Queen’s outscored their opponents by a combined score of 464-34, and under Valley’s leadership, led the conference in both points scored and points against, The feat was even more impressive with the points predominately coming in just five games, with the Gaels winning one game via forfeiture.

Valley’s Gaels also led the league in OUA first team all-stars with seven, including OUA player of the year, Lizzie Gibson.

This year’s honours notes the third year that Valley has won the OUA women’s rugby Coach of the Year award after being named the OUA Shiels Division coach of the year in 2021 and 2019, respectively.

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Player of the Year - Lizzie Gibson, Queen’s Gaels

Rookie of the Year - Lily Vandenhoek, Brock Badgers

Community Service Award - Heavlyn Sekyere, Waterloo Warriors

Coach of the Year - Dan Valley, Queen’s Gaels

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS

Fly Half - Abbey Tape, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks

Scrum Half - Madi Thompson, Queen’s Gaels

Prop - Brooke Rempel, Brock Badgers

Prop - Jayne Armatage, Queen’s Gaels

Centre - Maddy Minnis, Guelph Gryphons

Centre - Mika Hough, Western Mustangs

Back Three - Milla Sayavongsa, Guelph Gryphons

Back Three - Kennedi Stevenson, Queen’s Gaels

Back Three - Reilly Cattell, Western Mustangs

Back Row - Lizzie Gibson, Queen’s Gaels

Back Row - Abby Auger, Guelph Gryphons

Back Row - Jiggy Schonfeld, Queen’s

Hooker - Maddy May, Queen’s Gaels

Second Row - Maxie Grant, Queen’s Gaels

Second Row - Imogen Barnard, Guelph Gryphons

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS

Fly Half - Paige DeNeve, Brock Badgers

Scrum Half - Halle Woodcock, Guelph

Prop - Meg Rogers, Guelph

Prop - Lucy Boronka, York

Centre - Alanna Mrkobrada, York

Centre - Kaia Grant, WLU

Back Three - Addy Holmes, Guelph

Back Three - Jahlesha Roye, York

Back Three - Mya Rickerby, Brock

Back Row - Kennedy Johnstone, Western

Back Row - Lily Vandenhoek, Brock

Back Row - Verena Marsig, McMaster

Hooker - Taylor McKnight, Guelph

Second Row - Julia Kata, McMaster

Second Row - Mackenzie Duncan, Western