Stephen Harris (men’s rowing) and Tatum O’Connor (women’s swimming) have been selected as The Brock Press’ Athletes of the Month for November.
Male Athlete of the Month – Stephen Harris
Stephen Harris (men’s rowing) has been named the TBP Male Athlete of the Month for November, highlighted by another noteworthy performance at the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC).
The fifth-year Economics major won his third consecutive CURC Male Athlete of the Year award, winning the men’s lightweight single event and placing third in the men’s eight race.
In the men’s lightweight single event, Harris finished with a time of 6:53.71, beating out the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds for the gold medal winning position.
Harris added a bronze in the men’s eight with teammates Maddox Harrison, Michael Ciepela, Keithan Woodhouse, Riley Watson, Euan Coulson, Ian Doctor, Christopher Gomez and coxswain Serafina Dell, finishing in 5:36.49 — just behind the Western Mustangs and UBC Thunderbirds.
Both results helped lead the Badgers to a second-place finish at the CURC — their third consecutive second-place finish at nationals — tallying 107 points, six points behind the UBC Thunderbirds for first place overall.
The Guelph native has now won 11 CURC medals (five gold, three silver and three bronze) plus eight OUA Championship medals (seven gold and a silver), while being named as the OUA Male Rower of the Year in 2022.
Female Athlete of the Month – Tatum O’Connor
Tatum O’Connor (women’s swimming) has been named the TBP Female Athlete of the Month for November, dominating in the pool at the OUA Dean Boles Divisional Championship.
The sophomore swimmer set four school records and two Divisional Championship records while winning four gold medals and two silvers.
O’Connor set a new Dean Boles Divisional Championship and school record in 4×50-metre freestyle relay with teammates Grace Chai, Quinn Mersereau and Pearl Publow (1:44.91), while setting a meet record in the 50-metre freestyle (26.06) which qualified her for the U Sports Championships in March.
She also qualified for the national championships in the 50-metre backstroke with a time of 28 seconds, which is a Brock record, while also earning school records in her first-place performance in the 100-metre backstroke (1:00.08) and second-place finish in the 4×50-metre medley relay with Adriana Martone, Bella Seabrook and Grace Chai (1:56.93).
The Kinesiology major also captured a silver in the 50-metre butterfly (28.07) as her strong showing led the Badgers women’s swimming team to their first OUA Dean Boles Divisional Championship in school history.
With 912.5 points in the women’s standings and 1,892 points in the overall standings, Brock has been promoted to the higher division and will be competing in the OUA Merrily Stratten Divisional Championships next season.
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Stay tuned to The Brock Press following every month where the Male and Female Athletes of the Month will be highlighted.
Want a say in selecting a winner? Email lcosta@brockpress.com to nominate a Badger.