GEORGIAN'S KIRK HEADLINES OCAA MEN'S RUGBY AWARDS

TORONTO - Georgian College's Rielly Kirk (Wasaga Beach) is the 2024 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Rugby Player of the Year.

The third-year player was the OCAA co-leader in tries during the regular season, scoring eight times in five matches. The versatile Kirk played multiple positions for the Grizzlies. Overcoming a shoulder injury that required surgery in 2023, Kirk worked back into elite playing shape with speed and strength to dominate each offensive and defensive contact situation. The West Division Player of the Year headlines the West Division League All-Stars.

The East Division Player of the Year is Kyle Moller (Pretoria) of Seneca Polytechnic. The third-year player is the captain of the Sting and overall driving force behind their offence, leading the team in scoring with three tries, 10 converts and four penalty kicks totalling 47 points. Moller's talent and control of the field is truly an asset to the Sting. Moller is also an East Division League All-Star.

The OCAA Rookie of the Year is Owen MacKinnon (Whitby) of Durham College. The fly half played every minute of every game and was the only first-year player to be in the Top 5 in OCAA scoring with 39 points on a try and 17 converts. The East Division Rookie of the Year is an East Division All-Star and headlines the OCAA All-Rookie Team.

Daniel Rudy (Wellesley) of Conestoga College is the West Division Rookie of the Year. The quintessential full back defuses the opposition's clearance kicks with ease while counter attacking to give the Condors a solid attacking platform. Equally capable of playing on the wing, Rudy answered the bell for Conestoga's vacant full back position doing whatever the team needs. Rudy is a West Division All-Star and also a member of the OCAA All-Rookie Team.

Denis Aseltine of St. Lawrence College is the OCAA Coach of the Year. With a mixture of rookies and returning players, the East Division Coach of the Year led the Surge to an East Division championship and top East Division defensive team honours, as St. Lawrence allowed the league's fewest points against (52).

Conestoga's Joshua Van Horne is the West Division Coach of the Year. Taking the Condor squad to another level again this season, Conestoga played every team tough losing once on the last drive and tying the defending champions in Year 2 of the program's return.

Prince Ndukwe (Scarborough) of Humber Polytechnic is the OCAA Scoring Champion. The fourth-year wing scored 77 points on seven tries and 21 converts in five matches, leading the Hawks to a West Division championship. The West Division Scoring Champion is also a West Division All-Star.

St. Lawrence's Zachary Raymond (Kingston) is the East Division Scoring Champion. The fourth-year centre scored 73 points on eight tries, 15 converts and one penalty kick. Raymond is also an East Division All-Star.

St. Lawrence's Brady Fawcett (Wolfe Island) is the East Division Defensive Player of the Year. The fourth-year 8-man led the Surge in tackles on the top defensive in points allowed. Fawcett is also an East Division All-Star.

Two players share the West Division Defensive Player of the Year. Georgian's Ian Crawford (Barrie) makes 10-plus tackles a game at a position (prop) that isn't typically involved to that level. Conestoga's Cameron Snook (Guelph) is a fantastic tackler and able to cover the entire width of the field.

Humber was the top defensive team in the West Division allowing 73 points against.

Joining Kirk, Rudy and Ndukwe as West Division All-Stars are Colm Cronin (Stratford), Bailey Mason (Mississauga), Stefan Van Niekirk (Oakville) and Hudson Young (Etobicoke) of Conestoga; Jake Boulding (Barrie) and Ethan Phillips (Minesing) of Georgian; Declan Forgie (Pickering), Ngatukumbe Kaukumangera (Mississauga), James Robb-Kennedy (Barrie) and Timico Smith (Mississauga) of Humber; and Teodor Bularda (Burlington) and Sebastian Minifie (Stratford) of Sheridan College.

In addition to Moller, MacKinnon, Raymond and Fawcett, East Division All-Stars include Dylan Gilmore (Ottawa) and Aung Thein (Ottawa) of Algonquin College; Tyler Janes (Pickering), Patrick Lynch (Oshawa), Ethan Montgomery (Whitby) and Andrew Neveu (Uxbridge) of Durham; Lane Labelle (Ottawa), Cameron Marineau (Belleville) and Liam Walsh (Harrowsmith) of St. Lawrence; and Tom Mwangi Macharia (Kenya) and Sharif Ramadan (Scarborough) of Seneca.

Along with MacKinnon and Rudy, members of the OCAA All-Rookie Team include Tiago Kiala (Ottawa) of Algonquin; Luke Phillips (Minesing) of Georgian; Ivontae Cambronne (Toronto) of Humber; and Walsh of St. Lawrence.

2024 OCAA MEN'S RUGBY AWARDS

OCAA Men's Rugby Player of the Year
Rielly Kirk, Georgian

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Player of the Year
Kyle Moller, Seneca

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Player of the Year
Rielly Kirk, Georgian

OCAA Men's Rugby Rookie of the Year
Owen MacKinnon, Durham

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Rookie of the Year
Owen MacKinnon, Durham

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Rookie of the Year
Daniel Rudy, Conestoga

OCAA Men's Rugby Coach of the Year
Denis Aseltine, St. Lawrence

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Coach of the Year
Denis Aseltine, St. Lawrence

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Coach of the Year
Joshua Van Horne, Conestoga

OCAA Men's Rugby Scoring Champion
Prince Ndukwe, Humber

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Scoring Champion
Zachary Raymond, St. Lawrence

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Scoring Champion
Prince Ndukwe, Humber

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Defensive Player of the Year
Brady Fawcett, St. Lawrence

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Defensive Players of the Year
Ian Crawford, Georgian
Cameron Snook, Conestoga

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Champion
St. Lawrence Surge

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Champion
Humber Hawks

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division Best Defensive Team
St. Lawrence Surge

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division Best Defensive Team
Humber Hawks

OCAA Men's Rugby East Division All-Stars

Brady Fawcett, St. Lawrence
Dylan Gilmour, Algonquin
Tyler Janes, Durham
Lane Labelle, St. Lawrence
Patrick Lynch, Durham
Owen MacKinnon, Durham
Cameron Marineau, St. Lawrence
Kyle Moller, Seneca
Ethan Montgomery, Durham
Tom Mwangi Macharia, Seneca
Andrew Neveu, Durham
Sharif Ramadan, Seneca
Zachary Raymond, St. Lawrence
Aung Thein, Algonquin
Liam Walsh, St. Lawrence

OCAA Men's Rugby West Division All-Stars
Jake Boulding, Georgian
Teodor Bularda, Sheridan
Colm Cronin, Conestoga
Declan Forgie, Humber
Ngatukumbe Kaukumangera, Humber
Rielly Kirk, Georgian
Bailey Mason, Conestoga
Sebastian Minifie, Sheridan
Prince Ndukwe, Humber
Ethan Phillips, Georgian
James Robb-Kennedy, Humber
Daniel Rudy, Conestoga
Timico Smith, Humber
Stefan Van Niekirk, Conestoga
Hudson Young, Conestoga

OCAA Men's Rugby All-Rookie Team
Ivontae Cambronne, Humber
Tiago Kiala, Algonquin
Owen MacKinnon, Durham
Luke Phillips, Georgian
Daniel Rudy, Conestoga
Liam Walsh, St. Lawrence

- OCAA -

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