Canada West Hall of Fame announces Class of 2024-25

CALGARY – The Canada West Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2024-25, bestowing the conference’s highest honour on eight inductees across four categories.

This year’s class features four additions in the “Athlete” category, including a pair of two-sport stars in Gaylene Barry (Calgary – Women’s Field Hockey & Volleyball) and Jacqueline Lavalee (Saskatchewan – Women’s Soccer & Basketball). Two basketball standouts were also named, including Terri-Lee Johannesson (Manitoba – Women’s Basketball) and Jacob Doerksen (Victoria/Trinity Western – Men’s Basketball).

The class welcomes a pair of inductees in the “Builder” category, including Ron & Jane Graham (Saskatchewan) and Ken Olynyk (Thompson Rivers).

Billy Moores (Alberta – Men’s Hockey) has been inducted in the “Coach” category, while the 1980-91 Calgary Dinos Men’s Swimming dynasty joins the “Team” category.

In addition to today’s announcement, inductees will be celebrated with individual profiles and videos released throughout the 2024-25 season.

The Canada West Hall of Fame was established in 2019 to commemorate 100 years of university sporting excellence across Western Canada. All previous inductees can be viewed on the Canada West Hall of Fame website.

Gaylene Barry (Donald) | Calgary – Field Hockey & Women’s Volleyball

Gaylene Barry (Donald) thrived as a unique two-sport student-athlete, starring in both field hockey and volleyball for the University of Calgary from 1968-72. She established herself as one of the most decorated athletes in school history, being named University of Calgary Female Athlete of the Year in both 1970 and 1972.

Barry has the unique distinction of playing on three conference championship teams in two different sports over a span of three years. In addition, she led two conference championship teams in two different sports in the same calendar year.

Following her varsity career, Barry would go on to play for the National Women’s Field Hockey team from 1972 through 1977, including competing for Canada at the 1975 World Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Calgary Dinos Men’s Swimming | 1980-91

The Dinos were the most dominant force in university swimming between 1980-91, capturing a remarkable 11 straight conference titles. The team was also a powerhouse on the national stage, capturing nine national titles over that stretch.

The team featured seven olympians, including Rob Chernoff (1984), Tom Ponting (1984, 1988, 1992), Mike Meldrum (1988), Gary Vandermeulen (1988), Steven Vandermeulen (1988), Jon Cleveland (1988, 1992), and Mark Tewksbury (1988, 1992). The Canadian bronze medal winning 4x100m medley relay team at the 1992 Olympics featured three members of the Dinos men’s swim team, including Cleveland, Ponting, and Tewksbury. Tewksbury would also capture a gold medal at the 1992 games in the 100m backstroke.

Tewksbury was inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame in 2019, and would later be joined by the team’s head coach Derek Snelling, who was inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame in 2022.

ABOUT THE CANADA WEST HALL OF FAME

For the last century, organized university sport has been a central part of the student experience at institutions across Western Canada. Beginning with the University of Manitoba capturing the first Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU) men’s hockey banner in 1919-20, student-athletes have been competing to reach their full potential in sport and the classroom, while enriching campus life. 

To commemorate 100 years of university sport across Western Canada, the Canada West Hall of Fame was created in the spring of 2019. This year’s induction class will be unveiled throughout the 2023-24 season.