TORONTO - The following student-athletes have been recognized by the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) for their accomplishments during the seven-day period ending Sunday, Oct. 23.
All OCAA Stars of the Week will receive an acrylic bag tag courtesy of Nothers, the Preferred Awards Supplier of the OCAA.
Hunter Appleyard
School: St. Clair
Program: Protection, Security & Investigation
Year of Eligibility: 2
Sport: Men's Baseball
Hometown: LaSalle, Ont.
Appleyard was named MVP of the OCAA Men's Baseball Championship this past weekend. With St. Clair needing to win three times on Oct. 22 to successfully defend its title, Appleyard came through at the plate. In the two gold medal games against Humber, the 2022 League First-Team All-Star went 5-for-7 including two doubles, scoring six runs while driving in two RBI. Appleyard also stole three bases as St. Clair prevailed 11-6 and 10-4. Overall Appleyard batted .444 in the tournament scoring eight times and driving in four RBI.
Matthew Bremer
School: Humber
Program: Management Studies
Year of Eligibility: 3
Sport: Golf
Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Bremer won the men's individual gold medal last week at the 2022 nationals, held at Deer Creek in Ajax. The big lefty opened the tournament by shooting an even-par 71. With tough weather conditions on moving day, the Toronto native moved up three spots to the top and never looked back. With a two-stroke lead, Bremer fired a one-under-par 70 to secure the individual title - becoming the first Humber player to stand atop the podium since Adrian Cord in 2011. The Humber Hawks also won the men's team competition for the first time since 2012 by 20 strokes.
Kimberly Brinker
School: Mohawk
Program: Pre-Health Sciences
Year of Eligibility: 2
Sport: Women's Soccer
Hometown: Welland, Ont.
Brinker and the Mountaineers advanced to the OCAA championship following a 2-1 playoff win over the St. Lawrence Surge on Oct. 22. The Mountaineers trailed 1-0 early, but in the 51st minute Brinker scored off a header that tied the match and changed all momentum in favour of Mohawk. The second-year midfielder had a total of three shots in the match, including one from outside the box that hit the crossbar and nearly gave the Mountaineers a 3-1 advantage. Mohawk now takes on Durham in the OCAA quarter-finals on Thursday.
Anthony Gurrieri
School: Seneca
Program: Behavioural Psychology
Year of Eligibility: 3
Sport: Men's Soccer
Hometown: Maple, Ont.
Gurrieri helped lead the Seneca Sting to a pair of wins last week, including an OCAA playoff victory. The third-year goaltender made five saves against Durham on Oct. 18 as the Sting completed a perfect 10-0 regular season with a 2-1 win. In the OCAA championship qualifier on Oct. 22, Gurrieri made 10 saves and then helped the Sting prevail 2-1 in penalty kicks over the Sheridan Bruins. In eight regular season games Gurrieri had a 0.63 goals against average. Seneca now faces the St. Clair Saints on Wednesday in an OCAA quarter-final.
Bryanna Kressler
School: St. Clair
Program: Fitness & Health Promotion
Year of Eligibility: 4
Sport: Women's Softball
Hometown: Kitchener, Ont.
Kressler was named MVP of the OCAA Women's Softball Championship this past weekend. The 2022 OCAA Player of the Year allowed no earned runs in a pair of complete-games, including a shutout in the gold medal game, en route to leading St. Clair to a perfect 27-0 OCAA season and its first provincial championship since 2014. Kressler allowed just five hits in 14 innings, striking out 20 while walking just a pair. Kressler, who was also named 2022 OCAA Pitcher of the Year, also had a hit and scored in each of St. Clair's three games at the championship.
Hayley McCallum
School: Humber
Program: Graphic Design
Year of Eligibility: 4
Sport: Golf
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
McCallum went the distance to win the women's individual gold medal last week at the 2022 nationals. In a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard after Round 1, McCallum shot a two-over par 74 to take a seven-stroke lead and never looked back. McCallum was the only golfer in the field to score in the 70s every round and became just the second women's golfer in Humber history to win an individual title, joining Shauna Wilde who achieved the feat in 2007. To add to an already impressive resume, McCallum earned All-Canadian honours for the fourth time.
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
For over 50 years, the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association has been a dedicated leader in amateur athletics through the provision of quality varsity and recreational athletic opportunities at the collegiate level.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com