Uzodinma Ukagwu | Sports Editor
Featured Image: The Lions men’s soccer team and women’s field hockey team repeated as OUA champs this past season. | Courtesy of York Lions
The sports season is finally over and the verdict is in. The Lions have had a very successful year. From soccer to rugby to field hockey to track and field, the Lions have made the York community very proud.
York brought home two OUA championships this season, winning the field hockey and men’s soccer provincial championships.
The Lions field hockey team had an outstanding run, finishing the entire season undefeated, and swaggering to their second consecutive OUA title. They also finished second place, nationally, losing 2-1 to the University of Victoria in a best of three series.
The Lions men’s soccer team also claimed their second consecutive OUA championship, after finishing their regular season undefeated. They defeated the Carleton Ravens 3-1 in the provincial championship, a repeat of last season’s final. The men’s soccer team went on to compete in the U SPORTS Championships, finishing sixth place overall. The Lions women’s soccer team, for their part, reached the OUA playoff quarterfinals, where they lost a close game 3-2 to the Western Mustangs.
In rugby, the Lions finished sixth in the OUA, after losing their quarterfinal playoff to Brock, and losing the consolation final to Western.
In track and field, the Lions finished fourth in the OUA, claiming six gold medals at the OUA championships. Pierce Lepage won the gold in the men’s high jump, long jump and 60-meter hurdle events, while Brittany Crew did the same in the weight throw and shot put events. At the national championships this weekend, both athletes won two gold medals each. Crew won both of her sports again, while Lepage claimed the 60-meter hurdle and long jump crowns.
In hockey, the men’s team finished their season at the quarterfinal playoffs where they lost the first two games in a best of three to Brock. The women did not make the playoffs.
The Lions women’s basketball team also made it to the OUA semi-final after a surprise win against Queens in the first round, their first playoff win since the 2007-08 season. unfortunately, they lost their second-round game to Ottawa. The men’s basketball team, for their part, lost their first-round game, also to Ottawa.
Both men and women’s volleyball teams exited the OUA championships at the quarter-final stage, with the men losing to Mac and the women to Waterloo.
In wrestling, Alexandria Town (59kg) and Christelle Lans (72kg) won a silver and bronze medal respectively, while the men had four athletes, Kevin Vuong (54kg), Shevonne Witter-Watts (57kg), Mustafa Shah (76kg), and Peter Tsarev (120kg), finish in fourth place.
In tennis, both men’s and women’s teams finished with the bronze medal at the OUA championships.
After all of this season’s ups and downs, Lions athletes across all sports will be looking to recuperate and come back even stronger next season in the hope of attaining more hardware.
