TORONTO, Ont. - For the second time during the 2021-22 season, a Guelph Gryphon student-athlete has been named U SPORTS Athlete of the Week. On Wednesday (Nov. 24), the U SPORTS office announced
Mitchell Ubene (Guelph Gryphons, men's cross country) and Jessy Lacourse (Laval Rouge et Or, women's cross country) as the latest recipients of U SPORTS Athlete of the Week honours.
U SPORTS Athletes of the Week (Nov. 15-21, 2021)
Mitchell Ubene (Guelph Gryphons, men's cross country)
Jessy Lacourse (Laval Rouge et Or, women's cross country)
Mitchell Ubene (Guelph Gryphons - Men's Cross Country)
Mitchell Ubene of Guelph ran a perfect race, leading from start to finish to win the gold medal with a time of 24:27.50. The fifth-year mechanical engineering student finished second at the 2019 U SPORTS Championship but upgraded his medal to gold in 2021. "It's my last year, so I wanted to leave it all out there and I'm super happy. The two Laval guys, Jean-Simon Desgagnés and Thomas Fafard started to make a couple of moves up the hill. With about one kilometre to go, the leading pack split up and it was just a sprint downhill and it was an insane finish!" With his performance in Quebec City on the weekend, Ubene earns the opportunity to represent Team Canada at the 2022 World University Cross Country Championship in Aveiro, Portugal in March.
Other nominees:
AUS: Elijah Miller, University of Prince Edward Island (men's basketball)
RSEQ: Thomas Fafard, Université Laval (cross country)
Jesse Lacourse (Laval Rouge et Or - Women's Cross Country)
Lacourse, a fourth-year masters student in Psychoeducation, completed a perfect season on Saturday winning every race this fall. In second place for most of the eight-kilometre race, Lacourse found the energy to overtake UBC-Okanagan's Lauren McNeil in the final two-kilometre loop and cross the finish line with a time of 28:25, three seconds ahead of the silver medallist. "To win on the Plains of Abraham with everyone cheering me on, that will remain a highlight of my career, no matter what happens next!," said Lacourse.
Other nominees
AUS: Caroline Piertroski – St. Thomas University (women's hockey)
OUA: Cyanna King – York University (women's basketball)
Gryphon Student-Athletes Named U SPORTS Athletes of the Week in 2021-22
