HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Gee-Gees’ Mikhail Nembhard, Ravens’ Luigi Zagaria win major OUA football awards

By Martin Cleary

Success comes in many different shapes and sizes in the world of sports.

Sometimes, a team will win its season-ending championship in dramatic or predictable fashion. Other times, an athlete will have the competition of a lifetime and achieve personal-best results.

Then, far from the excitement and noise of a stadium, success can be relayed in the printed word through an announcement honouring award winners.

While their teams fell short of reaching the 117th Yates Cup final for the OUA football championship, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees’ Mikhail Nembhard and the Carleton University Ravens’ Luigi Zagaria found individual success, when the conference selected its major award winners for the 2025 season.

A third-year defensive back, Nembhard was honoured with the Bernie Custis Champion of EDI Award for his strong commitment to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion through sport and education. He is a human kinetics student.

Zagaria was presented the Russ Jackson Award for exemplifying the attributes of academic achievement, football skill and citizenship.

Nembhard and Zagaria will be the OUA conference’s representative for those awards at the U Sports national level.

During his five years at uOttawa, Nembhard started a youth sports program in the Lowertown community aimed at youth facing participation barriers. It was designed to encourage them to experience teamwork, physical activity and healthy lifestyles.

“He believes in the transformative power of sport and learning to drive social change and empowerment,” said a recent OUA press release.

At the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s Black Youth Forum this year, Nembhard stressed the importance of pursuing both academic and athletic excellence to his student audience through mentorship and representation.

In the community, he was the lead fund raiser for the BIPOC Student-Athlete Scholarship Endowment, which brought in more than $30,000. Nembhard also helped develop the Black Student-Athletes Advocacy Council at uOttawa to foster mentorship, inclusion and empowerment for Black students and student-athletes.

When events like the Black Excellence Gala and the Ottawa Black Grad Committee, which honour achievements and perseverance among Black graduates, were happening, Nembhard could be found volunteering his time.

Nembhard, who also supports athlete recovery at the Carleton Rehabilitation Centre, has played 13 career games for the Gee-Gees football team, making 11 tackles, four assisted tackles and adding two interceptions.

A model of consistency and perseverance, Zagaria is driven by his love of working in the community.

His lead-by-example attitude has earned him academic and community awards from the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, while volunteering with the Sons of Pericles, a Hellenic group promoting Greek heritage and community engagement.

Zagaria, who has volunteered for more than a decade at the Ottawa Greek Festival, has spearheaded the Ravens’ football team participation in the residence move-in and Ottawa Boys and Girls’ Club barbeques.

He also rallied the football players as the team organizer and lead fund raiser for the university’s Relay for Life. The team raised almost $10,000 for cancer research and care.

After missing his first two seasons with the Ravens because of injury and the passing of his father in 2024, he stepped onto the field and recorded the game-winning pass breakup with no time remaining in the 56th Panda Game.

A free safety for the Ravens, Zagaria has shared his football knowledge of the game with the Carleton Junior Ravens program and Carleton Ravens football camps. He also can be seen on the sidelines as an assistant coach with the Sir Robert Borden High School girls’ flag football team.

In the classroom, he is an Academic All-Canadian and has earned a berth on the Dean’s Honour List studying computer science.

The OUA also announced its conference all-star teams and six Gee-Gee and three Raven players made the grade for the three teams.

The first team included receiver Tristan Ready of Carleton and linebacker Jaxxon Brashear of Ottawa. Five local players were selected to the second all-star team – receiver Noah Avery, defensive tackle Riley Hildebrandt, cornerback Denny Ferdinand and defensive halfback Patrick Cumberbatch, all of Ottawa, and linebacker Xavier Malone, Carleton.

Each university had one student-athlete on the all-rookie team – receiver Emyl Gregoire of Ottawa and Arthur Bedard of Carleton.

For the first time in 16 years, the Queen’s University Gaels won the Yates Cup, after a 30-27 victory over the defending champion Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks.

Queen’s defensive lineman Oliver Jackson of Carleton Place made four tackles and created one forced fumble in the championship game. The Gaels lineup had 16 student-athletes from Ottawa and three from Carleton Place.

The Golden Hawks’ roster had five student-athletes from Ottawa, including four on defence.

CARLETON, OTTAWA SHARE FIRST PLACE IN OUA MEN’S EAST BASKETBALL

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Carleton University Ravens swept a pair of OUA men’s basketball games to improve to 4-1 and a share of first place in the East Division.

The Gee-Gees outplayed the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks 99-64 and the Queen’s University Gaels 100-82.

Six players hit double figures in points for the Gee-Gees against the Ridgebacks and Owen Kenney led the way with 27 points and seven rebounds. Leading 71-69 after three quarters against Queen’s, the Gee-Gees dominated the fourth quarter 29-13 as Alec Phaneuf finished with 22 points and added seven assists, while Brock Newton contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Marjok Okado was Carleton’s best player against the Gaels with 27 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Aubrey Dorey-Havens led the Ravens past the Ridgebacks with 26 points, eight assists and two steals.

