By Anne Duggan
Despite some initial nerves, Yves Sikubwabo has transitioned into life at the University of Guelph in similar fashion to when he arrived in Ottawa as a refugee from his native Rwanda – with a big splash.
The former two-time OFSAA high school senior boys’ cross-country running champion earned Ontario University Athletics rookie-of-the-year honours in his debut season with the Guelph Gryphons, finishing second overall at the OUA championships and helping his men’s team to its eighth consecutive provincial title.
The Guelph women’s team, which included Carp’s Joanna Brown in eighth place, won its ninth-straight OUA banner.
“This season was kinda hard with the change of schools from high school to university,” explains the Glebe Collegiate Institute grad who cheered on his former classmates at OFSAA this year. “I knew it was going to be hard. Here, my team is the best team in Canada. Everything is new.”
Sikubwabo set two goals for his first university cross season: make the team and do the best he could at OUAs, held on Oct. 27 north of Toronto in King City.
“I had never seen the OUAs but I really wanted to do well,” says Sikubwabo, who finished the 10 km course in between Guelph teammates Ross Proudfoot and Andrew Nixon in a time of 32 minutes, 22 seconds. “It was not that big of a surprise. I train with these guys and any one of us could have won.”
There was definitely some pain that went along with his gain, however. Guelph Gryphons coach Dave Scott-Thomas holds practices the likes of which Sikubwabo had never seen before.
“At first, training was hard. For a month, I couldn’t sleep because the practices were so hard, intense,” recalls the 19-year-old who’s now added Scott-Thomas to his list of mentors. “He is someone I can talk to, first. I really trust him.”
Sikubwabo, who first came to Canada for the 2010 world junior track-and-field championships, says the Guelph guidance counsellors are also making his time there a positive experience. Fluent in French and Ikinyarwanda, Sikubwabo has been working hard to master the English language.
During his years at Glebe, ESL courses dominated his schedule. The result of this was to limit his Guelph application to that of a Bachelor of Arts, despite the fact that he is strongest in sciences.
“I will transfer to a Bachelor of Sciences next term. I can’t imagine myself in English classes, all those essays and readings,” he groans. “The guidance counsellors listened to me and we have found a way to do this.”
Sikubwabo, who was raised by his aunt after his birth parents were killed in the Rwandan genocide, credits a big part of his academic success to his Ottawa parents, Nicole Le Saux and Jim Farmer, who took him into their home after hearing his story.
“I would like to thank my parents,” Sikubwabo highlights. “All this has happened because of their help and encouragement. I have done nothing special, so it is all because of them.”