(Canton, United States---05 December 2025) Safwan El Mansari at the Saints Holiday Relays held in Newell Field House on the campus of St. Lawrence University. Copyright 2025 Miles Ryan / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

El Mansari, McIntyre, Harris Honoured at Gee-Gees Awards Banquet

by linkinbioUniversity

OTTAWA — Ottawa Lions athletes were front and centre at the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees’ annual awards banquet, held Tuesday evening at the National Arts Centre, as three members of the track and field program captured major honours.

Middle-distance standout Safwan El Mansari headlined the evening, earning Male Athlete of the Year honours following a breakthrough campaign that saw him emerge as one of the top talents in U SPORTS.

El Mansari’s season was highlighted by a pair of silver medals at the U SPORTS Championships last month. Individually, El Mansari set a school record of 1:18.12 over 600 metres en route to his national medal. The second-year Commerce/Law student also played a key role on the Gee-Gees’ 4×400-metre relay squad, powering the quartet to their first national medal in 13 years, contributing to an OUA championship record and a school-record run earlier in the season.  

First-year student Sophie McIntyre was recognized as Female Rookie of the Year after an impressive debut campaign in the Garnet and Grey. A key contributor on the Gee-Gees’ relay teams, McIntyre quickly established herself as one of the program’s top long sprinters, posting the team’s fastest times in the 600 metres and earning a place in the OUA final. Her season-best performance of 1:34.31 ranks among the top 15 all-time in the program’s deepest event.  

William Harris was awarded the prestigious President’s Award, presented annually to student-athletes who best combine academic and athletic excellence. Harris posted an outstanding 9.40 GPA in Translational and Molecular Medicine while playing a central role on the record setting 4×400-metre relay program.

Additional honours presented on the evening included cross country MVP awards for Zach Sikka and Zoe Gardiner, as well as track and field MVP recognition for El Mansari and Jessica Gyamfi.

(Windsor, Canada---23 February 2024) Kathryn Moreland competing on Day 1 of the 2024 OUA Track And Field Championships in the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Windsor. Copyright 2024 Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Moreland named uOttawa Rookie of the Year

by linkinbioUniversity

While Spring was in the air Saturday, we were looking back on a strong winter season indoors as the University of Ottawa handed out their annual athletic awards. A total of five Gee-Gee athletes were recognized by the university for their excellence on the field of play. 

Combined events athlete Kathryn Moreland took home the honour of Garnet Rookie of the Year following a tremendous opening campaign in the garnet and grey. Moreland, who competes in the five event pentathlon, recorded an impressive three individual event personal bests enroute to an overall pentathlon best at the OUA Championships where she placed fourth in the field.

Also at the OUA Championships, Moreland ran leadoff on the Gee-Gees 4×400 metre relay team, putting the team at the front of the pack as they captured OUA bronze out of the slow section. Through that run Moreland also secured her first trip to the USports Championship where the Gee-Gees ran a seasonal best time of 3:54.99 and placed 12th in Canada.

Doyin Ogunremi, a teammate of Moreland’s on the 4×400 metre relay, was recognized Saturday night as the Gee-Gees women’s track and field Most Valuable Player. In addition to  her success on the 4×400 metre relay team, the fourth year student helped this year’s 4×200 metre squad to a place in the national final after they narrowly missed the school record by seven hundredths of a second. 

Beyond her relay success, a massive highlight of Ogunremi’s season will undoubtedly be her school record performance at 300 metres. Running at the Ravens Last Chance Meet, Doyin erased a second off her previous best – running 38.73 seconds to become the first woman in school history to break the 39 second barrier. She would go on to finish fourth in the same event at the OUA Championships and 11th at USports. 

The men’s track and field MVP went to third year student David Moulongou. A team leader, Moulongou put up the 10th fastest time in school history for 300 metres (34.70) – arguably the deepest event in Gee-Gee history. In addition, during his only run at the 60 metre hurdles, Moulongou put up the 13th fastest performance in school history. 

Looking back to the fall season, André Alie-Lamarche and Melina Hamel were each recognized as the men’s and women’s cross country team MVP’s. Alie-Lamarche had a standout season, earning OUA Second Team All-Star recognition for his eighth place finish before going on to a career best 28th place finish at the USports Championship. 

Hamel, a rookie on the cross country team, was the Gee-Gees top finisher at the OUA Championships, finishing 46th overall. In fact, she was the team’s top finisher at all four competitions the Gee-Gees competed in during the season.