OTTAWA, Ont. – On Thursday (Nov. 14, 2024) in Ottawa, five members of the Guelph Gryphons men's rugby team were recognized as All-Canadians and major award winners as part of the 2024 Canadian University Men's Rugby Championships, hosted by the University of Ottawa. Gryphons head coach
Cory Hector was named national Coach of the Year, while
Tomas Dallan and
Liam Bowman were named first team as All-Canadians, with
Charles Trollip and
Owen Williams were named Second Team All-Canadians. This marks the first time in which the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championships has named All-Canadians, with the national championship tournament now in its eighth year of existence after launching in 2017.
2024 Gryphons Men's Rugby All-Canadians and Major Award Winners
Cory Hector – National Coach of the Year
Gryphons men's rugby head coach,
Cory Hector, takes home national Coach of the Year honours for the 2024 season.
Hector, now in his ninth season as head coach of the University of Guelph men's rugby program, led his team to a perfect 6-0 regular season record, clinching top spot in the conference, followed by a pair of OUA playoff wins over Waterloo and Queen's to help his team lift the Turner Trophy as conference champions for a program record fourth consecutive season. The Gryphons have been crowned OUA champions in men's rugby on seven occasions in program history, five of which have come under Hector's leadership in the past nine seasons. Hector has also led the Gryphons to a back-to-back third-place finishes at the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championships.
Tomas Dallan – First Team All-Canadian
Tomas Dallan's exceptional 2024 season sees him earn First Team All-Canadian honours. Dallan, a third-year winger from Oakville, was the team's leading point scorer during the 2024 regular season with 68 points (4 tries, 24 converts) as the main place kicker on the team. The management economics and finance major had one of his best games of the season in the 2024 OUA Championship game, scoring 11 of his team's 31 points and making all his converts including the successful penalty try in the 78th minute to help clinch the Gryphons the OUA Championship with their 31-21 victory over Queen's.
Liam Bowman – First Team All-Canadian
Liam Bowman burst onto the scene for the Gryphons in 2024, and has been named a First Team All-Canadian in his first year with the team. Bowman is a dynamic centre from Mississauga who led the team with 7 tries on the season.
The psychology major scored an important try for the team in their 2024 OUA Championship game against Queen's, with his second half score drawing Guelph level with the Gaels in the Gryphons come-from-behind victory over their rivals from Kingston. Bowman's most impressive performance of the season came in the season opener against Laurier when he scored a season-high four tries.
Charles Trollip – Second Team All-Canadian
Guelph native
Charles Trollip has been named a Second Team All-Canadian for the 2024 season. Trollip, a third-year prop, played a major part in his team's success this season as a key cog in the scrums for the OUA champion Gryphons. During the 2024 OUA Championship game against Queen's, the human kinetics major factored into each of Guelph's four tries on the night, with Trollip and company pushing their way towards a program-record fourth consecutive OUA title.
Owen Williams – Second Team All-Canadian
Owen Williams was one of the most important players on the Gryphon roster in 2024 and has earned a spot among the list of Second Team All-Canadians. Williams, a third-year 8-man player from Elora, Ontario, has come up clutch all season for the Gryphons when his team needed it the most. Against Queen's in the regular season, Williams would cap off his team's comeback when he scored his team's final two tries of the game, including the eventual game-winning try in the 73rd minute leading his team to a 35-31 win. When his team needed a score against the Gaels in the 2024 OUA Championship game, it was Williams who came through again, scoring the Gryphons first try of the game in the 34th minute to allow his team to make the second half comeback. The human kinetics major scored six tries in the regular season.
2024 Men's Rugby Major Award Winners
Player of the Year: Relmu Wilson-Valdes, UBC Thunderbirds
Rookie of the Year: Jack McCallum, UBC Okanagan Heat
Forward of the Year: Genaro Gandolfo, Trinity Western Spartans
Back of the Year: Jamie Armstrong, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Coach of the Year: Cory Hector, Guelph Gryphons
2024 Men's Rugby First Team All-Canadians
Anderson Recker, McGill Redbirds
Jordy Auger, Victoria Vikes
Evan Roy, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Brendan Kim, Victoria Vikes
Joe McNulty, UBC Thunderbirds
Genaro Gandolfo, Trinity Western Spartans
Merlin M'Cloud, Victoria Vikes
Relmu Wilson-Valdes, UBC Thunderbirds
Stephen Webb, UBC Thunder Birds
Jamie Armstrong, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Matthew Willemse, Trinity Western Spartans
Tomas Dallan, Guelph Gryphons
Liam Bowman, Guelph Gryphons
Jules Normandin, ÉTS Piranhas
Morgan Di Nardo, Victoria Vikes
Sion Griffiths, Victoria Vikes
2024 Men's Rugby Second Team All-Canadians
Ethan Jurgeneit, Trinity Western Spartans
Patrick Williams , UBC Okanagan Heat
Charles Trollip, Guelph Gryphons
Brad Hunger, McGill Redbirds
Benjamin Newhook, Memorial Sea-Hawks
Owen Williams, Guelph Gryphons
Ian McDowell, McGill Redbirds
Grant Meadows, Brock Badgers
Owen McDonell , Bishop's Gaiters
Austin Pinnell, Alberta Golden Bears
Jack McCallum, UBC Okanagan Heat
Glenn Roy, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Alastair Marshall, UBC Thunderbirds
Owen Lee, Queen's Gaels
Josh Eustace, Waterloo Warriors