Both the Carleton and Ottawa women’s teams settled for 1-1 weekend records and are in second and third place respectively at 4-1 and 3-2 behind Queen’s at 5-0.

After Carleton lost to Queen’s 67-62 on the road, the Ravens edged Ontario Tech 76-70.

Carleton’s Kayana-Jade Poulin put together back-to-back 30-point games as well as a combined 10 rebounds for the two games. Jacqueline Urban had a two-game total of 31 points and 26 rebounds.

Ottawa was involved in two blowouts, one good and one not so good. The Gee-Gees ran past Ontario Tech 79-38, but fell to undefeated Queen’s 80-49.

Bailey Russell and Allie McCarthy took care of the offensive leadership. Russell posted a two-game total of 41 points and 12 rebounds, while McCarthy tossed in 37 points and added six steals.

THIRD-PERIOD RALLY LIFTS CARLETON PAST RMC IN MEN’S HOCKEY

The Carleton University Ravens amassed five goals in the third period to twice overcome three-goal deficits and shade the Royal Military College Paladins 6-5 in OUA men’s hockey.

Alex Johnston scored the game-winning goal with 21 seconds remaining in the game. The power-play goal was the fourth of the period for Carleton and its fifth in the game. Nick McCarry and David Fournier counted two goals each for Carleton and Reese Belton had the other goal.

The Ravens opened their weekend losing 5-2 to the McGill University Redbirds. Brady Egan scored one goal for Carleton and assisted on the other goal by Alex Fournier.

The Gee-Gees blanked the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes 5-0 in their only men’s hockey game. Loic Prud-Homme, Marc-Antoine Seguin, Lucas Veilleux, Zach Giroux and Nicholas Bilodeau took care of the scoring, while Franky Lapenna had the 32-save shutout.

In women’s OUA hockey, Carleton recorded a 4-3 shootout win (3-2) on the road against the University of Windsor Lancers, but fell to Western University Mustangs 2-1 in overtime.

The Gee-Gees couldn’t score and lost to the University of Guelph Gryphons 3-0 and the York University Lions 1-0.

Kennedy Vickers, Erica Buckley and Payton Miller scored for Carleton in the win over Windsor. Kacie Corkle recorded a third-period goal for the Ravens to force overtime with Western.

TEAM HOMAN WINS HISTORIC 20TH GRAND SLAM OF CURLING TITLE

For the record-extending 20th time in her 24-year career, Ottawa Curling Club’s Rachel Homan has emerged once again as a Grand Slam of Curling champion.

Team Homan, which is completed by third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes, won four preliminary and three playoff games to earn $42,000 and the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe championship in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

The victory gave Homan and Miskew their 20th career Grand Slam title.

In the tight, eight-end final, Homan rallied from three single-point deficits to score two in the seventh end and steal two in the eighth for a 7-4 victory over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni. It was the third consecutive Grand Slam final between the world’s top two women’s teams this season.

It was the 32nd time Homan had defeated Tirinzoni against 10 losses. Homan has won 14 of the past 16 matches against Tirinzoni, going back to May 5, 2023.

Homan defeated Anna Hasselborg of Sweden 6-3 in seven ends in the semifinals, and Bobac Kang of Korea 7-2 in six ends in the quarterfinals.

“Yeah, it was an unbelievable feeling, especially winning a game that was a battle out there for both teams,” Homan said. “It’s just really fun to play such an amazing team and being able to pull out the win is an awesome feeling.”

Homan’s record this season is 35-6. If you include the team’s past two seasons, Homan has won 89.4 per cent of her matches based on her 177-21 win-loss record.

NEPEAN WILDCATS POWER ONTARIO AT U18 WOMEN’S HOCKEY NATIONALS

Ottawa’s Jordan Mulvihill scored the overtime winning goal to give her Ontario Blue team the bronze medal over Ontario Red at Hockey Canada’s 2025 U18 Women’s National Championship in Newfoundland.

Earlier in the game, Mulvihill setup Nepean Wildcats teammate Carly O’Connor for Ontario Blue’s first goal of the game with another assist going to the Wildcats’ Sydney Semiga, after Aniston McCrann of the East Ottawa Stars had given Ontario Red a 2-0 lead. O’Connor drew a helper on Mulvihill’s medal-winning marker.

“I am just really happy that I was able to score,” Mulvihill said via Hockey Canada following her side’s 3-2 win. “I would not have wanted to do this with any other team. This team is so great, and I am so happy I was able to bond with them over the past 10 days. I have enjoyed every second of this tournament.”

