U SPORTS announced the national season award winners in track and field on Thursday morning, prior to the start of the 2025 BioSteel U SPORTS Track & Field Championships.
On the women’s side, Favour Okpali of Western was named the outstanding track athlete of the season. The fifth-year engineering major from Toronto holds down the top ranking in the country at 600m and is third-ranked in the 300m distance. The outstanding field athlete of the season is Rebecca Parker of Guelph. The fourth-year Criminal Justice & Public Policy major from Windsor is ranked No. 2 nationally in the pentathlon and third in the high jump. Parker’s teammate, Dianna Proctor, snatched rookie of the year honours. The Edmontonian is the nation’s top-ranked 300m runner, and seventh in the 60m.
The Student-Athlete Community Service Award went to Georgia Oland of Calgary. A third-year Kinesiology major, the Calgarian is ranked second nationally in the 300m, third in the 60m and 4x200m, and eighth in the 4×400 metre events. She was an Academic All-Canadian last season and continued that this year with a 3.94 GPA (out of 4.0) in the fall. Additionally, she volunteers in the “Thrive Centre” at the U of C, where she assists clinical exercise physiologists in leading tailored exercise classes for individuals living with and beyond cancer. She also volunteers in an elementary school classroom, working with students who have neurodevelopmental and intellectual disabilities. Altogether, she has logged more than 250 volunteer hours in the past two years.
Leading the outstanding performers on the men’s side was Max Davies of Guelph, who won the Track Performer of the Season award for the second straight year. The fourth-year management major from Toronto, who was the OUA’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2023-24, is ranked first in the country this year at both the 1000 and 1500m distances. The Outstanding Field Athlete of the Season is Kenneth West of Western. The fourth-year sciences major from Brampton, Ont., is the top-ranked athlete in the country in both the long jump and triple jump events. The men’s Rookie of the Year is Keon Rude from Guelph. The Calgarian is ranked third in the country in the 60m hurdles and seventh overall in the 60m dash.
The Student-Athlete Community Service Award went to Aaron Thompson of Western. A third-year medical student from Waterloo, he is ranked second in the country in the 300m, seventh in the 60m and is part of the top-ranked teams in the 4×200 and 4×400 events. He is conducting research in cardiorespiratory physiology and exercise physiology, a project that began during his master’s degree studies. He also oversees the Mustangs mental wellness program for student-athletes, leading a team of approximately 40 varsity team representatives. Finally, he is helping those coming after him, both by guiding prospective medical school students through the application process and by coaching young athletes in the London Western Track and Field Club.
The Assistant Coaches of the Year are Jamie Epp of Saskatchewan and Tina Sharman of Windsor. The head coaches of the year are determined at the conclusion of the championship, along with the Athletes of the Meet. All-Canadians are determined by performance at the championships, with event gold medallists becoming first team All-Canadians, while second-place finishers earn second team All-Canadian honours.
The three-day U SPORTS meet, hosted by Windsor for the 13th time in its history, runs from Thursday to Saturday at the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse. Live streaming of the event is available on CBC digital platforms in English and SRC’s digital platforms in French.
2024-25 U SPORTS TRACK & FIELD SEASON AWARDS
Women
- Athlete of the year (track events): Favour Okpali, Windsor
- Athlete of the year (field events): Rebecca Parker, Guelph
- Rookie of the year: Dianna Proctor, Guelph
- Student-athlete community service award: Georgia Oland, Calgary
- Assistant coach of the year: Tina Sharman, Windsor
Men
- Athlete of the year (track events): Max Davies, Guelph
- Athlete of the year (field events): Kenneth West, Western
- Rookie of the year: Keon Rude, Western
- Student-athlete community service award: Aaron Thompson, Western
- Assistant coach of the year: Jamie Epp, Saskatchewan
2025 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
(all times Eastern)
Thursday, March 6
1:30 p.m. Weight Throw W Final
3:15 p.m. 60m Hurdles W Pent
3:45 p.m. 60m M Hept
4:00 p.m. High Jump W Pent
4:30 p.m. Long Jump M Hept
6:00 p.m. Shot Put M Hept
6:00 p.m. Pole Vault W Final
6:00 p.m. 60m W Heats
6:15 p.m. 60m M Heats
6:30 p.m. 600m W Heats
6:45 p.m. 600m M Heats
6:55 p.m. 60m Ambulatory W Final
7:00 p.m. Shot Put W Pent
7:00 p.m. 60m W Final
7:10 p.m. 60m M Final
8:00 p.m. High Jump M Hept
8:00 p.m. Long Jump W Pent
8:00 p.m. 4x200m W Heats
8:20 p.m. 4x200m M Heats
9:00 p.m. 800m W Pent
Friday, March 7
2:30 p.m. Weight Throw M Final
4:15 p.m. 60m Hurdles M Hept
4:25 p.m. Long Jump W Final
4:25 p.m. 60m Hurdles W Heats
4:30 p.m. High Jump M Final
4:40 p.m. 60m Hurdles M Heats
4:55 p.m. 1000m W Final
5:05 p.m. 1000m M Final
5:35 p.m. 60m Hurdles W Final
5:45 p.m. 60m Hurdles M Final
5:55 p.m. 300m W Heats
6:00 p.m. Pole Vault M Hept
6:10 p.m. 300m M Heats
6:25 p.m. Long Jump M Final
6:35 p.m. 3000m M Final
6:40 p.m. Shot Put W Final
6:55 p.m. 3000m W Final
7:40 p.m. 300m Ambulatory W Final
7:45 p.m. 300m Ambulatory M Final
7:55 p.m. 300m W Final
8:05 p.m. 300m M Final
8:30 p.m. 4x800m W Final
8:45 p.m. 4x800m M Final
9:00 p.m. 1000m M Hept
Saturday, March 8
11:00 a.m. 300m Wheelchair M Final
12:30 p.m. Triple Jump W Final
12:35 p.m. Shot Put M Final
1:00 p.m. Pole Vault M Final
1:15 p.m. 600m W Final
1:30 p.m. 600m M Final
2:15 p.m. 4x200m W Final
2:25 p.m. 4x200m M Final
2:30 p.m. High Jump W Final
2:35 p.m. Triple Jump M Final
2:45 p.m. 1500m W Final
3:00 p.m. 1500m M Final
3:45 p.m. 4x400m W Final
4:00 p.m. 4x400m M Final
4:10 p.m. Championship awards
(athletes of the meet, coaches of the year)
Finals in bold
Combined events (women’s pentathlon, men’s heptathlon) in italics