TORONTO - The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of extraordinary contributions and accomplishments within collegiate sports in Ontario.
Honoured members include student-athletes, coaches and builders of the association. This year, 32 new members will be recognized in the 10th OCAA Hall of Fame ceremony, to be held at the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, May 1.
The OCAA Hall of Fame was established in 2003. Including this year's induction, membership will expand to 452 individuals. The 2021 induction class was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with expanded classes planned in 2023 and 2025.
The class of 2023 includes the following athletes, coaches and builders:
Stan Bombino
Category: Coach
Sport: Men's Soccer/Men's Indoor Soccer
Institution: Durham College
Stan Bombino arrived at Durham College in 1977 as highly acclaimed soccer player. Making headlines immediately as a freshman, Stan became the first Durham Lords soccer player to win the OCAA scoring title scoring 13 goals. Taking over the highly successful Durham men's soccer program, the Lords men's soccer program posted an impressive overall record of 119-66-20 during Stan's 16 years as head coach. The Lords were always contenders qualifying for the OCAA final eight a total of nine times in his career. Stan coached four CCAA All-Canadians and was named CCAA Coach of the Year in 1999. Stan is also a two-time OCAA Central East Division Coach of the Year. A stellar playing career combined with a highly successful and lengthy coaching career at Durham College makes Stan deserving of Hall of Fame status.
Hilda Chmait
Category: Athlete
Sport: Women's Soccer/Women's Indoor Soccer
Institution: Seneca College
Hilda Chmait played a vital role in the success of the Seneca women's soccer program over the five seasons that Hilda played for the Sting. With Hilda in the line-up, the Sting captured seven OCAA medals and one CCAA bronze. In fitting fashion, Hilda's playing days at Seneca ended co-captaining the team to an impressive OCAA outdoor soccer silver medal and indoor gold. Hilda is one of 12 Senecans to have their jersey retired. Hilda's contributions over the years go far beyond the stats sheet. Hilda was a role model to teammates and led by example through adaptability and openness to play a variety of positions, a strong competitive personality and desire to win on the field, and a 4.0 GPA achieved in the classroom.
Jason Hernandez
Category: Athlete
Sport: Men's Volleyball
Institution: St. Clair College
Jason Hernandez donned the St. Clair College colours in 2013-14. The fortunes of the Saints dramatically improved as they finished an OCAA regular season above .500 for the first time in 11 seasons. But it was the 2014-15 that is celebrated at St. Clair. Jason was recognized as the OCAA Player of the Year and CCAA All-Canadian, moving into second place in OCAA all-time with 1,145 career points and 950 career kills. St. Clair finished 12-6 during the regular season and made a magical run through the 2014-15 post-season, winning its first-ever OCAA medal, another silver to Jason's collection. It was a fittting book end to Jason's collegiate career, returning to the national stage at Holland College in Charlottetown and advancing to the CCAA bronze medal match.
Mike Lucier
Category: Athlete
Sport: Men's Basketball
Institution: Lambton College
Mike Lucier was a five-year student-athlete on the Lambton men's basketball team from 2011 to 2016. Mike is currently 10th all-time in OCAA career scoring with 1,482 points, averaging 16.8 per game as a Lion. Mike also averaged 10.7 rebounds per game for a career double-double. Mike was a local player, winning one game in high school before walking on at Lambton College. Becoming a very popular player, Mike began to change the competitive nature of the college basketball team during Mike's first few years on campus. By 2014, Lambton had made its first playoff appearance in 12 years, winning its first-ever post-season game in 2015, and then its first-ever Division I basketball medal in 2016 behind an OCAA Championship All-Star performance from Mike.
Michele McConney
Category: Builder
Institution: Georgian College
Michele McConney spent over 38 years at Georgian College as an athletic administrator and played an integral role at Georgian College in enhancing the profile of athletics. In addition to Michele's work at Georgian, Michele served for over 16 years in various roles with the OCAA, including 1st Vice President and Vice President Programs on the OCAA Executive Committee. Michele was also involved at the national level as the CCAA Women's Volleyball Convenor for 11 straight seasons (1991-2002) then joining the CCAA Executive as Vice President Governance from 2014-18. Michele was recognized as a "CCAA Senator" in 2018 for Michele's extensive work with the national association.
Jason Mesa
Category: Athlete
Sport: Men's Soccer/Men's Indoor Soccer
Institution: Humber College
Jason Mesa arrived at Humber College as the men's soccer program began to compete on the provincial stage every season. Playing numerous positions throughout an illustrious career, Jason's dominance on the pitch began to emerge once becoming a fixture as a sweeper. Jason's steadiness and composure on Humber's backline gave the whole team confidence. Jason's quiet leadership united the team and Jason's humbleness let others take the credit. Despite playing a position that received little to no recognition, Jason quietly led the Hawks to the program's second national championship in 2001, as Humber only surrendered one tally in six post-season matches.
More bios of each of the new inductees will be released in the coming weeks leading into the OCAA Hall of Fame Gala.
For more information on the origins and history of the OCAA Hall of Fame and to view honoured members biographies and photos, please visit the OCAA Hall of Fame website at www.ocaa.com/HallofFame.
- OCAA -
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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