BURLINGTON, ON - The 2016 season has been a memorable one for the Guelph Gryphons men's rugby team. On Friday (Nov. 11), it became even more memorable.

The Gryphons took home league MVP honours (Eric Howard), OUA Coach of the Year honours (Cory Hector) and had a total of six players named conference All-Stars as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) officially announced the list of major award winners and All-Stars for the 2016 men's rugby season.

For just the second time in school history, a Guelph Gryphon has been named OUA MVP in men's rugby. 





















Fifth year senior Eric Howard joins his former teammate Byron Boville, who earned the honour in 2012, as the only other Gryphon player to take home conference MVP honours. In his final season with the Gryphons, the 5-foot-9, 233 pound Howard helped the Gryphons complete an undefeated regular season, ranking second on the team with six tries on the year. Due to commitments with the Canadian National Team, Eric's final game as a Gryphon came in the regular season finale versus McMaster on October 21. After making his international debut against Brazil in the America's Rugby Championship earlier this year (February 2016), Howard was selected for Team Canada's June tours where he played against Japan, Russia and Italy. In August, Eric played three games with Canada 'A' and now, has once again been selected to represent his country for the November European Tours where Canada will face Ireland, Romania and Samoa. As a result of his national team duties, Howard was forced to miss the OUA playoffs with the Gryphons. Although not having Howard for the playoff run is unfortunate, Gryphons head coach Cory Hector is also quick to point out just how instrumental Eric's national team experience has been for the rest of the team, "Without a doubt, our entire team has benefitted from Howie's national team experience. He's obviously a great player on the pitch, but aside from the in-game production, our guys have gained so much more in training because of Howie's national team experience. He makes everyone around him better."

In his first year as head coach, Cory Hector has been named OUA Coach of the Year. After spending the previous seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Gryphons, Hector officially took over Guelph's head coaching duties in May of 2016. The 33-year-old Cambridge native now has the Gryphons sitting one win away from capturing the school's first OUA title since 1998. "I am ecstatic for Cory," said University of Guelph Director of Athletics, Scott McRoberts. "To win this award in your first season as head coach speaks volumes to what he means to this program. Our Gryphon family could not be more proud."





















A total of six Gryphons earned OUA All-Star recognition, including fifth year captain Eric Charest-Pekeski. The Barrie, Ontario native contributed with five tries during the season and provided the Gryphons with leadership on and off the field with his tremendous work rate and willingness to put his body on the line. Fellow team captain Jeremy Wright has also earned a spot on the OUA All-Star team. The Fenelon Falls, Ontario native and former OUA All-Around Player of the Year, was once again one of the most difficult players in the conference to defend in 2016. Wright, who has served as a team captain for the Gryphons for each of the past three years, consistently showcased his ability to break tackles and carry defenders en route to claiming his fourth OUA All-Star nod in his five years at U of G.

After coming off of the bench for much of his career, fifth year prop Ryan Brethour has been named an OUA All-Star for the first time in his career. The 6-foot-3, 270 pound native of Sunderland, Ontario solidfied his place in the Gryphons starting lineup by starting in all nine games this season, using his size and athleticism to create constant challenges for opposing defences.

After taking over kicking duties in Week 3, second year scrum half Cody Burton went on to become the OUA's leading scorer with 85 points during the regular season. Burton's 41 converts were far and away the most in the conference. Rounding out the Gryphons 2016 All-Star selections is third year man Jordan Hofstra. After breaking his leg last year versus Laurier, Hofstra came back and produced an outstanding 2016 season in which he scored eight tries in nine games. The elusive Guelph native ranked third in the OUA in tries and picks up the first All-Star recognition of his career.

The Gryphons are now preparing to host the Queen's Gaels in the OUA Championship Final on Sunday, November 13. This marks the third straight year that these two programs have met in the final, with Queen's taking home the Turner Trophy in each of the previous two occasions. 

Sunday's game is set to kickoff at 5pm at Varsity Field and can be seen live online at www.oua.tv.
 

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2016 OUA Men's Rugby Major Award Winners

MVP - Eric Howard, Guelph
Coach of the Year - Cory Hector, Guelph
Rookie of the Year - William Kelly, McMaster
Trillium Award (Best All-Around Player) - Michael Douros, Queen's
 

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2016 OUA Men's Rugby All-Star Team

 

School	Name	Votes
Guelph	Eric Charest-Pekeski	6
Guelph	Jeremy Wright	6
Guelph	Eric Howard	6
Guelph	Ryan Brethour	6
Guelph	Cody Burton	6
Guelph	Jordan Hofstra	6
Queen's	Nicholas DeLallo	5
Queen's	Ruairidh McPhail	5
Queen's	Dylan Young	5
Queen's	Kai Llyod	5
Queen's	Michael Douros	5
Western	Cole Sopik	5
Western	Peter Milazzo	5
Western	Glen Bullock	5
Western	Armin Gurdic	5
Western	Isaac Butler	5
McMaster	Rob Wingrove	4
McMaster	Mitch Richardson	4
McMaster	Jamie Leveridge	4
McMaster	Will Kelly	4
Trent	Jesse Leadbetter	4
Trent	Joey Sargeant	4
Trent	Mike Jorgensen	4
Trent	Charlie Tremblay	4
RMC	Cole Milne	3
RMC	Blake Sullivan	3
RMC	Matt Courtney	3
Brock	Jackson Amos	3
Brock	Nathan Boeyenga	3
Brock	Mitch Langhorn	3
Laurier	Andrew Quattrin	2
Laurier	Jackson Smith	2
Waterloo	Connor Bevington	2
Waterloo	Mitch Voralek	2
Toronto	Brandon Langevin	1

 

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