BURLINGTON, Ont. – On Friday February 28, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the major award winners for the 2024-25 track and field season, with five individuals from the Gryphons track and field program earning conference-wide recognition. The awards recognize outstanding performances throughout the course of the 2024-25 track and field season, with Guelph's
Max Davies (OUA Male Track Athlete of the Year),
Rebecca Parker (OUA Women's Field Athlete of the Year),
Keon Rude (OUA Male Rookie of the Year),
Dianna Proctor (OUA Female Rookie of the Year) and Paul Galas (OUA Male Assistant Coach of the Year) all being recognized. The Gryphon track and field teams are currently preparing for the 2025 Biosteel U SPORTS Track & Field Championships, with the three-day national championship meet set to begin on Thursday, March 6 in Windsor.
OUA Track & Field Major Award Winners, 2024-25 Season
| Female Track Athlete of the Year |
Favour Okpali |
Western Mustangs |
| Male Track Athlete of the Year |
Max Davies |
Guelph Gryphons |
| Female Field Athlete of the Year |
Rebecca Parker |
Guelph Gryphons |
| Male Field Athlete of the Year |
Kenneth West |
Western Mustangs |
| Female Rookie of the Year |
Dianna Proctor |
Guelph Gryphons |
| Male Rookie of the Year |
Keon Rude |
Guelph Gryphons |
| Female Community Service Award |
Celia Markovinovich |
Waterloo Warriors |
| Male Community Service Award |
Aaron Thompson |
Western Mustangs |
| Female Assistant Coach of the Year |
Tina Sharman |
Windsor Lancers |
| Male Assistant Coach of the Year |
Paul Galas |
Guelph Gryphons |
Max Davies – OUA Male Track Athlete of the Year
For the second consecutive season,
Max Davies has been named OUA Male Track Athlete of the Year. The reigning OUA Athlete of the Year followed up his outstanding campaign from a season ago and put forward another great year on the track in 2024-25. Davies, in his third season with the Gryphons, took home a pair of gold medals at the 2025 OUA Track and Field Championships in Windsor, coming in first place in the men's 1000m and 4x800m relay to go along with his bronze medal in the men's 1500m. Davies earlier this season broke the school record in the men's 1500 in Boston with a time of 3:42.19 and broke another school record running a time of 3:57.26 in the mile. This marks the first time a Gryphon track athlete has won two consecutive OUA Male Track Athlete of the Year awards.
Rebecca Parker – OUA Female Field Athlete of the Year
For a second consecutive season, a Guelph Gryphon has named
OUA Female Field Athlete of the Year. Fourth-year pentathlete
Rebecca Parker earns the honours after a phenomenal indoor track season. The criminal justice and public policy major took home two medals at the provincial championship, winning gold in the women's pentathlon and bronze in the women's long jump. The Windsor, Ontario native at the meet broke her own school record for the third time this season in the pentathlon overall score, scoring 4141 total points which was also set a new OUA record. Parker broke two more OUA pentathlon records at the meet, posting a time of 8.49 in the 60m hurdles and clearing a height of 5.88 in the long jump.
Keon Rude – OUA Male Rookie of the Year
Gryphon sprinter
Keon Rude has been named OUA Male Rookie of the Year. A geography major from Calgary, Alberta, Rude impressed in his debut at the 2025 OUA Track and Field Championships winning three medals at the meet. Rude took home the silver medal in the men's 60m hurdles, a bronze medal in the men's 60m and ran the second leg in men's 4x200m relay team as his team crossed the line in first for gold.
Dianna Proctor – OUA Female Rookie of the Year
Dianna Proctor has been named OUA Female Rookie of the Year as it's the second consecutive season a Gryphon track athlete has taken home the award. Proctor, a music major from Edmonton, Alberta, had an incredible performance in her first provincial championship. Proctor won three gold medals at the meet as she came in first in the women's 300m, 4x200m relay and ran the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay team, crossing the finish line in first to secure a top of a podium finish for her team. Proctor came close to medaling in the women's 60m as she just missed out on a podium finish in fourth.
Paul Galas – OUA Male Assistant Coach of the Year
Paul Galas has been named OUA Male Assistant Coach of the Year. Galas in his sixth season as Gryphons assistant coach in the jumps and combined events, mainly working with the horizontal jumps, high jump, combined events and assists in the pole vault. He has saw his athletes breaking their personal bests and setting new school records to go along with their fantastic showings at their meets throughout the indoor track season. In his days as a student-athlete, Galas was a jumper with the Indiana Hoosiers where he was a Big Ten Conference medalist and a member of the 2017 Big Ten Conference Team Champions. He has represented Canada at the national and junior level as well.