Ontario Blue lost to Ontario Red 3-1 in the preliminary round of the tournament but won three other games to reach the medal round, where they fell 4-3 in the semi-finals to the eventual champions from Quebec.

The Wildcats’ Avery Jones, Kate Viel and Maggie Hughson played for Ontario Red at the nationals.

Nepean is currently in second place overall in the Ontario Women’s Hockey U22 Elite League with a 15-3-1 record.

AMY MILLAR, JAGGER HX FOURTH AT NATIONAL SHOW JUMPING FINAL

Two-time Olympian Amy Millar of Perth and Jagger HX placed fourth in the Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping Championship at the Royal Horse Show during the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

After winning the opening round on Friday, she was fourth in Saturday’s final in 43.90 seconds, which was a full second out of third place. Calgary’s Kyle Timm posted the winning time of 42.32 seconds.

TWO SILVER MEDALS FOR CANADA AT WORLD RINGETTE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Canada settled for a pair of silver medals at the world senior and junior ringette championships in Lahti, Finland, as the Finnish teams struck twice for gold.

Finland defeated Canada 4-2 and 7-3 in back-to-back senior games as Gatineau’s Emily Chenier scored the opening goal for Canada in the second game. Barb Bautista of Gloucester was an assistant coach on the Canadian team.

After losing the first game 4-2 in the junior division, Canada won the second 4-3 to force a 15-minute, championship-deciding overtime period. Finland scored three consecutive goals before Morgan Forrest of Ottawa counted the Canadian goal in the extra frame.

Kailee Leskiw of Stittsville and Alyssa Perreault of Ottawa also played for the Canadian junior team. Colleen Hagan of Manotick was an assistant coach.

Canada’s U18 development team included Emily Barteaux of Kanata, Abigail Rooney of Kanata and assistant coach Jessica Boisvert of Ottawa. In Canada’s 6-2 win over Finland, Barteaux scored one goal and was named the game’s MVP.

LOCAL WEIGHTLIFTERS IMPRESS WITH TOP PROVINCIAL PRESSES

Three local athletes topped their divisions and finished within the top-3 overall at the Ontario Senior Weightlifting Championships in Toronto.

Aurora Van Ulft of the CanAm Barbell Club lifted a total of 152 kilograms to top the women’s 48 kg division and place second overall in the women’s Sinclair rankings, which compares athletes across weight categories.

CanAm’s Kristen Pearn was best in the women’s 77 kg class with a 210 kg total and third overall, while Landmark x JustLift’s Nicolas Munro won the men’s 88 kg category by lifting 298 kg in total for third overall in the men’s Sinclair rankings.

Also earning podium performances in their divisions were Landmark x JustLift’s Katrina Wright, CanAm’s Stephanie Dadzie, Amanda Nemeth and Sébastien Lemaire.

The Ontario Junior Weightlifting Championships will be hosted by Landmark x JustLift in Stittsville on Dec. 6.

END NOTES

· Canada’s World Cup bobsleigh team will include three Ottawa athletes – pilot Patrick Norton and push-pool athletes Mike Evelyn O’Higgins and Charlotte Ross. Competing on the North American Cup circuit will be pilot Jay Dearborn and brakeman Keaton Bruggeling.

· After winning a bronze medal in 2024, the Merivale High School Marauders missed the playoffs at the OFSAA field hockey championship with one win, one loss and one tie. Merivale defeated Mayfield 1-0, lost to Bishop PF Reding 2-0 and tied eventual silver medallist Saltfleet 0-0. St. Mother Teresa High School Titans were winless, losing to Holy Cross 5-0, Lawrence Park 5-0 and West Niagara 1-0.

· University of British Columbia Thunderbirds defender Eric Lajeunesse of Ottawa was named to the U Sports men’s soccer first all-star team, while University of Toronto Varsity Blues midfielder Mehdi Essoussi of Ottawa was a second-team selection. The all-rookie team included Cape Breton University Capers midfielder Yohann Hebert of Gatineau and Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus forward Kautchy Andji-Yapi of Ottawa. The U Sports women’s second all-star team had forwards Paris Axam of the Dalhousie University Tigers and Ottawa, and Lauren Illman of the Carleton University Ravens and Whitby, ON.

· Katherine Medland Spence of the Nepean Skating Club finished 11th in her first ISU Grand Prix of figure skating competition at the NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan. She was 11th in both the short program and the freeskating final for 146.63 points. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time world champion (2022-24) and double Olympic medallist, swept the event with 227.18 points.

· Canada earned its first-ever win and then first-ever playoff berth at the FIFA U17 Men’s World Cup in Qatar. Ottawa TFC product Elijah Roche scored Canada’s opening goal of the tournament in a 2-1 win over Uganda. The defender played every minute for Canada during its three pool matches, including a 0-0 tie with France and 2-1 loss to Chile. Canada will face Ireland on Saturday in the round of 32.

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